Verismo

Un bel di is the aria that stands out in my mind, but even that one is incorporated into a conversation Chochro-san is having with Suzuki.

This isn't particularly surprising, as Puccini frequently wrote in the opera Verismo tradition, which generally strove to integrate the music with the drama.

Essentially, the narrative doesn't pause so a character can have an aria.

Some thoughts on the story.

You're listening to WVIK Classical on 98.3 FM, W252EM Davenport, and 90.3 HD2 WVIK Rock Island.

Dmitri Shostakovich wrote his opera Lady Macbeth of the Potence District during his early experimental period, incorporating elements of Expressionism and Verismo.

Although the work was at first welcomed by the Russian public, it was later used as a vehicle for denunciation of Shostakovich's music after Joseph Stalin came to power.

Today it is seen as an important work of the Soviet composer's output, We'll hear an orchestral suite from the opera later this hour.