Suor Angelica by Puccini is at its heart, a love story. Sister Angelica has been sent to a convent by her family as a punishment for bearing an illegitimate son. The opera is based around life in the convent and it is evident to the other nuns that Angelica does not have the same dedication to God as they do. 

Although Angelica doesn’t fit in with life in the convent, this opera has an overarching theme of how religion can dictate our lives. Angelica might have been able to have more time with her son if she had not been sent away to the convent. However, this is reconciled when she is shown forgiveness by the Virgin Mary who allows her to be with her son for eternity in heaven after she commits suicide. 

Puccini is no stranger to a story of love and loss, with tragedy striking in his other popular operas La Boheme and Tosca. Learn more about this famous composer in our Beginners Guide to Puccini.

Philip Glass’ Satyagraha is written entirely in Sanskrit. Based on Hindu Scriptures, it loosely follows the life of Mahatma Gandhi… 

The meaning of Satyagraha is ‘insistence on truth’ or ‘truth force’ and this refers to Gandhi’s belief in nonviolent resistance to the injustices of the world. Unlike other religions where there is one religious scripture such as the Quran or the Bible, the writing in Hinduism is ever evolving. The words in Satyagraha are taken from one of those writings called the Bhagavad Gita. This text inspired Gandhi to create the Indian Independence Movement and he has described it as his ‘spiritual dictionary’. 

You can book your opera tickets for Satyagraha to immerse yourself in the mesmerising experience of Philip Glass’ music. 

Book opera tickets

Akhnaten is another opera by Philip Glass that is based on religion as it focuses on the life of the Egyptian pharaoh who fathered a new religion. This opera uses texts from ancient hymns, prayers, letters and inscriptions sung in their original languages of Egyptian, Hebrew and Akkadian to explore the life and world of the leader Akhenaten. 

The opera itself is made up of multiple sources including a poem written by Akhenaten from the Book of the Dead. There are other aspects that are made up of letters and other materials from the seventeen year period in which Akhenaten ruled. The opera follows Akhenaten bringing Egypt into a monotheistic religion where they only worship the sun god Aton. Akhenaten had a vision of a new society with a new religion but unfortunately, this idea died with him. Although, his ideals of a monolithic religion are ever present in modern religions like Christianity today.

Nabucco is an opera by Verdi that follows the journey of the Jews as they are assaulted and eventually exiled from their homeland by the Babylonian king Nabucco. The best known song from this opera is ‘Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves’ which regularly receives an encore when it’s performed today.

Nabucco follows the story of a king who fights to keep his power whilst attacking the Jewish people. Nabucco becomes so infatuated with this idea that at the end of the second act, he declares that he is not only a king but a god in his own right. After being tricked into signing his own daughter’s death warrant, he prays desperately to the God of the Hebrews. He pleads with them and promises to rebuild all the temples in Jerusalem if his prayers are answered. 

The chaos that ensues after losing and finding religion shows just how intrinsic religion is to the lives of these characters and helps us learn more about man’s relationship with God.