Oh, wow. Okay. Well, though I know I won't win here, I VOTE MOZART.

 

Wagner may be the greatest opera composer of all time, but Mozart is the greatest composer period, sparing only Bach.

But really, not all of Mozart's operas are the perfect creations that Don Giovanni and Le Nozze di Figaro are. Le Nozze di Figaro is my favorite opera and musical work of all time though, so as you see, it really all depends on where we end up narrowing it down to!

 

But really, not all of Mozart's operas are the perfect creations that Don Giovanni and Le Nozze di Figaro are.

Granted. But every composer wrote some music that is less perfect than their most perfect works, even Wagner.

 

I swear I made this a public results poll... did somebody unpublicizerize it?

 

I can see who voted for what by clicking on the numbers of votes next to the percentages.

 

The question was about OPERA composer! If it's about music composers, Mozart is by far the greatest from the three, but if we talk only about opera, Verdi is ahead.

 

I don't know, Sabrina, I see these three pretty much tied for first place, and I'd add Handel. Mozart was a formidable opera composer as well. He died young, but still managed to compose 22 operas. I love Verdi, don't read me wrong, but Mozart is my opinion is just as good an opera composer, and so is Wagner (who got my vote).

Mozart's operas are not just the "big four." Listen, for instance, to this aria from the much less well known Il Re Pastore, with a beautiful violin legato:

 

Puccini, so I won;t vote. Of the three listed, Wagner by far.

 

Got to be Joe

 

I'm not an expert, but it has to be Mozart. He really got the ball rolling vis a vis composing operas that were not just mere entertainment. Wasn't Don Giovanni the first piece of music ever to express the emotion of fear unequivocally? I heard someone say that once in a documentary, and it makes sense to me. The climactic scene when the Don is damned to hell not only has fear, the darkness is palpably and vividly portrayed, in both the vocals and the music. Mozart was really one of the first big innovators in the world of opera. The only other one earlier than him that I think of as equally big in terms especially of innovation and imaginativeness was Monteverdi. & not only were Mozart's dramatic operas so advanced, so were his comic/light operas. Of the three in Couchie's poll, I would argue that Wolfgang Amadeus had the broadest range in the operatic realm. That's not denying the impacts that Verdi's and Wagner's masterpieces made, but I'm sure those two giants would have at least tipped their hats to the Austrian any day, and probably would have at least admired & found not a single fault in the score of Don Giovanni...

 

Can't decide, all three so great. <3 Ring and Don Giovanni are in my top 3 but there's a lot of Verdi in my top 10. Although lately I've been a bit unfaithful to Italians in favour of Wagner and Britten.

 

Well, you did pick the username 'Sieglinde' over 'Donna Anna'...

 

Between the three, from someone who so far is indifferent to opera but has listened to operas from all three because I want to be somewhat well-informed, Mozart is the only one whose operas I actually enjoy hearing, so that accomplishment makes him the greatest, at least in my house.

 

I voted for Verdi, but Beethoven will always be my Number One!

 

Mozart. I've learned otherwise since, but when I first got into Mozart everything else sounded clumsy in comparison.

 

I think it's obvious that the greatest fellow of those who composed operas is the one whose talent, vision and determination decided that the deepest, most moving and stunning works of all time will belong to genre of opera placing it above all instrumental music.

This man was Bob Dylan.

No, wait.

It was Wagner.

 

I think it's obvious that the greatest fellow of those who composed operas is the one whose talent, vision and determination decided that the deepest, most moving and stunning works of all time will belong to genre of opera placing it above all instrumental music.

This man was Bob Dylan.

He probably could write a great libretto.

 

Difficult but I've gone for Wagner because his legacy benefits from his avoiding being over-prolific - from Flying Dutchman onwards his output was nigh-on flawless and I have to give him credit for not relying on a librettist so he had to put even more effort into his works. Mozart's mature operas are great and had he lived I'm sure he could have upped the ante of the time even further. Verdi composed as many great operas as Wagner but his conveyor-belt methods during the early-middle part of his career meant that he seemed to produce too much that teetered on being borderline mediocre in comparison to his numerous triumphs.

 

Yeah, I can imagine Pavarotti singing "If I die on the top of the hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiill..."

