Category Archives: Opera and Champagne

I came across a won­der­ful arti­cle today from 2005, Who needs this when the clas­sics are already burst­ing with sex?, about what makes clas­si­cal music – and in this case, opera– erotic. It’s a very good read, in spite of the author’s whiny prud­ish­ness that creeps through in places. But it made me think – clas­si­cal music IS very erotic…well, much of it, any­way. It’s erotic in the same under­stated way that 19th cen­tury British lit­er­a­ture is – the sort of well-​behaved veneer that barely con­ceals pas­sions that make our modern-​day sex sym­bols seem a bit over­done and artificial.

Consider the opera, Turandot, by Giacomo Puccini. The song “Nessun Dorma” is an audi­tory orgasm all by itself, but the entire opera is infused with sex­ual themes. Continue read­ing →