Editing List of prominent operas (section)

==1750–1799==
[[File:Martini bologna mozart 1777.jpg|thumb|[[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart]] aged 21 in 1777]]
* 1760 ''[[La buona figliuola]]'' ([[Niccolò Piccinni]]). Piccinni's work was initially immensely popular throughout Europe. By 1790 over 70 productions of the opera had been produced and it had been performed in all the major European cities.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |author=Mary Hunter |title=Buona figliuola, La |encyclopedia=Grove Music Online |doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.O009956 |date=2002 |orig-year=1992}}</ref>
* 1762 ''[[Orfeo ed Euridice]]'' ([[Christoph Willibald Gluck]]). Gluck's most popular opera. The first work in which the composer tried to reform the excesses of Italian ''[[opera seria]]''.{{sfn|''Viking''|1993|pp=375–376}}
* 1762 ''[[Artaxerxes (opera)|Artaxerxes]]''  ([[Thomas Arne]]). The first ''[[opera seria]]'' in English. After Metastasio's 1729 libretto ''[[Artaserse]]''. 
* 1767 ''[[Alceste (Gluck)|Alceste]]'' (Gluck). Gluck's second "reform" opera, nowadays usually given in its French revision of 1776.{{sfn|''Viking''|1993|pp=378–379}}
* 1768 ''[[Bastien und Bastienne]]'' ([[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart]]). Mozart's one-act ''[[Singspiel]]'' was set to a parody of Rousseau's ''[[Le devin du village]]''.<ref name="Rushton">[[Julian Rushton]], writing in ''Grove''{{Full citation needed|date=November 2018}}<!--title of article, id "Grove" (i.e., Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed.? Grove Dictionary of Opera? New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians?--></ref>
* 1770 ''[[Mitridate, re di Ponto]]'' (Mozart). Composed when Mozart was 14, ''Mitridate'' was written for a demanding cast of star singers.<ref name="Rushton" />
* 1772 ''[[Lucio Silla]]'' (Mozart). from Mozart's teenage years, was not revived until 1929 after its initial run of 25 performances.<ref name="Rushton" />
* 1774 ''[[Iphigénie en Aulide]]'' (Gluck). Gluck's first opera for Paris.{{sfn|''Viking''|1993|p=381}}
* 1775 ''[[La finta giardiniera]]'' (Mozart). Generally recognised as Mozart's first ''opera buffa'' of significance.<ref name="Rushton" />
* 1775 ''[[Il re pastore]]'' (Mozart). Mozart's last opera of his adolescence was set to a libretto by [[Metastasio]].<ref name="Rushton" />
* 1777 ''[[Il mondo della luna]]'' ([[Joseph Haydn]]). Last of three that Haydn set to libretti by [[Carlo Goldoni]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |author=Caryl Clark |title=Mondo della luna, Il (ii) |encyclopedia=Grove Music Online |doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.O009280|date=2002 |orig-year=1992}}</ref>
* 1777 ''[[Armide (Gluck)|Armide]]'' (Gluck). Gluck used a libretto originally set by Lully for this French work, his favourite among his own operas.{{sfn|''Viking''|1993|p=393}}
* 1779 ''[[Iphigénie en Tauride]]'' (Gluck). Gluck's "last and perhaps greatest masterpiece".{{sfn|''Viking''|1993|p=370}}
* 1781 ''[[Idomeneo]]'' (Mozart). Usually thought of as Mozart's first mature opera, ''Idomeneo'' was composed after a lengthy break from the stage.{{sfn|Orrey|Milnes|1987|p=110}}
* 1782 ''[[Die Entführung aus dem Serail]]'' (Mozart). Often thought of as the first of Mozart's comic masterpieces, this work is frequently performed today.<ref name="Orrey p. 113">{{harvnb|Orrey|Milnes|1987|p=113}}</ref>
* 1782 ''[[Il barbiere di Siviglia (Paisiello)|Il barbiere di Siviglia]]'' ([[Giovanni Paisiello]]). Paisiello's most famous comic opera, later eclipsed by Rossini's work of the same name.{{sfn|''Viking''|1993|p=752}}
* 1786 ''[[Der Schauspieldirektor]]'' (Mozart). Another ''Singspiel'' with much spoken dialogue taken from plays of that time, the plot of ''Der Schauspieldirektor'' features two sopranos vying to become ''prima donna'' in a newly assembled company. Premiered together with [[Antonio Salieri]]'s ''[[Prima la musica e poi le parole]]''<ref name="Rushton" />
* 1786 ''[[The Marriage of Figaro|Le nozze di Figaro]]'' (Mozart). The first of the famous series of Mozart operas set to libretti by [[Lorenzo Da Ponte]] is now Mozart's most popular opera.<ref name="Rushton" />
* 1787 ''[[Don Giovanni]]'' (Mozart). Second of the operas that Mozart set to Da Ponte's libretti, Don Giovanni has provided a puzzle for writers and philosophers ever since its composition.<ref name="Rushton" />
* 1790 ''[[Così fan tutte]]'' (Mozart). Third and last of the operas that Mozart set to libretti by Da Ponte, ''Così fan tutte'' was scarcely performed throughout the 19th century, as the plot was considered to be immoral.{{sfn|Orrey|Milnes|1987|p=107}}
* 1791 ''[[La clemenza di Tito]]'' (Mozart). Mozart's last opera before his early death was extremely popular until 1830, after which the work's popularity and critical reputation began to decline; they did not return to their former levels until after the Second World War.<ref name="Rushton" />
* 1791 ''[[The Magic Flute|Die Zauberflöte]]'' (Mozart). Has been described as "the apotheosis of the ''Singspiel''", ''Die Zauberflöte'' was denigrated during the 19th century as confused and lacking in definition.<ref name="Orrey p. 113"/>
* 1792 ''[[Il matrimonio segreto]]'' ([[Domenico Cimarosa]]). Usually regarded as Cimarosa's best opera,{{sfn|Orrey|Milnes|1987|p=114}} [[Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany|Leopold II]] enjoyed the three-hour-long premiere so much that, after dinner, he compelled the singers to repeat the opera later during that same day.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |author-link=Gordana Lazarevich |author=Gordana Lazarevich |title=Matrimonio segreto, Il |encyclopedia=Grove Music Online |doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.O008882 |date=2002 |orig-year=1992}}</ref>
* 1797 ''[[Médée (Cherubini)|Médée]]'' ([[Luigi Cherubini]]). Only French opera of the [[French Revolution|Revolutionary]] period to be regularly performed today. A famous showcase for [[soprano]]s such as [[Maria Callas]].{{sfn|''Viking''|1993|pp=210–211}}