List of historical opera characters information

This is a list of historical figures who have been characters in opera or operetta.

Historical accuracy in such works has often been subject to the imperatives of dramatic presentation. Consequently, in many cases:

historical characters appear alongside fictional characters
historical characters who never met, or whose lives did not even overlap, appear on stage together
historical events depicted are transported to earlier or later times or to different places
historical people are seen participating in entirely fictional events, or vice versa
the actions of historical people are attributed to other persons

For the purposes of this list, Biblical characters are generally taken to be fictional, unless there is clear evidence of their historicity.

Operas appear in bold when the historical figure is also the title role.

Where a character appears in more than opera, the entries are sorted by composer.

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