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.