If you think about it, there are a number of operas with gambling, gaming or card-playing scenes in them (and not just Tchaikovsky's Queen of Spades!)  Have you ever noticed that those scenes have a remarkable similarity?  Let's start with La traviata and have some summer fun with gambling music!

Here's a singer who was the muse of Maria Callas, among many other great sopranos, who opened the San Francisco Opera's War Memorial Opera House and who was considered one of the great singers of her day.  Ever heard of her?  Probably not; so here she is.  Meet Clauda Muzio!

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!