A potpourri of Italy's most famous opera songs about love, death, and betrayal are coming to downtown El Paso. The El Paso Symphony Orchestra and the El Paso Opera are teaming up to bring "Great Italian Arias" to the Plaza Theatre on October 18 and 19. Led by conductorBohuslav Rattay, "Great Italian Arias" is set to feature famous arias from famous operas such as "La Donna è mobile" fromGiuseppe Verdi's opera Rigoletto. 

In a written statement, conductor Rattay explained people should expect "big emotions, dramatic stories and powerful music," adding that "[The Italian opera is] probably the only musical genre where performers sing about being stabbed, and the audience thinks, 'Wow, that was beautiful!'