Turandot / Aida

Wise & Wide is a 6-level English reading program that consists of 60 books and each level is
systematically divided by Lexile Ⓡ measures. The Lexile Ⓡ Framework for Reading is the most popular reading measuring system in American formal education curriculums and many English programs.
Over 20 out of 50 states in the U.S. mark Lexile Ⓡ measures directly on students’ final report cards and over 300 well-known publishers adopt and use Lexile Ⓡ measures.
Experience many kinds of readings written by professional writers from the U.S. and England. They used interesting topics that were carefully chosen after analyzing elementary curriculums from around the world including Korea, the U.S., England, and Australia among many others.

Before Reading

The fruit of theater arts, opera

All the lines in operas are sung. In front of the stage, there is an orchestra that plays the music for the songs. On the stage, opera singers sing and act their way through the story.
An opera is a form of performance that started in Italy in the 16th century. It spread to other European countries such as France, England, Germany, Austria, etc. at the end of the 17th century, gaining more and more popularity. At that time, many works of art such as Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni, Puccini’s Madame Butterfly and Turandot, Verdi’s Aida and Rigoletto, etc. were created and they are loved to this day. Since opera lyrics were written in Italian, German etc., you can find them hard to understand. But if you want to be introduced to a sophisticated music world, you must listen to operas.

Summary

Turandot and Aida are both operas based on love stories. “Turandot” is the name of a beautiful princess in China. She is a cold-hearted princess who takes the lives of men that propose to her if they can’t solve the riddles that she gives them. Calàf who falls in love with the princess at first sight risks his life. Can he solve the riddles and win the princess’ heart?
Aida is based on the war between Egypt and Ethiopia. An Egyptian military commander, Radamès falls in love with an Ethiopian prisoner, Aida.
Radamès must win the war to win Aida, but Aida knows she can’t betray her country. Let’s find out if they can keep their mournful love in the vortex of war.