Why Opera is Misunderstood by Dana Gioia

Opera lives or dies by its libretto. In "Weep, Shudder, Die", poet and librettist Dana Gioia explains why opera is the ultimate combination of poetry and music.

In this video, as well as his new book, poet Dana Gioia reclaims opera as a deeply poetic and emotional art form. Rather than treating the libretto as secondary, Gioia argues that opera begins with words—powerful language that inspires composers and gives voice to music. Rejecting the idea that great operas can rest on weak texts, Gioia emphasizes the vital role of poetry in shaping opera’s drama and humanity. Singers, he says, don’t just sing—they embody the words, turning music into lived emotion.

Blending insight with personal passion, Weep, Shudder, Die is both a love letter to opera and a call to recognize its literary soul.

You can get Weep, Shudder, Die on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Weep-Shudder-D... 

Dana Gioia is an internationally acclaimed poet and writer. Former California Poet Laureate and Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, Gioia was born in Los

Angeles of Italian and Mexican descent. The first person in his family to attend college, he received a B.A. and M.B.A. from Stanford and an M.A. from Harvard in Comparative Literature. For fifteen years he worked as a businessman before quitting at forty-one to become a full-time writer.

Follow Dana on Twitter: https://x.com/DanaGioiaPoet