Editing List of prominent operas (section)

==1900–1920==
[[File:Richard Strauss (b).jpg|thumb|[[Richard Strauss]]]]
* 1900 ''[[Louise (opera)|Louise]]'' ([[Gustave Charpentier]]). An attempt to provide a French equivalent for Italian [[verismo]], ''Louise'' is set in a working-class district of Paris.{{sfn|''Viking''|1993|p=203}}
* 1900 ''[[Tosca]]'' ([[Giacomo Puccini]]). ''Tosca'' is the most Wagnerian of Puccini's operas, with its frequent use of ''leitmotif''.<ref name="Budden" />
* 1901 ''[[Rusalka (opera)|Rusalka]]'' ([[Antonín Dvořák]]). Dvořák's most successful opera with international audiences, based on a folk tale about a water sprite.{{sfn|''Oxford Illustrated''|1994|p=269}}
* 1902 ''[[Adriana Lecouvreur]]'' ([[Francesco Cilea]]). Unique among Cilea's operas in that it has remained in the international repertory up to the present time.<ref name="Budden" />
* 1902 ''[[Pelléas et Mélisande (opera)|Pelléas et Mélisande]]'' ([[Claude Debussy]]). Debussy's elusive [[Symbolism (arts)|Symbolist]] drama is one of the most significant operas of the 20th century.{{sfn|''Oxford Illustrated''|1994|pp=281–287}}
* 1902 ''[[Saul og David]]'' ([[Carl Nielsen]]). This Biblical tragedy was the first of Nielsen's two operas.{{sfn|''Viking''|1993|p=728}}
* 1904 ''[[Jenůfa]]'' ([[Leoš Janáček]]). Janáček's first great success, a naturalistic depiction of Czech peasant life.{{sfn|''Oxford Illustrated''|1994|p=304}}
* 1904 ''[[Madama Butterfly]]'' (Puccini). The first performance of Puccini's now-popular opera was a disaster involving accusations of plagiarism.<ref name="Budden" />
* 1905 ''[[Die lustige Witwe]]'' ([[Franz Lehár]]). One of the most famous Viennese operettas.{{sfn|''Viking''|1993|p=559}}
* 1905 ''[[Salome (opera)|Salome]]'' ([[Richard Strauss]]). A scandalous success at its premiere, Strauss's "decadent" opera set to [[Oscar Wilde]]'s play is still immensely popular with today's audiences.{{sfn|''Viking''|1993|p=1026}}
* 1906 ''[[Maskarade]]'' (Nielsen). Nielsen's high-spirited comedy looks back to the world of ''[[The Marriage of Figaro]]'' and has become a classic in the composer's native Denmark.{{sfn|''Viking''|1993|p=729}}
* 1907 ''[[A Village Romeo and Juliet]]'' ([[Frederick Delius]]). A tragedy of unhappy love set in Switzerland; the most famous music is the interlude "The Walk to the Paradise Garden".{{sfn|''Viking''|1993|p=256}}
* 1907 ''[[Ariane et Barbe-bleue]]'' ([[Paul Dukas]]). Dukas's only surviving opera, based like Debussy's ''Pelléas'', on a [[Symbolism (arts)|Symbolist]] drama by [[Maurice Maeterlinck|Maeterlinck]].{{sfn|''Oxford Illustrated''|1994|p=285}}
* 1907 ''[[The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevroniya]]'' ([[Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov]]). A mystical retelling of an old national legend. Sometimes called the Russian ''[[Parsifal]]''.{{sfn|''Viking''|1993|p=871}}
* 1907 ''[[Destiny (Janáček)|Destiny]]'' (Janáček). An important transitional work in Janáček's career as the composer began to look beyond the traditional themes of Czech opera.{{sfn|''Viking''|1993|p=502}}
* 1909 ''[[Elektra (opera)|Elektra]]'' (Strauss). This dark tragedy took Strauss's music to the borders of [[atonality]]. It was the composer's first setting of a libretto by his long-term collaborator [[Hugo von Hofmannsthal]].{{sfn|''Viking''|1993|p=1028}}
* 1909 ''[[Il segreto di Susanna]]'' ([[Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari]]). A comic intermezzo. Susanna's secret is that she smokes.{{sfn|''Viking''|1993|p=1241}}
* 1909 ''[[The Golden Cockerel]]'' (Rimsky-Korsakov). Often considered Rimsky's greatest work, this satire on military incompetence got the composer into trouble with the censors after Russia's defeat in the [[Russo-Japanese War]].{{sfn|''Viking''|1993|p=872}}
* 1910 ''[[Don Quichotte]]'' ([[Jules Massenet]]). Massenet's last great success is a gentle comedy inspired by Cervantes's ''[[Don Quixote]]''.{{sfn|''Viking''|1993|p=635}}
