The duet may seem to be a pretty simple musical form featured in opera that really doesn't need any explanation, right? But there's a little more to it than just "this person sings, then that person sings, then they sing together!" Dr. Nic Reveles, the Geisel Director of Education & Outreach for San Diego Opera, lets you in on what kinds of duets exist in opera and how they communicate the feelings of the characters using the love duet from Verdi's Un ballo in maschera, A Masked Ball. Enjoy!

Whenever an opera company prepares to do an important work from the standard repertoire (like Pagliacci for instance) we hear the complaint, "Oh, I've heard (or seen) that opera before. I think I'll pass this time." But WAIT:approaches to the standard rep can be very different, depending entirely on the artistic team that's put together by the management. Let Dr. Nic, our Director of Education and Outreach, explore this issue with you and listen, through examples from Leoncavallo's great opera, how different the same music can sound coming from different singers. Sometimes, the difference is radical!

Continuing our 'summer school series' on opera basics, today we explore the aria, moving very quickly from Monteverdi's L'Orfeo to Verdi's A Masked Ball (Un ballo in maschera). Nicolas Reveles, Director of Education & Outreach for San Diego Opera explains it all for you in a fun and informative way. Enjoy!