The Royal Conservatory of Music is offering a cool new way to help you get to know some of the shows you can see around Toronto this fall. Opera in the City is a new Music Appreciation Class at the RCM, and it focuses on Handel’s Alcina (opening at Opera Atelier October 23rd), Verdi’s Falstaff, and Puccini’s Madama Butterfly (both at the Canadian Opera Companybeginning in October). Leading the new course is Eric Domville, Professor Emeritus of English literature at the University of Toronto, writer and lecturer on opera and song, and frequent speaker at Opera Atelier’s and the COC’s pre-show talks. I had the pleasure of working with him on a concert that was all about the Brothers Grimm, and he’s a fascinating guy. The course runs Tuesday afternoons, September 9th-October 14th.

You can also head to more class and prep for the rest of the seasons from the Canadian Opera Company and Opera Atelier; the winter course (January 6-27) covers Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Wagner’s Die Walküre, and the spring course (March 24-April 28) will be focus on Gluck’s Orpheus and Eurydice, Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia, Schoenberg’s Erwartung and Bartòk’s Bluebeard’s Castle.

So, if you’re in the mood for honing your opera chops before you head off to the show, this is a fantastic way to do it. You’ll also get a chance to hear live performances by students of the Glenn Gould School, and there’s even coffee and goodies from b espresso bar. Tuition is $295, which is a steal to hear Eric Domville speak on these juicy operas. Click here for details and registration.