* 1910 ''[[La fanciulla del West]]'' (Puccini). Described by Puccini as his best work.<ref name="Budden" />
* 1911 ''[[Der Rosenkavalier]]'' (Strauss). Strauss and Hofmannsthal's most popular work, this comedy is set in 18th century Vienna.{{sfn|''Viking''|1993|p=1029}}
* 1911 ''[[L'heure espagnole]]'' ([[Maurice Ravel]]). Ravel's first opera is a bedroom farce set in Spain.{{sfn|''Viking''|1993|p=849}}
* 1912 ''[[Ariadne auf Naxos]]'' (Strauss). A mixture of comedy and tragedy with an opera within an opera.{{sfn|''Viking''|1993|p=1031}}
* 1912 ''[[Der ferne Klang]]'' ([[Franz Schreker]]). The success of this work established Schreker's reputation as an opera composer.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |author1=Peter Franklin|title=Ferne Klang, Der ('The Distant Sound')|encyclopedia=Grove Music Online |doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.O008719|date=2002 |orig-year=1992}}</ref>
* 1913 ''[[La vida breve (opera)|La vida breve]]'' ([[Manuel de Falla]]). A passionate Spanish drama influenced by [[verismo]].{{sfn|''Viking''|1993|p=314}}
* 1914 ''[[The Immortal Hour]]'' ([[Rutland Boughton]]). Boughton's Celtic fairy tale opera enjoyed great popularity in Britain between the world wars.{{sfn|''Viking''|1993|p=137}}
* 1914 ''[[The Nightingale (opera)|The Nightingale]]'' ([[Igor Stravinsky]]). Stravinsky's style changed radically during the composition of this short opera, moving away from the influence of his teacher Rimsky-Korsakov towards the spiky modernism of the ''[[The Rite of Spring|Rite of Spring]]''.{{sfn|''Viking''|1993|p=1045}}
* 1916 ''[[Sāvitri (opera)|Sāvitri]]'' ([[Gustav Holst]]). Holst's interest in [[Hinduism]] led him to set this episode from the ''[[Mahabharata]]''.{{sfn|''Viking''|1993|p=485}}
* 1917 ''[[Arlecchino (opera)|Arlecchino]]'' ([[Ferruccio Busoni]]). Busoni drew on the tradition of Italian ''[[commedia dell'arte]]'' for this one-act piece.{{sfn|''Viking''|1993|p=168}}
* 1917 ''[[Eine florentinische Tragödie]]'' ([[Alexander von Zemlinsky]]). Zemlinsky's "decadent" one-acter is based on a short play by [[Oscar Wilde]].{{sfn|''Viking''|1993|p=1251}}
* 1917 ''[[La rondine]]'' (Puccini). Not an initial success, Puccini heavily revised the opera twice.<ref name="Budden" />
* 1917 ''[[Palestrina (opera)|Palestrina]]'' ([[Hans Pfitzner]]). A Wagnerian drama exploring the clash between innovation and tradition in music.{{sfn|''Viking''|1993|p=773}}
* 1918 ''[[Bluebeard's Castle]]'' ([[Béla Bartók]]). Bartók's only opera, this intense psychological drama is one of his most important works.{{sfn|''Oxford Illustrated''|1994|pp=286–287}}
* 1918 ''[[Gianni Schicchi]]'' (Puccini). One act in structure, Puccini's work is based on an extract from Dante's ''Inferno''.<ref name="Budden" />
* 1918 ''[[Il tabarro]]'' (Puccini). The first of the operas that make up ''Il trittico'' – along with ''Gianni Schicchi'' and ''Suor Angelica''
* 1918 ''[[Suor Angelica]]'' (Puccini). Described by the composer as his favourite among the three operas that comprise ''Il trittico''.<ref name="Budden" />
* 1919 ''[[Die Frau ohne Schatten]]'' (Strauss). The third full collaboration between Strauss and the librettist Hofmannsthal gestated for six years before completion, and another two years passed before the first performance.<ref name="Murray">{{cite encyclopedia |author1=David Murray|title=Frau ohne Schatten, Die ('The Woman Without a Shadow')|encyclopedia=Grove Music Online |doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.O009306|date=2002 |orig-year=1992}}</ref>
* 1920 ''[[Die tote Stadt]]'' ([[Erich Wolfgang Korngold]]). Korngold's best known work for the stage.<ref>[[Christopher Palmer]], writing in ''Grove''</ref>
* 1920 ''[[The Excursions of Mr. Brouček to the Moon and to the 15th Century]]'' (Janáček). A comic fantasy set on the moon and in 15th century [[Bohemia]].{{sfn|''Oxford Illustrated''|1994|p=269}}