The history of opera is traced from its beginning in the early 17th century to around 1924.
Landmark operas and the musical, cultural, and social developments that influenced opera’s growth are explored. The lectures also map the influence of national languages and cultures on opera.
Extensive excerpts from great operas are played and examined.
You will come to appreciate how music has the power to reveal truths beyond the spoken word and how opera is a unique marriage of words and music in which the whole is far greater than its parts. And you will learn why opera’s popularity endures.