For an online source of synopses, go to New York City Opera, click on learning center/ resource center. Beware, the blasted page is one of those that holds you hostage and won't let your browser back up, so remember where you were or want to go and use your history folder.

Also, there are culture briefs at Culturefinder.

Don, as I mentioned above, that wedding sextet from Lucia DiLammermoor is an absolute favorite. I think many people think of opera as Lucia's mad scene with all the coloratura "ramblings" and flute imitations, and they've never experienced the sheer emotion of the other arias and ensembles. That sextet and the quartet from Rigoletto were cited by Michener where I lifted the two quotes above (in his autobiography, "The World Is My Home"). You don't have to understand the words in the sextet to feel the emotions behind the statements of the wedding party. To me it was always such a powerful statement of "Here I stand, this is what I believe, damn the consequences." I had forgotten the La Boheme quartet, a fight scene and a love scene at the same time.

Back to recommendations: After listening to famous arias, I would concentrate on one of the big four operas listed above. Many operas have one famous aria, but not many folks would want to sit through the whole opera to hear one song. Examples: in I Pagliacci, "Vesti la Giubba" (The one is on the commercial where the taxi cab driver belts this one out...laugh clown laugh) or in Turandot, "Nessun Dorma" used by the BBC in the World Soccer Cup coverage or in The Marriage of Figaro, "Voi Che Sapete" which was used in the BBC and A&E Productions of Pride and Prejudice.