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When you support Opera Rara, you join us on a journey of operatic discovery. Your generosity makes our mission possible, and your investment is key to bringing our ground-breaking work to a worldwide audience.

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Offenbach's Barkouf

What happens when man’s best friend becomes head-of-state? Opera Rara and the Hallé team up once again to present Offenbach’s opera Barkouf, where a dog rules the day.

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Lives in Song

Lives in Song is Opera Rara’s podcast series hosted by music historian Flora Willson looking at the lives of composers and other musicians through their music.

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2025/26 Salon Concerts

Opera Rara’s salon concert series features exciting emerging artists in intimate venues in London.

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Donizetti Songs Vols 5&6

The prolific and versatile Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti wrote around 200 songs. Vols. 5 and 6 of this new collection of the complete solo songs of Donizetti features soprano Ermonela Jaho and pianists Carlo Rizzi.

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Verdi’s original 1857 Simon Boccanegra

The first-ever studio recording of Verdi’s original 1857 version of Simon Boccanegra with The Hallé, the Chorus of Opera North and an exciting cast conducted by Sir Mark Elder

Order

Support Us

When you support Opera Rara, you join us on a journey of operatic discovery. Your generosity makes our mission possible, and your investment is key to bringing our ground-breaking work to a worldwide audience.

Donate

Lives in Song

Lives in Song is Opera Rara’s podcast series hosted by music historian Flora Willson looking at the lives of composers and other musicians through their music.

Listen

2025/26 Salon Concert Series

Opera Rara’s salon concert series features exciting emerging artists in intimate venues in London.

Tickets

Donizetti Songs Vols 5&6

The prolific and versatile Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti wrote around 200 songs. Vols. 5 and 6 of this new collection of the complete solo songs of Donizetti features soprano Ermonela Jaho and pianists Carlo Rizzi.

Order

Offenbach's Barkouf

What happens when man’s best friend becomes head-of-state? Opera Rara and the Hallé team up once again to present Offenbach’s opera Barkouf, where a dog rules the day.

Tickets

Verdi’s original 1857 Simon Boccanegra

The first-ever studio recording of Verdi’s original 1857 version of Simon Boccanegra with The Hallé, the Chorus of Opera North and an exciting cast conducted by Sir Mark Elder.

Order

Upcoming Events

Who we are

Opera Rara’s mission is to rediscover, restore, record and perform the lost operatic heritage of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

About Us

How you can help

When you support Opera Rara, you join us on a journey of operatic discovery.

Support Us

Featured Recordings

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Opera Rara’s 55th Anniversary Season

We’re delighted to announce our 55th season of live operatic archaeology featuring performances and record releases celebrating the past made new. Our new season launches on 26 September with the release of Donizetti Songs Volumes 5 and 6, featuring Opera Rara’s Artistic Director Carlo Rizzi and Artist Ambassador Ermonela Jaho. Our Donizetti Song Project, launched in September 2023, will culminate this season with the further releases of Volume 7 with Rosa Feola and Volume 8 with Nicola Alaimo. The latter will also feature in Opera Rara’s final ‘Donizetti & Friends’ recital at Wigmore Hall in June 2026. Rizzi and Jaho will also lead our 55th season full-scale opera production: the final, 1921 version of Puccini’s La rondine. For the first time ever, this third version will be heard publicly in its entirety and recorded in the studio; new material from the second version (1920) will be included in an appendix.

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Featured News

March Recording of the Month: Donizetti’s Ugo, conte di Parigi

50 years ago, we recorded our first complete opera – the world premiere recording of Donizetti’s Ugo, conte di Parigi. Reconstructed by our founder Patric Schmid from the composer’s original manuscript, it’s our March Recording of the Month. At the...

Donizetti Songs Volumes 7 Reviewed

Released on 10 March 2026, our penultimate Donizetti Songs Volume 7 features soprano Rosa Feola in her first album with Opera Rara and our Artistic Director Carlo Rizzi. The latest volume features 24 Italian songs plus an additional 25th track Pretende un impossible,...

Opera Rara presents Soraya Mafi, Robert Lewis and Anna Tilbrook

For our final Salon Series for emerging artists recital this season, we welcome British-Iranian soprano Soraya Mafi and British tenor Robert Lewis, who will present an evening of French, German, Italian and English duets with Anna Tilbrook at Bechstein Hall on...

Donizetti Songs Volumes 5 and 6 win International Classical Music Award

On Wednesday (18 March 2026), our Artist Ambassador Ermonela Jaho and Chief Executive Henry Little were in Bamberg for the 2026 International Classical Music Awards to pick up our Best Vocal Category Award for Donizetti Songs Volumes 5 and 6. We last won this category...

February Recording of the Month: Offenbach’s Vert-Vert

Nearly a decade after Barkouf (our next Offenbach project this autumn), Offenbach premiered his comic opera Vert-Vert in 1869 at the Opéra Comique in Paris. Toby Spence sings the role of Valentin, nicknamed Vert-Vert, after the recently-deceased favourite parrot of...

Opera Rara welcomes Natasha Hastings to the team

We’re delighted to welcome Natasha Hastings to the Opera Rara team beginning Monday 2 March. Natasha will be joining us as our new Senior Philanthropy Manager for Individual Giving, and she will be working to further connect our growing family of supporters to...

Donizetti Song Project honoured at OPER! Awards

Last night (23 February 2026), at the Theater Regensburg in Germany, the OPER! Awards honoured our Donizetti Song Project with the Best Complete Edition Award. In recognition of the project’s importance, the category replaced the usual Best Opera Recording Award this...

We’re hiring: Digital Content Manager

Join our team! As we approach our 60th anniversary in 2030, Opera Rara has planned a bold new artistic vision that places discovery, legacy and global impact at its heart. We are seeking a strategic content developer and communicator to continue Opera Rara’s digital...

Donizetti Songs Volume 7 with Rosa Feola and Carlo Rizzi

We’re delighted to announce the forthcoming release of Donizetti Songs Volume 7 on Friday 20 March. The prolific and versatile Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti was not only one of the central figures of Italian bel canto opera but also wrote around 200 songs....

January Recording of the Month: Donizetti’s Gabriella di Vergy

Our first Recording of the Month of 2026 is Donizetti’s Gabriella di Vergy in its 1838 version, discovered by Opera Rara’s founders back in 1979 in a London library. Until then, only the first version of 1826 which Donizetti wrote for his own pleasure and...