These are two arias from the Mavor Dora Moore Award–winning opera The Lesson of Da Ji, an opera commissioned by Toronto Masque Theatre with librettist Marjorie Chan. « Quiet Love » is an aria sung by Da Ji, a famous concubine in ancient China who, while serving the King, has secretly fallen in love with the enemy’s son Bo Yi. Transitioning to a Peking opera style vocalization, the Dark Moon, a Goddess in Heaven, sings to the mortal young lovers, foreshadowing their tragic destiny. « Moon Aria » is a lamentation about forbidden love.