 

Speaking with folks who have a broad experience with opera, I consistently find that there are four composers who are the regulars amongst "tier one" of opera composers; namely, Handel, Mozart, Verdi and Wagner, which I also happen to agree with. This is the elite club. As to which one of these four you end up picking as your personal favourite(s) largely boils down to your own preference.

Having said that and given the imcomplete list above, I would pick Mozart.

 

Arriving on the scene to put in my predictable vote for Wagner.

I'll furnish what I consider to be the decisive predictable reason- and that is that Wagner's influence on the world of Art extends far beyond just music- and that's what separates him form the rest.

I do have sympathy for those who've mentioned Puccini as well- I believe he is no less deserving than Verdi to have a place on the ballot.

 

Ludwig van Beethoven

 

Fidelio is that good, huh?

 

Can't vote for anyone because can't gather all the operas and opera composers in the same place: Italian Opera is quite different in style, German and French and so on ... and It's not only the style, the timeline is also important . So can't compare so easily to select the greatest. For me Boris Godunov is a unique number. I love it more than any other opera, but does it mean that I think Moussorgsky is the greatest opera composer of all time ?

 

And I break the tie with Mozart!!! Wagner pulls ahead for the lead!

 

Damn tough choice: Mozart or Wagner. I am a sworn Wagnerian. My favorite composer of the 20th century was Wagner's clear heir: Richard Strauss. I am certain that the Ring is an unrivaled achievement in the history of opera... if not music (although I'd give Bach the advantage considering the whole of his cantatas). Tristan und Isolde may just be my absolute favorite opera. But then again... so might Don Giovanni, The Magic Flute, Le nozze di Figaro, or Cosi fan tutte. As Andre suggested, Mozart brought opera to a level of artistic, theatrical, and musical achievement that virtually established opera as we know it today... or as it was known up 'til Wagner. Damn!

Eenie... Meanie... Miney... Moe...

 

I did not expect Verdi to be so far behind... how is he losing? Aïda.. Otello... Simon Boccanegra... La Traviata... Don Carlo... Il Trovatore... Rigoletto..... seriously? I don't understand these poll results at all.

 

Verdi's great. But look at the competition.

 

Are we all forgetting about Antionio Salieri?

 

How is Mozart in the competition? Are any of his operas other than Don Giovanni and Le Nozze di Figaro ever compared to any of the great Verdi or Wagner operas? He's basically a two opera guy. How does that constitute "the greatest opera composer ever"?

 

Welcome to TC. You are obviously a new memeber with eight posts so far, and judging by your comment, you seem to lack relatively in-depth knowledge (and perhaps appreciation) of the operas of Mozart. But that's why we encourage members, especially the obviously inexperienced members, to learn and to grow in genres of classical music where they demonstrate inexperience. Now as for Mozart, the standard repertoire around the world (and that says a lot) include several more than the two operas you mentioned. Take a read of the various sources etc. so that your comments might add more credibilty.

Enjoy your stay here at TC.

 

If Mozart lived as long as Verdi, the sheer number of masterpieces he would have written between 1792 and 1844, is beyond the imagination. Think about it. Think about what he wrote in just his last five years. Just his last year even! Imagine over 50 More years of Mozart! The thought of it, and the realization of what we lost with his early death, is really hard to comprehend. What would Symphony No. 42 have been? No. 50? No. 80? What about Piano Concerto No. 28? And the operas of course... my gosh. If one really sits with the thought that we Could have had 50 more years of Mozart writing music, and sits with the realization that all that potential music is lost forever... it's almost hard to go on.

 

People often say this sort of thing about Mozart and Schubert (and about other composers) without actually bothering to get to know more than a fraction of the works that they did write. I'm not accusing you personally of this; I have no idea how familiar you are with Mozart's works. But it does get a bit ridiculous after a while, to keep hearing people fantasize about Mozart's next opera and Beethoven's Tenth Symphony when there are plenty of real works by these composers that they haven't bothered listening to yet.

 

I voted Wagner, for just about the same reasons as everybody else. I adore Verdi and Mozart as well, but I love Wagner more.

And just to think what Mozart could have done had he lived some 50 years longer.