Opera may be better known for its vocals than its moves, but the genre still has some spectacular dances. Here are our favourites<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
\n
10 of the most famous opera songs<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
Best operas for beginners: 5 operas newbies can\u2019t help being enthralled by<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
The 20 Greatest Operas of all time<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
The 20 Greatest Operas of all time<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/p><\/div> <\/section>
Opera\u2019s best dances<\/i><\/span><\/h2>\n
Dance of the Seven Veils from Strauss\u2019s <\/span>Salome<\/i><\/span><\/h3>\n\n<p class=\""p4"\"><span class=\""s2"\"><strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/richard-strauss\/"\">Richard Strauss<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s<i> Salome<\/i> scandalised audiences at its premiere in 1905, mostly due to its Dance of the Seven Veils. Hoping to claim John the Baptist\u2019s head on a platter, the princess dances for her stepfather, Herod II, removing her veils one by one until she is naked. Strauss described the dance as \u2018the heart of the plot\u2019, and wrote languid, seductive orchestral music for it.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\""p3"\"><span class=\""s2"\">Bacchanale from Saint-Sa\u00ebns\u2019s <\/span><span class=\""s3"\"><i>Samson et Dalila<\/i><\/span><\/h3>\n<iframe title=\""Bacchanale\" from=\"\" delilah=\"\" width=\""200"\" height=\""113"\" src=\""https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/dBRGUmmeEfk?feature=oembed"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allow=\""accelerometer;\" autoplay=\"\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" gyroscope=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" web-share=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<p class=\""p4"\"><span class=\""s2"\">Colourful and lively, the Bacchanale has become a standalone concert-<\/span><span class=\""s1"\">hall favourite. In Act III of this biblical <\/span><span class=\""s2"\">opera of 1876, the Philistines abandon themselves to a wild dance. <strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/camille-saint-saens\/"\">Saint-Sa\u00ebns<\/a><\/strong> depicts this world in the language of French orientalism, spicing western scales with augmented intervals and an improvisatory-style oboe solo.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\""p3"\"><span class=\""s2"\">Polonaise from Dvo\u0159\u00e1k<\/span><span class=\""s2"\">\u2019s <\/span><span class=\""s3"\"><i>Rusalka<\/i><\/span><\/h3>\n<iframe title=\""A.Dvorak:\" rusalka=\"\" polonaise=\"\" width=\""200"\" height=\""150"\" src=\""https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/PrZEmxdx2wI?feature=oembed"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allow=\""accelerometer;\" autoplay=\"\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" gyroscope=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" web-share=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\""p4"\"><span class=\""s2"\">In his fairytale opera of 1901, <strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/antonin-dvorak\/"\">Dvo\u0159\u00e1k<\/a><\/strong><\/span><span class=\""s2"\">\u00a0tells the sad love story of a water sprite who falls for a human prince. In Act II, festivities are taking place at his castle. A stately Polonaise represents the aristocracy, the mortal world in which the prince lives, and of which Rusalka can never truly be a part.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3 class=\""p3"\"><span class=\""s2"\">Dance of the Persian Slaves from Musorgsky\u2019s <\/span><span class=\""s3"\"><i>Khovanshchina<\/i><\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\""p4"\"><span class=\""s2"\">In Act IV of <strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/modest-musorgsky\/"\">Musorgsky\u2019<\/a><\/strong>s epic <i>Khovanshchina<\/i>, the Russian Prince Khovansky orders his Persian slaves to dance for him. Left incomplete at Musorgsky\u2019s death, the opera was revised and orchestrated by Rimsky-Korsakov. In the dance, a cor anglais solo unfurls before the strings pick up the soaring melody. The increasingly energetic dance whips up to a stirring conclusion.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3 class=\""p3"\"><span class=\""s2"\">Dance of the Hours from Ponchielli\u2019s <\/span><span class=\""s3"\"><i>La Gioconda<\/i><\/span><\/h3>\n<iframe title=\""EXTRACT\" la=\"\" gioconda=\"\" dance=\"\" of=\"\" the=\"\" hours=\"\" ponchielli=\"\" monnaie=\"\" de=\"\" munt=\"\" width=\""200"\" height=\""113"\" src=\""https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Gb1An2BTN7M?feature=oembed"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allow=\""accelerometer;\" autoplay=\"\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" gyroscope=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" web-share=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<p class=\""p3"\"><span class=\""s2"\">Ballets were an integral part of French grand opera, and the tradition was emulated elsewhere \u2013 including by the Italians. Ponchielli\u2019s 1876 opera<i> La Gioconda <\/i>includes a ten-minute ballet in Act III about the changing hours of day. A popular hit after its premiere, the Dance of the Hours became even more famous when featured in Disney\u2019s<i> Fantasia<\/i>, lithely danced by a hippo in a tutu.<\/span><\/p>\n<section class=\""highlight\"> <div class=\""highlight__content\" editor-content=\"\"> \n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/the-scariest-operas-how-the-supernatural-world-has-inspired-opera-composers\/"\">The scariest operas: how the supernatural world has inspired opera composers<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/what-language-is-opera\/"\">What language is opera sung in?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/is-there-a-dress-code-for-the-royal-opera-house\/"\">Is there a dress code for the Royal Opera House?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/what-was-the-first-opera-ever-written\/"\">What was the first opera ever written?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> <\/p><\/div> <\/section> <p>Main image \u00a9 Getty images<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By BBC Music Magazine Published: Thursday, 26 January 2023 at 12:00 am Opera may be better known for its vocals than its moves, but the genre still has some spectacular dances. Here are our favourites 10 of the most famous opera songs Best operas for beginners: 5 operas newbies can\u2019t help being enthralled by The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":24105,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"2"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/01\/operas-best-dances.jpg",2512,1941,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/01\/operas-best-dances-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/01\/operas-best-dances-300x232.jpg",300,232,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/01\/operas-best-dances-768x593.jpg",768,593,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/01\/operas-best-dances-1024x791.jpg",800,618,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/01\/operas-best-dances-1536x1187.jpg",1536,1187,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/01\/operas-best-dances-2048x1582.jpg",2048,1582,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By BBC Music Magazine Published: Thursday, 26 January 2023 at 12:00 am Opera may be better known for its vocals than its moves, but the genre still has some spectacular dances. Here are our favourites 10 of the most famous opera songs Best operas for beginners: 5 operas newbies can\u2019t help being enthralled by The…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/24104"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24104"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}