Opera 101 - The Supernatural in Opera

Step into opera’s darker, stranger and more mysterious side.Timed for the Halloween and All Souls’ Day season, Opera 101: The Supernatural in Opera explores a world of devils, witches, spirits and otherworldly forces through some of opera’s most thrilling music.From seductive demons and vengeful sorceresses to ghosts, enchanted forests and creatures of the night, the supernatural has long inspired composers to create music of extraordinary drama and imagination. This performance-lecture brings together excerpts from operas by Verdi, Gounod, Berlioz, Dvořák, Wagner, Humperdinck, Weber and Marschner, revealing the many ways composers have given musical life to the mysterious and unexplained.Part of Lirica Arts’ ongoing Opera 101 series, the programme combines live performance with lively, accessible commentary. Each excerpt is introduced through its story, characters and musical context, offering audiences a glimpse into how singers and composers use music, voice and drama to conjure atmosphere, suspense and the supernatural on stage.Whether you are an opera enthusiast or encountering opera for the first time, The Supernatural in Opera offers an entertaining and accessible journey through some of the repertoire’s most atmospheric and dramatic moments.The performance-lecture is curated by Shridar Mani, with Dr Daniel Fong as lecturer and researcher, and features soprano Xiong…