San Diego Opera Podcast

Love duets are a part of just about every opera in the standard repertory, so much so that we don’t think about them much.  We just luxuriate in their beautiful melodies.  But there’s always a reason for those ebbs and flows of passion.  Let’s explore some of the love duets in the early periods of opera history and see what makes them tick!

The most fascinating aspect of Verdi’s La traviata is that the story is based on true events in the life of a real, 19th century French socialite, who had many aristocratic, well-connected and famous lovers, went through numerous fortunes and died of tuberculosis at the tender age of 23.  Who was this remarkable woman?  Listen to this week’s podcast to find out!

One of the more unusual aspects of Charles Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet is the fact that the tenor and soprano who sing the two title roles have four (count ‘em, FOUR) love duets!  Let’s take a look at these duets and see what the challenges are in them for the singers as well as for the audience.

Nabucco was Verdi’s third opera and his first true success.  But what was the measure of success in opera in 1840s Italy?  What were other composers doing at the time?  Who inspired Verdi?  Let’s explore this opera by placing it in the context of music and drama of that time.

And now for your semi-annual Italian lesson: the word is 'tinta', and it means 'color'.  Now that you know what it means to us, let's discover what it meant to composer Giuseppe Verdi, especially with regards to our next production, Rigoletto, opening this week!

Verdi's Rigoletto didn't just spring from nothingness: there were a number of baritone roles in his earlier operas that foreshadowed this brilliant creation.  Here are examples of two of them from Ernani and Macbeth.  Enjoy!

As we look forward to San Diego Opera's production of Verdi's Rigoletto opening in March, let's take a quick tour of the operas that put Verdi on the operatic map!

Let’s explore further a topic that we discussed a few months back, inspired by a recent article in the New York Times by the eminent music critic Anthony Tommasini on the nature of bel canto.  Does this elusive Italian term describe a style of musical composition, especially in terms of melodic direction, or a composer’s sensitivity to words?  Or both?  You be the judge!

We all know that opera and dance have been intertwined since the beginning, and in France they were co-equal arts living in the same space.  But have you ever given thought to all of those moments in opera where dance actually moves the drama along, not a tacked on, pretty addition to the opera but an important part of the narrative?  Let's talk about it!

In a series of occasional surveys of specialized voice types here are a few words (and a few sound clips) of every opera lover's stratospheric dream...the coloratura soprano.  When the composer says 'jump', she asks 'how high?'

Whatever happened to recitative?  Did it die with Donizetti or did composers somehow carry on the style?  And more importantly, does recitative still have a place in so called modern opera?

Let's continue our discussion of the opera overture by looking at Mozart, Rossini and the composers of our 2009 Season operas.  More on the evolution of the overture...

Let's take a little time out to focus on the role of the orchestra in opera, beginning at the beginning: the overture.  What is the role of the overture?  Since it's the first music you hear, it's pretty important, right?  Well, maybe.  Here's a brief history.

Are you dreading it?  Are you looking forward to it?  You're just putting up with it because your wife wants to go?  Which opera is good to bring the kids to?  Give me 15 minutes, I'll show you how to have a good time at the opera, from dinner before to drinks after!

Britten, the composer of "Peter Grimes" which San Diego Opera will be producing in 2009,  was a crucial link to composers today who work in the English language.  Let's explore his contribution to the art.

Besides defining just what a cadenza is, let's go a bit further and ask ourselves if there are dramatic or even emotional reasons for cadenzas, or are they just an opportunity for a singer to milk applause from the audience?

In my humble opinion, Massenet and Puccini are speaking essentially the same language and share a similar turn-of-the-century aesthetic.  Listen in and see if you agree!

Yes it's a formidable name, but it's one of the most easily recognizable techniques that composers use to pull their operas together.  Spend a few moments and let me give you some great examples from our 2009 season!

A little summer diversion: there are so many good recordings of Tosca out there, but which ones are best?  I'm not sure, but here are some of my favorites, recordings that you'll be able to find on Amazon.com.

Recitative.  It's a word you hear thrown around a lot in operatic circles, but do you know what it really means?  Not to worry...here's everything you need to know about recitative and then some.  You'll be thanking me when you can use it intelligently during the next intermission at the opera.  Your friends will be impressed.  Seriously.