Album
A Night at the Opera
A Night at the Opera is Queen's fourth studio album, released on 28 November 1975. It takes its name from the Marx Brothers film. The band recorded it at several studios over four months in 1975, after parting ways with Trident Studios amid management troubles that left them with almost none of their earnings. Roy Thomas Baker and Queen produced it, and it was reportedly the most expensive album ever made at the time.
The music roams widely: ballads, music hall, sea shanties, dixieland, hard rock and progressive touches, all built up with layered multitrack recording and instruments such as double bass, harp and ukulele. It gave Queen their first UK number one album, and "Bohemian Rhapsody" became their first UK number one single, despite running about twice the length of a typical 1970s single. In the US it reached number four and went Platinum. Many fans and critics rate it as the band's best, and it entered the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2018.
A Night at the Opera: tracklist, credits and charts
12 tracks · 43:17Tracklist
- 1Death on Two Legs (Dedicated to…)Freddie Mercury3:44
- 2Lazing on a Sunday AfternoonFreddie Mercury1:07
- 3I’m in Love With My CarRoger Taylor3:05
- 4You’re My Best FriendJohn Deacon2:53
- 5’39Brian May3:31
- 6Sweet LadyBrian May4:04
- 7Seaside RendezvousFreddie Mercury2:17
- 8The Prophet’s SongBrian May8:21
- 9Love of My LifeFreddie Mercury3:39
- 10Good CompanyBrian May3:24
- 11Bohemian RhapsodyFreddie Mercury5:55
- 12God Save the Queen[unknown]1:16
- Produced by
- Roy Thomas Baker, Queen
- Executive producer
- Brian May, Roger Taylor
- Recorded at
- Rockfield Studios (Monmouthshire), Trident (London), Olympic (London), Lansdowne (Kensington), Sarm East (London), Roundhouse (Camden, London), Scorpio Sound (Camden), Basing Street Studios
- Recorded
- August 1975 – September 1975
- Mixed at
- Sarm East Studios
- Engineered by
- Kris Fredriksson, Mike Stone
- Labels
- EMI, Elektra
- Length
- 43:17
Line-up
- John Deacon · bass guitar, electric piano, handclaps, double bass
- Brian May · guitar, background vocals, handclaps, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, lead vocals, koto, harp, ukulele, other instruments, other vocals
- Freddie Mercury · piano, background vocals, lead vocals, handclaps, tack piano, other vocals
- Roger Taylor · drums (drum set), background vocals, lead vocals, handclaps, tambourine, bass drum, triangle, other vocals, cymbal, timpani, gong
Singles
- “Bohemian Rhapsody” · 31 October 1975
- “You're My Best Friend” · 18 June 1976
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1975–1977 | 1 |
| US Billboard 200 · 1975–1977 | 4 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1975–1977 | 1 |
| Dutch Albums · 1975–1977 | 1 |
| Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts) · 1975–1977 | 1 |
| New Zealand Albums · 1975–1977 | 1 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1975–1977 | 2 |
| Norwegian Albums · 1975–1977 | 4 |
| German Albums · 1975–1977 | 5 |
| Austrian Albums · 1975–1977 | 9 |
All 23 charts
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1975–1977 | 9 |
| Swedish Albums · 1975–1977 | 10 |
| German Rock & Metal Albums (Offizielle Top 100) · 2025–2026 | 13 |
| French Albums (SNEP) · 1975–1977 | 16 |
| Portuguese Albums · 2007 | 23 |
| Scottish Albums · 2018–2019 | 32 |
| Italian Albums · 2018–2019 | 33 |
| US Top Rock Albums · 2018–2019 | 41 |
| Spanish Albums · 2011–2012 | 55 |
| Belgian Albums (Wallonia) · 2018–2019 | 59 |
| Swiss Albums · 2018–2019 | 69 |
| Ireland 2 · 2018–2019 | 86 |
| Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 2011–2012 | 96 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Australia · 1976 | 2× Platinum |
| Argentina · 1987 | Platinum |
| Argentina · 1991 | Platinum |
| Austria · 1993 | Gold |
| Belgium · 1979 | Gold |
| Canada · 1981 | 3× Platinum |
| Denmark · 1978 | Gold |
| Denmark · 2023 | Platinum |
| Finland · 1981 | Gold |
| Germany · 1993 | Platinum |
| Italy · 2021 | Platinum |
| Japan · 2021 | Platinum |
| New Zealand | 2× Platinum |
| Netherlands · 1979 | 2× Platinum |
| Poland · 2009 | 2× Platinum |
| South Africa | Gold |
| Spain | Gold |
| United Kingdom · 1976 | Platinum |
| United States | 3× Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
83.4
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
21k
ListenBrainz listeners
407k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
2.7k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 28 November
Every year →
More from Queen
Full discography →
Queen
1973
Queen II
1974
Sheer Heart Attack
1974
A Day at the Races
1976
Queen’s First E.P.
