In order to help you better appreciate our operas, our Community Engagement program presents this series of introductory podcasts hosted by Nicolas Reveles. These brief ‘conversations’ can be enjoyed by opera fans as well as those who are new to the art form. Informal yet informative, this is a great way to prepare to come see the operas during our season.
To subscribe to our Podcast RSS feed through Libsyn.com please go to http://sandiegoopera.libsyn.com/rss.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Opera's Game-Changers: Revolutions in an Art Form
With the opening of James Cameron's film Avatar last week, I started thinking about moments in opera history that were game-changing, that began revolutions in the art form. Let's take a quick look!Monday, November 16, 2009
Verdi: The Early Years
Nabucco might have been Verdi's first success, but it was his third opera. What were the first two like? And how about the two that followed that success in 1842? Let's explore the operas of Verdi, the early years.Thursday, November 5, 2009
Making the Case for La Rondine, Puccini's "Operetta"
San Diego Opera is producing the evergreen standard "La boheme" by Puccini, an opera that all opera lovers know and love. But what about one of his lesser known works? Not terribly long ago, I discovered "La Rondine" and realize what a get this opera is. Let me introduce it to you so that you can come to love it as much as I do!
Monday, November 2, 2009
Recitative Revisted: Defining Character
Maybe you haven't noticed, but recitative is treated differently in different eras of opera history. Earlier operas utilized harpsichord and other keyboard instruments to accompany recitative, later operas used the full orchestra. But are operatic characters treated differently, even within the same opera? Let's explore!
Monday, October 12, 2009
What On Earth Is The Concertato?
Impress your opera-loving friends with your newly found knowledge of one of the most exciting musical events in most standard repertory Italian operas and that even occasionally shows up in the French and German repertoire! The Concertato…here it is. Everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask. Free of charge.
Monday, October 5, 2009
German Opera Composers Before Wagner
You may well wonder: was there such a thing as a German opera composer before Wagner? His works so outshone every other German composer within his lifetime that we tend to forget about people like Weber, Spohr, Nicolai, Lortzing and Marschner. Who??
Monday, September 21, 2009
Great Arias from Operas You've Never Seen!
Now here's a sample of wonderful music from operas that I'm sure you've either never seen or never WILL see! You'll hear music by such diverse composers as Cilea, Catalani, Auber, Thomas and...Rossini. Enjoy this excursion into the unknown.Tuesday, September 15, 2009
The "Other" Roles in 2010
Let's take a few minutes to listen to excerpts from our 2010 Season which feature the secondary principal singers, roles like Marcello, Ismaele, Mercutio and Germont. You can have the greatest Rodolfo and Mimi in the world, but you'd better have a Marcello who can match them!
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Just What Is A Leitmotif?
We've thrown this term around a lot in our podcast series. It's time to define it and listen to some worthy examples from the operas of Richard Wagner. It is summer, after all, with Ring festivals going on throughout the world!Monday, July 13, 2009
The Art of the Love Duet
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!
Monday, June 29, 2009
La Traviata: The Real Violetta
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!
Monday, June 22, 2009
Romeo and Juliet: The Love Duets
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.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Nabucco: Verdi's First Success
Nabucco was Verdi’s third opera and his first true success. But what was the measure of success in opera in 1840s
