Rhiannon Giddens: All right, y'all. It's Rhiannon Giddens and Aria Code is coming back. I've been thinking about what makes great Aria so powerful and I think a big part of it is that they tap into our strongest emotions.

Speaker 1: That song drew everybody in and from that minute.

Golda Schultz: You have gained the ability to suspend time.

Rhiannon: And it was powerful. One of the emotions that comes up over and over again in opera and in life is desire.

Anna Netrebko: Desire. We all have that.

Rhiannon: For the new season, we've got 10 more amazing Arias to decode and every Aria will show us a different facet of desire. I'm not just talking about sex here. I'm talking about the things we want most.

Golda Schultz: Clara hopes for a better life for her child.

Rhiannon: Yes, we got some big stars this season.

Anna Netrebko: Anna Netrebko.

Renée Fleming: Renée Fleming.

Eric Owens: Eric Owens.

Rhiannon: And definitely some surprise guests, too. Is this perhaps Dame Judi Dench?

Dame Judi Dench: Hey.

Rhiannon: Season 2 of Aria Code starts next week from WQXR, the Metropolitan Opera, and WNYC Studios. Subscribe or follow at your favorite podcast app and catch up on Season 1. See y'all soon.

[music]

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