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“Two households, both alike in dignity (In fair Verona, where we lay our scene).” So begins Shakespeare’s well-loved tragedy Romeo and Juliet. On Harmonia this week, music from Verona — from clever frottolas to masterfully set sacred texts to strange sonatas.

Before they were tragic characters in nineteenth-century opera, courtesans were the original Renaissance women: highly educated, socially refined, independent figures with significant literary, artistic, and musical training. This hour on Harmonia, we’ll explore the sound world of courtesans / from sixteenth-century Venice to Qing dynasty China and beyond.

The new virtual reality experience from Bloomington-based Flyover Zone Productions builds on centuries of literature and sculpture, all to bring the ancient metropolis about an inch from your eyes.