“Nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without passion.”
- Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

PASSION- a positive guiding principle? A source of creativity? Or a human shortcoming? A malevolent vice?
Definitions speak of “an intense desire or enthusiasm for something”, a “strong and barely controllable emotion”, of “intense love” (Oxford Dictionaries).
However, its positive connotations only arose in the 16/17th century. The ancient Greek verb πάσχω (paskho) meant to suffer. “Pati” in latin, meant “to suffer”. This sense is still alive in Christian terminology and music: as the passion of Christ.
But even if we see passion in a positive sense: is such a strong emotion always positive? Is something “barely controllable” desirable? What happens when passion goes awry, leading to jealousy, crimes of passion and destruction? One might cite Kant, who sees passion as a perversion of reason, as something to be controlled and suppressed.  Other philosophers, more moderately, stress that passion should at least be balanced by reason.
On the other hand, the arts are full of statements affirming the importance of passion for creation, and for a fulfilling life. What would our lives be without “intense love”, “intense desires and enthusiasm”? Is it not this emotion which makes us go beyond our limits, strive for more, advance, create beautiful works?

No matter what position one cares to take on this matter: one thing is clear. Passion is a clear inspiration for the art of opera.
Operas are full of stories of passion gone awry. Passionate love leading to deception, to murder and revenge. Carmen. Woyzeck. Medea. Lucia di Lammermoor. L’incoronazione di Poppeia. Rake’s Progress. La Traviata. The list goes on. Pick any opera- and you will almost always find elements of passionate love or passion for an ideal, as a guiding theme.
Passion for opera, for the voice, for music, for an instrument- the core motivation for artists and opera professionals is passion. An intense love, interest, enthusiasm, almost obsession, with this art. The most beautiful operas could certainly not have been composed, played or staged, without passion.
This intense emotion, like a tempest waking us up and pushing us up and beyond our everyday routines and lives, is for many the reason for life- and a sensation we seek out. Our passion for opera is something which we want to share with others, sharing our intense emotions and our conviction that life need not be ordinary.

We encourage you, on the occasion of the opera days, to share this passion with all !