2009 Season Podcasts
In order to help you better appreciate the operas in our 2009 International
Season, the Education and Outreach Department has developed a series of
introductory podcasts hosted by Nick Reveles. These 15 to 20 minute
‘conversations’ can be enjoyed by opera fans as well as those who are new to the
art form. Informal yet informative, this is a great way to prepare to come
see the operas during our season.
June 30, 2008
Peter Grimes: The Ultimate Operatic Outsider
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.
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June 23, 2008
Rigoletto: Just What Was Verdi Thinking??
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??
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June 16, 2008
Don Quixote: A “Heroic Comedy”
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 second opera of the 2009 International Season.
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June 09, 2008
Tosca: That Shabby Little Shocker Is Back
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!
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May 01, 2008
Score. Big Time. San Diego Opera’s 2009 Season
There’s something for everybody, but you main squeeze will love you for a
ticket to Butterfly! Or any of the other of our five operas. A brief overview
just for you.
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2008 Season Podcasts
Join Nick Reveles in a weekly, 15-minute conversation about opera and the 2008
International Season! Topics will cover everything you wanted to know about
opera, plus a little more, using liberal examples and highlights from the
season. Give us 15 minutes, and we’ll give you the operatic world! Podcasts
will be updated at the beginning of each week, so watch this webpage for the
latest episode!
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April 28, 2008
The Pearl Fishers Opens This Week: Cult Oyster ‘Blues’
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.
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April 21, 2008
Exoticism in opera. Is that incense I smell?
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.
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April 14, 2008
Basses: the lowdown on the down low!
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!!
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April 7, 2008
A Word on Verdi
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.
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March 31, 2008
Aida Opens This Week. It ain’t your grandma’s Aida. Or Elton’s.
Another Italian ‘take’ on an exotic time and place. Why is this everyone’s favorite opera?
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March 24, 2008
Baritones: Every man thinks he is one
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.
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March 17, 2008
Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci Open This Week.
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.
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March 10, 2008
Italy and the opera: Why?
Because. A brief history of Italy and its relationship to one of her most glorious
exports. Besides limoncello. Say Euridice three times fast.
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March 3, 2008
Mezzo Sopranos: Tony Still Doesn’t Live Here!
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.
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February 25, 2008
What Is An Aria?
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?
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February 18, 2008
Tenors: Opera’s ‘Players’
The sopranos all die and the tenors have all the sex. Wassup wid dat?
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February 11, 2008
Mary Queen of Scots Opens This Week.
What’s a nice Italian composer like you doing in a place like this? Donizetti,
composer of Maria Stuarda, 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.
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February 4, 2008
Is bel canto a new restaurant in the Gaslamp Quarter?
Maybe it oughta be. But short answer: no. Tune in for the long answer. It’s got
something to do with beautiful singing and we’ve got it!
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January 28, 2008
The Sopranos: Tony Doesn’t Live Here!
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.
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January 21, 2008
Tannhäuser Opens This Week. Are You Ready for Wagner?
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?
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January 14, 2008
Opera Basics: Words and Music
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!
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January 7, 2008
Opera: what’s the Big Deal?
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…
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To hear one of the podcasts just click the "Listen In" button next to the description you would
like to hear. To Download a file, right click on 'Play Now' and select "Save Target
As" or "Save Link As".
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