In the past 20-years American audiences have been introduced to the 3 Tenors (Jose’ Carreras, Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti), Andre’ Rieu, Andrea Bocelli and others; many of the featured musical performances were “Arias” from such Italian opera composers as Verdi, Rossini, Puccini and Leoncavallo. These “Arias” are self-contained pieces for one voice or musical “chapters” of a much longer, complex story narrated in a specific Opera. Class students will listen to these short musical parts, compare the Italian texts to their English translations, and learn where these musical chapters fit into the context of the plot. Learn the message of these familiar pieces and engage more deeply with their emotional meaning.

When young, Marina Viotto Joyce’s parents exposed her to the culture of the operas and shared their awe for a composer or a singer. When she became a teenager, those arias were stashed in mothballs, as the Beatles and Rolling Stones made their entrance on the musical scene. Now, 50 years later, she wishes to share her rediscovery of this genre of “adult” music.