Daniel Catan's opera Florencia en el Amazonas will a highlight of our season, opening in March, 2018. In this brief podcast, Dr. Nic defines the role of magical realism in the opera, giving us an introduction as a well as a context for its unusual style and story. 

When Puccini heard the big, beautiful voice of soprano Rosa Raisa he realized that he'd heard the perfect voice for the title role in Turandot. Unfortunately he died before the premiere of the opera, and although Raisa sang the premiere at La Scala, she was soon to be overshadowed by the young British soprano, Eva Turner. Luckily we have recordings of Turner singing excerpts from the role. Hear them in this brief survey of the beginnings of this opera's history. Enjoy!

The opera As One, coming up at San Diego Opera in November this year, is one of a number of LGBT-themed operas to have premiered since 2000. In this brief discussion, Dr. Nic surveys a few of them and talks about the impact these works have made on the opera industry. An opera version of Brokeback Mountain? Yup! Watch, learn and enjoy!

The musicians at the New York premiere of The Pirates of Penzance threatened to strike because the score was too difficult, too "operatic"! Silly, of course, but perhaps they had a point. There are many allusions and parodies of current opera styles in Sullivan's score. In this podcast, Dr. Nic gives us an idea of just how the composer went about it, and why. Enjoy!