1977
News of the World
1977
Jazz
1978
Live Killers
1979
The Game
1980
Flash Gordon
1980
Greatest Hits
1981
Hot Space
1982
The Works
1984
A Kind of Magic
1986
Live Magic
1986
Hungarian Rhapsody: Live in Budapest
1987
The Miracle
1989
At the Beeb
1989
Innuendo
1991
Greatest Hits II
1991
Box of Tricks
1992
Classic Queen
1992
The 12″ Collection
1992
Live at Wembley ’86
1992
Five Live
1993
The Greatest 3
1995
Made in Heaven
1995
Queen Rocks
1997
The Crown Jewels: A 25th Anniversary Celebration
1998
Greatest Hits III
1999
Highlander
2000
Greatest Hits I, II & III: The Platinum Collection
2000
We Will Rock You
2002
Jewels
2004
We Are the Champions: Final Live in Japan
2004
Queen on Fire: Live at the Bowl
2004
Stone Cold Classics
2006
The A–Z of Queen, Volume 1
2007
Rock Montreal
2007
The Singles Collection, Volume 1
2008
The Singles Collection, Volume 2
2009
Absolute Greatest
2009
The Singles Collection, Volume 3
2010
The Singles Collection, Volume 4
2010
Deep Cuts, Volume 1 (1973–1976)
2011
Deep Cuts, Volume 2 (1977–1982)
2011
Deep Cuts, Volume 3 (1984–1995)
2011
Icon
2013
Live at the Rainbow ’74
2014
Queen Forever
2014
A Night at the Odeon
2015
Bohemian Rhapsody: The Original Soundtrack
2018
Riffs
2025
Pop
2025
Anthems
2025
Ballads
2025
The best of 1975
All of 1975 →
More on EMI
The label →
The Number of the Beast
Iron Maiden · 1982
Piece of Mind
Iron Maiden · 1983
Powerslave
Iron Maiden · 1984
Fear of the Dark
Iron Maiden · 1992
Hot Space
Queen · 1982
Somewhere in Time
Iron Maiden · 1986
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
Iron Maiden · 1988
The Works
Queen · 1984
A Kind of Magic
Queen · 1986
13
Black Sabbath · 2013
Queen II
Queen · 1974
Dance of Death
Iron Maiden · 2003
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia 1975-11-28; musicbrainz + wikidata 1975-11-21 (7 days apart, likely another territory)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 21 November 1975 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 28 November 1975 | |
| Wikidata | 21 November 1975 | |
| US release | 2 December 1975 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 21 November 1975 | earliest UK or European date |
71 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | CA | Hollywood Records | 72061610652097 | other |
| — | US | Hollywood Records | 720616106520 | other |
| 1975 | IT | EMI | other | |
| 1975 | JP | Elektra | other | |
| 1975 | DE | EMI | other | |
| 21 November 1975 | NL | EMI | original | |
| 21 November 1975 | CA | Elektra | original | |
| 21 November 1975 | GB | EMI | original | |
| 2 December 1975 | US | Elektra | other | |
| 1976 | DE | EMI | other | |
| 1976 | ES | EMI | other | |
| 1982 | JP | Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab | other | |
| 1986 | IT | EMI | 077774620727 | other |
| 1 December 1986 | GB | EMI | 077774620727 | other |
| 1 December 1986 | GB | EMI | 077774620727 | other |
| 1987 | GB | EMI | 077774620727 | other |
| 22 April 1987 | JP | EMI | 4988006612204 | other |
| 1989 | JP | EMI | 4988006612204 | other |
| 1991 | CA | Hollywood Records | 075596106528 | other |
| 3 September 1991 | US | Hollywood Records | 720616106520 | other |
| 3 September 1991 | US | Hollywood Records | 720616106520 | other |
