The Five Scariest Scenes in Opera

We look at harrowing moments in honor of Halloween.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

The man who came to dinner: John Tomlinson as the Commendatore in Don Giovanni.
Image from the 1984 film Amadeus © The Saul Zaentz Company/Orion Pictures.

Opera is more than just pretty voices against an orchestra: it is an art form that has fascinated listeners for five centuries. And ever since Monteverdi's >i>L'Incoronazione di Poppea

, composers have gleefully shown bloodshed, murder, rape and (in the case of Hansel und Gretel) cannibalism.
In honor of the month of October and the approach of Halloween Superconductor offers a list of five operatic moments that make us clutch our arm-rests: the most nail-biting, terrifying, out-right harrowing scenes from five famous operas.

(Note to our readers: If you haven't seen Elektra, Rigoletto or Tosca yet (and they're all on the Metropolitan Opera's schedule this season) beware: there be spoilers after the jump.)