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Count Almaviva has been making advances toward his wife's maid, Susanna, and everyone knows it. Susanna is supposed to marry Figaro now; the Count wants to delay it. His wife, Susanna and Figaro come up with a scheme to expose the Count.

Prince Tamino and Papageno are sent by the Queen of Night to save her daughter Pamina from the clutches of the evil lord Sarastro.

England, 1640s. Civil war and politics interfere with Elvira's plans to marry Arturo, because he is helping Queen Elizabeth escape from the rebels. Elvira doesn't understand any of this, so she goes stark raving mad and sings a cadenza while lying flat on her back, her head hanging upside-down over the edge of the stage. Fearing that she might die of grief or fall over into the orchestra pit, Uncle Giorgio and Riccardo sing the complete version of "Suoni la tromba," including the repeats, and no cuts. Not to be upstaged by any of this, Arturo finally returns from his mission and explains everything by singing a high F above C, the highest note ever composed for tenor voice. There is much rejoicing. It's non-stop, nail-biting action, and Beverly Sills is on hand to provide commentary on the drama.

In the early 1900s, two operas by Richard Strauss (Salome and Elektra) were taking Europe by storm. The Italian composer Puccini is said to have looked at the scores and observed, "There is nothing here but algebra and mathematics; where is the music?" True or not, in any case, Puccini set out to show that he too could compose one-act operas, and in different styles. Hence, Il Trittico (The Tryptich), a set of three operas, each less than an hour long, each different from the other two. The first, Il Tabarro (The Cloak) is a moody, macabre story of a spurned husband determined to discover the man who has seduced his wife away from him, and this is the night he finally learns who that man is. The second opera, Suor Angelica (Sister Angelique) is a frank tear-jerker about a young woman forced into a convent by her aristocratic family after she has given birth to a child out of wedlock. For seven years she has waited for news about him, and on this day, her prayers will be answered. The last opera, Gianni Schicchi, is a cynical comedy of greedy relatives who begin fighting over their dead uncle's will even while the body is still lying on its death-bed. Gianni Schicchi arrives to help them sort out the mess, and he teaches them a much-needed lesson in humility, securing a dowry for his daughter at the same time.

A life of love or a life of luxury? In a moment of crisis, Manon can't decide; so she tries to have both, and ends up with neither. This is co-dependency set to music, and it was Puccini's first big hit.

Composer John Adams re-creates the tension at Los Alamos, 1945, the night before the first atom bomb is tested. Gerald Finley portrays Dr. Oppenheimer; the first act ends with a soul-searching aria, "Batter My Heart." (text by John Dryden).

Oscar Wilde's scandalous play set to equally outrageous music by Richard Strauss. It caused riots when it opened but has become one of the most-often performed operas around the world.

Gluck's first "reform" opera, meaning the music of the baroque era with its embellishments and improvisations is replaced with a simpler and more direct vocal style. This production is modernized and includes a host of celebrities in Hades.

Pharoah's daughter loves Radames, leader of the Egyptian army. So does slave-girl, Aida, who happens to be (unknown to anyone) Princess of Ethiopia. Aida must choose either her country or Radames. The outcome leaves both gasping for breath.

Verdi's opera tells the story of Simon Boccanegra (literally: Simon the Black-Mouth), a reformed pirate who becomes chief magistrate of Genoa. Infants swapped at birth, estranged families, and political intrigue threaten to topple his rule.

Iphigenie, banished daughter of Klytemnaestra, is now high priestess to Diana. Two strangers from Greece wash up on shore; when Iphigenie recognizes one as her brother, Orestes, she is powerless to stop his execution. Cue the goddess Diana.

Minnie, the titular "Girl of the Golden West" is saloon-keeper, nurse, and Bible school teacher to a camp of miners during the California Gold Rush. When the mysterious Mr. Johnson arrives, the miners suspicions (and jealousies) are roused.

Ring Cycle part 2, where we learn that two of Wotan's kids are having an incestuous affair, his wife is furious, so Valkyrie Brunnhilde is sent to fix things (ie, kill them). But she lets them escape instead, and oh boy, is Wotan angry now.

Ring Cycle, pt 3. Years later, the twins' baby is a man; he goes forth to do manly things, like kill his guardian, slay dragons, steal the Ring and talk to animals. He finds a woman imprisoned by a wall of fire; they fall instantly in love.

Ring Cycle, pt 4. Siegfried is drugged and tricked into kidnapping his wife, since she has the Ring now. More double-crossings, Siegfried ends up dead. Brunnhilde has had enough of this, tosses the Ring into the river and torches the place.

Naive Manon is seduced by Chevalier Des Grieux and she runs away with him to avoid being sent to the convent. Gradually she learns to use her beauty to her advantage in the world of men. In opera, that usually spells bad news for the woman.

Francesca waits to be fetched to her wedding; her new husband's brother arrives, and they fall instantly in love. The groom happens to be a fierce and remorseless warrior, fresh from battle. Moral: don't sleep with your brother's new bride.

Onegin's friend Lensky introduces him to Tanya, his fiancee's sister but Onegin flirts with his fiancee. Lensky challenges him to a duel; nobody stops them. Later, Onegin tries to seduce Tanya, but she's married. Onegin just doesn't get it.