| 9 October 1992 | US | Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab | 015775156821 | other |
| 1993 | BR | Parlophone | other | |
| 1993 | IT | Parlophone | 077778949220 | other |
| 27 September 1993 | GB | Parlophone | 077778949220 | other |
| 27 September 1993 | GB | Parlophone | 077778949220 | other |
| 1997 | XE | — | 724385567414 | other |
| 6 November 1998 | JP | EMI | 4988006760820 | other |
| 2000 | US | DCC Compact Classics | 010963207217 | other |
| 22 August 2000 | US | DCC Compact Classics | 010963114423 | other |
| 2001 | US | DTS Entertainment | 692860109193 | other |
| 21 January 2001 | JP | EMI | 4988006796171 | other |
| 2002 | US | DTS Entertainment | 692860109193 | deluxe |
| 11 February 2004 | JP | EMI | 4988006818132 | other |
| 2005 | AR | Parlophone | 094633846029 | deluxe |
| 18 November 2005 | XE | Parlophone | 094633845725 | deluxe |
| 21 November 2005 | GB | Parlophone | 0094633847811 | other |
| 21 November 2005 | GB | Parlophone | 094633847828 | other |
| 23 November 2005 | JP | Universal Music | 4988006837249 | other |
| 23 November 2005 | JP | — | 4988006837232 | deluxe |
| 29 November 2005 | US | Hollywood Records | 720616257222 | other |
| 9 March 2008 | ES | EMI | 8423793300218 | other |
| 9 October 2008 | US | Hollywood Records | 050087128760 | other |
| 2009 | MX | Virgin EMI Records | 602527576855 | other |
| 2011 | CA | Hollywood Records | 050087240745 | remaster |
| 2011 | XE | Virgin EMI Records | 602527644226 | other |
| 2011 | AR | — | 602527644240 | remaster |
| 2011 | — | Virgin EMI Records | 602527644240 | other |
| 2011 | CA | Hollywood Records | 050087240752 | other |
| 2011 | XW | EMI | 602527644264 | other |
| 2011 | XW | Columbia | 602527644271 | deluxe |
| 2011 | XW | Hollywood Records | 050087341381 | other |
| 2011 | CA | Hollywood Records | 050087240752 | other |
| 14 March 2011 | XE | Island | 602527644226 | remaster |
| 14 March 2011 | XE | Island | 602527644240 | remaster |
| 16 March 2011 | JP | Island | 4988005646194 | remaster |
| 17 May 2011 | US | Hollywood Records | 050087240745 | remaster |
| 17 May 2011 | CA | Hollywood Records | 050087240745 | remaster |
| 17 May 2011 | US | Hollywood Records | 050087240752 | other |
| 26 July 2011 | US | Hollywood Records | other | |
| 14 December 2011 | JP | Island | 4988005692795 | remaster |
| 2013 | FR | Island | 602537327713 | other |
| 25 September 2013 | JP | Island | 4988005782168 | other |
| 2014 | XW | Virgin EMI Records | 602547025487 | deluxe |
| 2014 | XW | Virgin EMI Records | 602547024602 | other |
| 27 October 2014 | CA | Hollywood Records | 050087318246 | other |
| 4 November 2014 | CA | Hollywood Records | 050087318239 | deluxe |
| 25 September 2015 | XE | Virgin EMI Records | 602547202697 | other |
| 20 June 2018 | JP | Island | 4988031277348 | remaster |
| — | — | Universal Music | 602527644226 | remaster |
| — | — | — | 0602557027907 | remaster |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · upscaled: minor: best source 1420x1420, upscaled to 1500 (x1.06)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 1420×1420 | upscaled: minor: best source 1420x1420, upscaled to 1500 (x1.06) |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |