Discover the Beauty of Opera in Layman’s Terms

Opera – blending visual art, dance, acting, orchestral, choral and solo vocal music – has been called the most perfect and complete art form. Explore the elements that have caused opera to endure for four centuries at the zenith of artistic expression.

Let Michael Ballam guide you through the history and magic of Mozart, Verdi, Wagner, Puccini, and other eminent masters. It is likely you know a good deal more about the form than you think!

Rediscover familiar, beloved melodies, and plant some seeds of enjoyment for the future. Michael Ballam’s love and enthusiasm for opera in contagious to all ages and levels of experience.

Includes musical examples from:

• Rossini’s Barbiere di Siviglia
• Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore
• Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Magic Flute
• Warner’s Parsifal
• Verdi’s La Traviata
• Leoncavallo’s I Pagliacci
• Puccini’s Tosca
• Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffman
• Andrew Lloyd Weber’s Phantom of the Opera