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Home | ‘The Magic Flute’, ‘Carmen’ Top List of Most Popular Operas in 2022

‘The Magic Flute’, ‘Carmen’ Top List of Most Popular Operas in 2022

As 2022 comes to a close, we can confidently crown the most popular opera of the year.

A man playing the flute in a performance of "The Magic Flute"

At 1,356 performances, German opera The Magic Flute by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was the most popular opera in the world, followed by Georges Bizet’s Carmen and Giacomo Puccini’s La Boheme (with only one performance separating the two!). This could be due to the fact that It seems Germany is the country with the most passion for opera, as Germany is far and away the country with the most opera performances in 2022. Austria and Russia sit in positions two and three respectively.

With three of the top ten opera’s performed in 2022, it is no surprise that Mozart was the most played composer, followed by similar opera-greats Verdi and Puccini.

Here are statistics surrounding opera performances in 2022.

statistic source: operabase.com

10 Most Played Operas of 2022 (by performances)

  1. The Magic Flute, Mozart (1356)
  2. Carmen, Bizet (1048)
  3. La Boheme, Puccini (1047)
  4. La Traviata, Verdi (981)
  5. The Marriage of Figaro, Mozart (849)
  6. Tosca, Puccini
  7. Rigoletto, Verdi
  8. Die Fledermaus, Straus II
  9. Don Giovanni, Mozart
  10. The Barber of Seville, Rossini

10 Most Played Opera Composers of 2022 (by performances)

  1. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (4304)
  2. Giuseppe Verdi (3981)
  3. Giacomo Puccini (3371)
  4. Gioachino Rossini (1396)
  5. Richard Wagner (1299)
  6. Gaetano Donizetti (1241)
  7. Georges Bizet (1164)
  8. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1011)
  9. George Frideric Handel (839)
  10. Ludwig van Beethoven (361)

Countries With The Most Opera Performances in 2022

  1. Germany (12421)
  2. Austria (3143)
  3. Russia (2998)
  4. United States (2858)
  5. United Kingdom (2545)
  6. France (2311)
  7. Italy (2263)
  8. Switzerland (1877)
  9. Czech Republic (1571)
  10. Spain (1141)

Cities With The Most Opera Performances in 2022

  1. Vienna (1633)
  2. London (1240)
  3. Berlin (1120)
  4. Moscow (931)
  5. Saint Petersburg (854)
  6. New York City (837)
  7. Munich (788)
  8. Paris (707)
  9. Budapest (699)
  10. Hamburg (662)

With operas like La Boheme and Magic Flute already on the schedule for big opera houses like Wiener Staatsoper and The Royal Opera House, we can expect much of the same in 2023, but who will grab the crown in the upcoming year?