First Nights at the Opera
Professor Andreas Giger School of Music
What is it about opera that has made it the most expressive art form for over four hundred years? Have you wanted to explore it but feared it might be too expensive, too elitist? This course introduces honors students with or without musical background to one of the most encompassing art forms: opera embraces singing, orchestral playing, acting, stage and costume design, fashion, literature, the visual arts, architecture, sociology, technology, business, and plenty of politics. We will travel back in history, try to unlock the magic of some of the most fascinating operas, and explore what it took to get them off the ground.