Midge Woolsey

Opera is at its most steamy when passion trumps reason. In this edition of Opera in Brief, we consider three of opera’s sexiest librettos.

In this edition of Opera in Brief, we explore three operatic portraits of every day life in the mid 19th century, by Britten, Smetana and Delius.

When a great operatic chorus is sung by a gifted group of singers, the choristers often play a starring role. Sometimes they even steal the show.

In anticipation of a new film version of Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables starring Hugh Jackman, we explore three operatic settings of the French writer's novels.

Most opera lovers are familiar with Tatyana in Eugene Onegin and Lisa in The Queen of Spades, but Tchaikovsky also wrote some fabulous music for several other heroines.

Other than Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute), how many operas can you name that begin with the letter Z? Consult our Zagat-style guide to find out more.

Verdi's musical transformation of Shakespeare's Macbeth shines the spotlight so brightly on his ruthless and ambitious wife that perhaps the opera should be renamed in her honor.

Wagner’s Rienzi is an opera that hardly ever gets produced by major companies. On this edition of Opera in Brief, F. Paul Driscoll names its challenges.

So what if the plot is a little bit far fetched? In this edition of Opera in Brief, we explore three show-stopping moments from Verdi’s masterpiece.