Here's what I hope will be an annual tradition...the San Diego Opera Christmas Podcast!  Since we're quickly moving into the holidays, I'd like to make some suggestions about recordings and DVDs that will help your opera-loving family members and friends get the most out of our 2009 season.  Enjoy!

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?'

Furlanetto, Vargicova, Racette, Haddock...they're all here.  Give them a listen in order get a preview of the wonderful international stars we'll have singing in our 2009 Season!

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?

People have asked, so here are my Top Ten, the desert island operas and the recordings I can't live without.

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.

The Verdi duets are his crowning achievement musically, as far as I'm concerned.  Let's discover why, and get a better understanding of what makes them work so well.

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.

Do we need to see Madama Butterfly again?  The answer is a resounding YES!  In the truly great operas, you always find, see and hear something new every time you experience them.  Let Nick Reveles make a few suggestions about why Butterfly is a joy to look forward to this season.

Premiered in 1945, Benjamin Britten's Opera Peter Grimes marked a fresh start for opera in English.  It's a gripping, intense drama set in a small fishing village off the east coast of England.  Find out what makes this opera tick, and why no one should fear twentieth (or twenty-first!) century opera.

Rigoletto, San Diego Opera's third opera in the 2009 International Season, is a rather revolutionary piece of musical theatre.  Audiences just weren't ready for the anti-hero hunchback jester who pimped for his boss.  Are you ready??

San Diego Opera's 2009 Season looks to be the most exciting we've ever had!  Listen now to this podcast, hosted by Dr. Nicolas Reveles, and hear descriptions of and audio excerpts from Tosca, Don Quixote, Rigoletto, Peter Grimes and Madama Butterfly.  There's something for everyone in 2009, especially anyone who loves beautiful music!

Jules Massenet is best known for operas like Manon and Werther.  This opera isn't known quite so well, but it is a stunner!  Learn more about it and hear some of the gorgeous music that it contains in this podcast about our third opera of the 2009 International Season.

Puccini's Tosca, once called a "shabby little shocker", is back to open the 2009 Season.  Here's another look at one of the most melodramatic opera scores of the twentieth century (it premiered in 1900) and certainly one of the most gorgeous!

The same guy who wrote Carmen penned this little gem.  It's our French offering this season.  Remember: pearls and basic black will never go out of style, especially at the opera.

What's up with operas like Aida, The Pearl Fishers, Madama Butterfly and Turandot?  Nineteenth century opera seemed to corner the market on exotic locales. 

OK, OK, I was just trying to get your attention.  Nothing salacious here, just a brief overview of the guys at the bottom.  No, really!

Another Italian take on an exotic time and place.  Why is this everyone's favorite opera?

The old man knew what he was doing: he wanted opera to be real theatre.  And if a Verdi opera doesn't come off that way, then something's wrong.

The baritone is the man's man of opera.  If George Clooney were an opera singer, he'd probably be one.  But he's not.  So we won't go there.

Truthiness at the opera!  I never thought I'd reference Stephen Colbert in this series.  But here we go.  Verismo, naturalism and the Italian penchant for a slice of life.

Because.  A brief history of Italy and its relationship to one of her most glorious exports.  Besides limoncello.  Say Euridice three times fast.

Mamas, witches and gypsies.  And real women with an independent streak.  If The Sopranos were an opera, Livia would be one.  A mezzo, that is.

A brief history of something you didn't know existed until you started coming to San Diego Opera.  Why don't we just call it a song and be done with it?

The sopranos all die and the tenors have all the sex.  Wassup wid dat?

"What's a nice Italian composer like you doing in a place like this?  Gaetano Donizetti, composer of Maria Stuarda (Mary, Queen of Scots) gives us a very Italian take  on British Royal history.  Can you say, "Liz is a vile bastard" in Italian?  You'll learn how here.  Tell your friends.

Maybe it oughta be.  But short answer: no.  Tune in the long answer.  It's got something to do with beautiful singing and we've got it!

...or Carmela or Meadow or Johnny Sack.  But if you want to get to know the other sopranos, tune in.  Coloraturas, dramatics, lyrics...they're all gorgeous and they're all here.

I know you're really NOT ready, but here it is: the composer you swore you'd never understand or listen to.  Or sit through.  (Aren't these operas like, 15 hours long?)  and what's everybody screaming about?

Something kind of cool happens when words and music meet.  You know, your song??  It reminds you of when you met that special person...where you were, what you did, maybe even what time it was.  Multiply that by one hundred and you have opera!

Discover Georges Bizet's (composer of CARMEN) other opera THE PEARL FISHERS in this podcast introduction by Nicolas Reveles, Director of Education and Outreach for San Diego Opera.  Coming from an era of great French operas, hear how Bizet's genius turns elegant and lyrical in this exotic stage piece set in old Ceylon.  If you don't know the tunes from this opera, then you're in for a treat! (First posted June 25, 2007)

Giuseppe Verdi's great masterwork AIDA is the subject of this podcast introduction by Nicolas Reveles, the Geisel Director of Education and Outreach for San Diego Opera.  The discussion centers on the passionate music of Verdi, the choices he made in re-creating the world of ancient Egypt onstage, and why this opera is still so popular today.  (First posted June 25, 2007)

Nicolas Reveles, the Geisel Director of Education and Outreach for San Diego Opera, discusses this classic pairing of two verismo operas by Pietro Mascagni (CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA) and Ruggiero Leoncavallo (PAGLIACCI).  Verismo is 'realism' in Italian: and these two short operas are filled with passion, violence, and death with overwhelmingly beautiful music to match the tragic stories.  (First posted January 25, 2007)

In this introduction to Gaetano Donizetti's MARIA STUARDA (Mary, Queen of Scots) host Nicolas Reveles, Director of Education and Outreach for San Diego Opera, discover why this early 19th century masterpiece is the very definition of 'bel canto' opera.  Hear highlights of Donizetti's lyrical music and explore the real history behind the story: the relationship between the royal cousins, Mary Stuart and Elizabeth I.  (First posted June 25, 2007)

In this introduction to Richard Wagner's TANNHAUSER, learn about the challenges involved in producing this monumental work, hear highlights from the score and explore the themes that the composer was trying to communicate in this 19th century 'morality play'.  San Diego Opera Education Director Dr. Nicolas Reveles hosts.  (First posted June 27, 2007)

NEW! Everything that you need to know about opera as art in 15 lean minutes!  You'll also come to know that opera is everywhere, I mean EVERYWHERE.  So get over yourself.  You know you love it...