Sounds of Learning

Welcome Students and Teachers to Opera Online!! This week we will take a look at the two lowest voice types. For the women we have the impressive contralto voice and for the men we have the basso-profundo! Video Clips of the Week!! Our first video clip is of one of the most famous singers from Philadelphia; contralto Marian Anderson . Although she did not perform on the opera stage, Marian Anderson loved operatic arias and would sing several of them in her concerts and recitals. This recording of her singing " Plasir d'amour " by Jean Paul Martini shows off the depth of the contralto voice. Our second video clip is of one of the most popular basso profundo roles in opera; Sarastro from Mozart's opera The Magic Flute . In this clip basso profundo Kurt Moll plays the High Priest of the Sun, Sarastro. In the aria "In deisen heil'gen hallen" Sarastro confronts and comforts the conflicted Tamina, who has been ordered by her mother to kill Sarast...

Welcome Students and Teachers to Opera Online! Continuing with our "ABC's of Opera" summer webisodes we'll venture into the rare voice types in opera. This week we'll take a look at one of the rarest male voice types- the countertenor. Videos of the Week! The countertenor is the highest male voice type in opera. Listening to recordings of countertenors can be a bit confusing because they are often mistaken for women. This is because the comfortable singing range for a countertenor lies within what would normally be considered a soprano or mezzo-soprano range. The countertenor voice is normally heard in very early opera or more contemporary works. Our first clip is from a modernized production of an old opera favorite. Countertenor Christophe Dumaux plays Tolomeo in Handel 's Julius Ceasar . Tolomeo, the reigning Pharoah of Eygpt, has just had the Emperor Pompey murdered and has taken Pompey's wife, Cornelia, captive. Upon first seeing Cornelia he falls i...

Welcome Students and Teachers to Opera Online! Continuing with our series "The ABC's of Opera", this week we will be focusing on the voice type of the dramatic voice. Video Clips of the Week! The dramatic voice can be recognized by its' dark and powerful quality. Dramatic voice types often thought of as the stereotypical voice of an opera singer. These singers have enough volume to cut through a full orchestra. Our first video demonstrates the power behind dramatic voices. Featuring dramatic mezzo-sopranos, contraltos, and sopranos the "Ride of the Valkyries" from Richard Wagner's opera Die Walküre is one of the most famous opera pieces in the world. The Valkyries , daughters of the god Wotan, are in charge of bringing hereos killed in battle to Valhalla , the land of the Gods. The clip comes from the Bayreuth Festival in Germany. The second video is from the 2006 production of George Bizet's Carmen at Covent Garden in London. Dramatic tenor Jon...