I’m really into learning operas right now. I learned a few operas for my experiences playing with The Dallas Opera, and now I’m obsessed with the music, the singing, the drama, the costumes, and production.

Opera is so influential to orchestral music- but also sort of a world of its own.

I’m planning a summer recital of opera flute music. I’m going to take the opportunity to dig deeper into a few operas I became acquainted with this year- Rigoletto (Doppler fantasy), Don Giovanni (for flute + guitar), and Carmen (variations, duh!).

I really want to play the flute music with the style of an opera singer- not as a flutist, if that makes sense.

I also found a flute sonata by Donizetti, new to me, which sounds really fun.

Next week we are planning to attend Aida (Fort Worth Opera), so I’m going to study that one this week. It’s so satisfying with this music that the more I listen to it, the more I appreciate it.

I’ve been studying Rigoletto for the past couple of weeks, so it will be interesting to compare the style with Aida.