What it' s about. You'll receive a program that summarizes the plot of the opera. Most boil down to the following: a soprano and tenor want to make love, but are prevented from doing so by the baritone. Songs ensue. Action follows.

What happens. Before the curtain rises, the orchestra plays a short musical introduction called the overture. Operas often start with the chorus on stage singing about the weather or shopping, usually in a foreign language. The lead singers will spend a good deal of time in sung conversation—recitative—or even spoken dialogue. Supertitles are projected above the stage with instant English translations, such as "Carmen, I adore you!" or "What good is that?" Italian, French, and German are popular opera languages.

What you do. Every so often a singer will stop the action and start belting out a tune—an aria—about how he or she feels. If you enjoy the song, feel free to applaud when it's over. If you really, really like it you can even shout "Bravo!" for the male singers and "Brava!" for the women. In short, have fun.

Call OPERADELAWARE at (302) 658-8063 if you need more information or have further questions.