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There is no objective ranking of the greatest opera singers: voice type, repertoire, acting, historical influence and recording legacy all matter, and no single measure can compare them fairly. The 25 names below follow Classic FM’s list, published 17 January 2025, which spans singers from the 18th century to today. Its order is one publication’s editorial selection, not a definitive verdict.
Classic FM’s 25 best opera singers, in its published order
The sequence is reproduced as Classic FM presented it. The brief notes point to notable repertoire, performance history or legacy; they are not a claim that each singer can be ranked precisely against the others.
- Luciano Pavarotti — A tenor whose popular reach extended well beyond opera houses. Classic FM highlights his signature performance of “Nessun dorma.”
- Renée Fleming — An American soprano whose career has included opera, concert work and recordings.
- Jessye Norman — A celebrated soprano known for a broad repertoire and commanding performances.
- Dmitri Hvorostovsky — A Russian baritone associated with a major international career.
- Maria Callas — Her standing rests on more than vocal ability: bel canto technique, expressive communication and vivid stage interpretation all helped shape her legacy.
- Bryn Terfel — A Welsh bass-baritone known for roles across opera and concert repertoire.
- Cecilia Bartoli — A mezzo-soprano whose repertoire includes Rossini, Mozart and Baroque opera.
- Juan Diego Flórez — A tenor particularly associated with the agility and precision demanded by bel canto roles.
- Enrico Caruso — An early recording-era tenor whose recorded legacy helped bring opera to listeners beyond the theatre.
- Lise Davidsen — A contemporary Norwegian soprano, included in a list that reaches beyond historical performers.
- Joan Sutherland — An Australian soprano closely associated with bel canto and coloratura singing. The V&A identifies her 1959 Royal Opera House performance as Lucia as the performance that brought her stardom.
- Franco Corelli — An Italian tenor remembered for a powerful, dramatic operatic style.
- Ezio Pinza — An Italian bass known for major roles on both sides of the Atlantic.
- Angela Gheorghiu — A Romanian soprano whose international career includes leading lyric roles.
- Marian Anderson — A contralto whose career included a landmark 1939 concert at the Lincoln Memorial and a later milestone at the Metropolitan Opera.
- Jussi Björling — A Swedish tenor admired for his lyric repertoire and recorded performances.
- Marilyn Horne — An American mezzo-soprano particularly associated with bel canto roles.
- Farinelli — The stage name of Carlo Broschi, an 18th-century castrato singer; his inclusion reflects a very different vocal and operatic era from that of modern performers.
- Nellie Melba — An Australian soprano who became an international opera star in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
- Kirsten Flagstad — A Norwegian soprano especially associated with Wagnerian roles.
- Maria Malibran — A celebrated 19th-century singer. Classic FM attributes to composer Gioachino Rossini the remark that “she outshone all other women I have known.”
- Willard White — A Jamaican-born bass-baritone whose repertoire spans opera and concert performance.
- Montserrat Caballé — A Spanish soprano known for bel canto roles and a long international career.
- Kiri Te Kanawa — A New Zealand soprano whose career encompassed opera and concert stages around the world.
- Leontyne Price — An American soprano whose international career helped establish her among the prominent opera singers of her generation.
What makes a singer stand out across eras?
Opera singers work in different voice types, languages, musical styles and theatrical traditions. A tenor’s ringing high notes, a contralto’s lower register and a coloratura soprano’s agility are not competing versions of the same skill. A useful comparison considers several dimensions together:
- Vocal style and technique: range, agility, tone and control matter, but what counts as a suitable sound changes with the role and period.
- Repertoire: a singer’s impact may come from mastering a particular tradition, such as bel canto, Wagner or Baroque opera.
- Dramatic interpretation: opera is theatre as well as music. Maria Callas is a notable example of a singer whose stage interpretation is central to her reputation.
- Influence and historical context: performers such as Farinelli belong to a vocal culture unlike today’s, while Marian Anderson’s career also carries significance beyond the stage.
- Recorded legacy: recordings preserve performances and broaden access, though the technology and opportunities available to singers have changed over time.
Why Maria Callas and Joan Sutherland remain important
Callas’s reputation is rooted in the combination of bel canto technique, expressive communication and theatrical interpretation, rather than in a single vocal attribute. The Greek National Opera describes her career across major opera houses and credits her interpretations with changing stage performance. The V&A’s account of Callas, Sutherland and other divas also provides career context.
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Sutherland’s association with bel canto is another reminder that the best-known opera careers often centre on a particular repertoire. The V&A identifies her 1959 Royal Opera House performance as Lucia as the breakthrough that brought her stardom. That landmark helps explain why she appears on a list spanning centuries: her place reflects both vocal style and the performance history attached to it.
Caruso’s recordings and opera’s listening history
Enrico Caruso’s significance is closely tied to recording. Classic FM reports that he made 247 recordings between 1902 and his death in 1921. That figure is the publication’s reported count; it is useful as an indication of his recorded legacy, not as a count independently established here. His inclusion also points to a wider change: recordings made it possible for opera singers to reach audiences who might never attend a live performance.
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How to use this list as a listening guide
Rather than treating the order as a listening syllabus, choose a singer whose repertoire or historical period interests you. Then listen for the qualities that distinguish the performance: vocal agility in bel canto, dramatic characterisation in a role such as Callas’s Norma, or the way a recording captures a particular singer’s sound. The range of names here is an invitation to compare unlike artists, not a claim that one voice type or era is inherently superior.
For readers who want longer biographies, Opera America described The Grove Book of Opera Singers as covering more than 1,500 singers in a 2008 publication preview. That description supports it as a reference work, not a statement about current editions or availability.
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- Mezzo-Soprano/Belter, Volume 3
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