Puccini went to great lengths to get just the right exotic color for the score of his opera Madama Butterfly.  Take a listen to seven authentic Japanese folk tunes that he inserted in to the fabric of the score!

Are you ready?  Benjamin Britten's opera Peter Grimes opens this Saturday, April 18 at San Diego Opera.  Listen to this repeat of Nicolas Reveles' original podcast on the opera first uploaded last June.  It will get you in the perfect mood to enjoy and appreciate this magnificent opera.

And now for something completely different.  Here is a dramatic reading of the poem upon which Britten's opera, Peter Grimes, is based.  It is a section of the work "The Borough" by George Crabbe, an early nineteenth century poet from Suffolk on the east coast of England.  Note the difference between the Grimes of the poem, who is an outright villain, and the Grimes of the opera, an ambiguous character of whose guilt the audience is never really sure.  Enjoy this reading by Nick Reveles, Director of Education, underscored by music from the opera.