How to Listen to and Understand Opera
How to Listen to and Understand Opera
Seasons
November 1, 2023
The final lectures examine opera verismo: its origins, character, and greatest exponent
Watch How to Listen to and Understand Opera Season 1 Episode 32 Now
November 1, 2023
The final lectures examine opera verismo: its origins, character, and greatest exponent
Watch How to Listen to and Understand Opera Season 1 Episode 31 Now
November 1, 2023
Two lectures on Russian opera trace the causes, history, and character of Russian musical nationalism. Glinka and his opera Ruslan and Lyudmila are discussed as the foundation of Russian opera leading the way for The Russian Five and the pinnacle of Russian nationalist opera, Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov.
Watch How to Listen to and Understand Opera Season 1 Episode 30 Now
November 1, 2023
Two lectures on Russian opera trace the causes, history, and character of Russian musical nationalism. Glinka and his opera Ruslan and Lyudmila are discussed as the foundation of Russian opera leading the way for The Russian Five and the pinnacle of Russian nationalist opera, Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov.
Watch How to Listen to and Understand Opera Season 1 Episode 29 Now
November 1, 2023
In this lecture, Richard Strauss's opera Salome is discussed as an example of late romantic German opera. After an overview of Strauss's early life, we examine his psychopathological and erotic Salome and the reasons why it is one of the most controversial operas of all time.
Watch How to Listen to and Understand Opera Season 1 Episode 28 Now
November 1, 2023
Lectures 26 and 27 examine the contribution of the paradoxical Richard Wagner to operatic history. We look at Wagner's theories, his admiration for ancient Greek drama, and his invention of leitmotif.
Watch How to Listen to and Understand Opera Season 1 Episode 26 Now
November 1, 2023
In this lecture we learn how German opera owed its evolution to German folklore and the requirements of the German language. We see how it came into being with Mozart's The Magic Flute of 1791, and how it was indebted to the traditional German entertainment of singspiel.
Watch How to Listen to and Understand Opera Season 1 Episode 25 Now
November 1, 2023
In Lectures 23 and 24 we give an overview of the evolution of a distinctly French style; explain why and how French opera is different from Italian opera; and emphasize that operatic content, both musical and dramatic, is most often a function of the language, politics, and economic class of its consumers. French opera composers discussed include Jean-Baptiste Lully and Georges Bizet.
Watch How to Listen to and Understand Opera Season 1 Episode 23 Now
November 1, 2023
The Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi and opera seria are the focus of Lectures 19 through 22. We learn how Verdi dominated the operatic scene in Italy for more than half a century by the power of his beautiful melodies and his focus on human emotions and psychological insight.
Watch How to Listen to and Understand Opera Season 1 Episode 22 Now
November 1, 2023
The Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi and opera seria are the focus of Lectures 19 through 22. We learn how Verdi dominated the operatic scene in Italy for more than half a century by the power of his beautiful melodies and his focus on human emotions and psychological insight.
Watch How to Listen to and Understand Opera Season 1 Episode 20 Now
November 1, 2023
Bel canto operas are based on comic, predictable plots and one-dimensional characters to indulge the contemporary Italian taste for pure entertainment. Our frame of reference is the landmark bel canto opera, The Barber of Seville, by the most important Italian composer of bel canto operas, Gioacchino Rossini.
Watch How to Listen to and Understand Opera Season 1 Episode 18 Now
November 1, 2023
Bel canto operas are based on comic, predictable plots and one-dimensional characters to indulge the contemporary Italian taste for pure entertainment. Our frame of reference is the landmark bel canto opera, The Barber of Seville, by the most important Italian composer of bel canto operas, Gioacchino Rossini.
Watch How to Listen to and Understand Opera Season 1 Episode 17 Now
November 1, 2023
We see how comic opera, with its roots in popular folklore, developed separately from the opera seria of the aristocracy. We learn how the more accessible, populist opera buffa was championed by Enlightenment progressives.
Watch How to Listen to and Understand Opera Season 1 Episode 16 Now
November 1, 2023
We see how comic opera, with its roots in popular folklore, developed separately from the opera seria of the aristocracy. We learn how the more accessible, populist opera buffa was championed by Enlightenment progressives.
Watch How to Listen to and Understand Opera Season 1 Episode 15 Now
November 1, 2023
We see how comic opera, with its roots in popular folklore, developed separately from the opera seria of the aristocracy. We learn how the more accessible, populist opera buffa was championed by Enlightenment progressives.
Watch How to Listen to and Understand Opera Season 1 Episode 14 Now
November 1, 2023
We see how comic opera, with its roots in popular folklore, developed separately from the opera seria of the aristocracy. We learn how the more accessible, populist opera buffa was championed by Enlightenment progressives.
Watch How to Listen to and Understand Opera Season 1 Episode 13 Now
November 1, 2023
Lectures 9 through 12 review the main features of early opera and trace its growth from the early 17th century up to Mozart's Idomeneo of 1781. As opera became a public entertainment, its literary and dramatic substance deteriorated.
Watch How to Listen to and Understand Opera Season 1 Episode 12 Now
November 1, 2023
Lectures 9 through 12 review the main features of early opera and trace its growth from the early 17th century up to Mozart's Idomeneo of 1781. As opera became a public entertainment, its literary and dramatic substance deteriorated.
Watch How to Listen to and Understand Opera Season 1 Episode 10 Now
November 1, 2023
In Lectures 5 through 8 we review the Greek idea of music as it related to music of the Renaissance. We see the evolution of intermezzo as a precursor to the first real opera.
Watch How to Listen to and Understand Opera Season 1 Episode 8 Now
November 1, 2023
In Lectures 5 through 8 we review the Greek idea of music as it related to music of the Renaissance. We see the evolution of intermezzo as a precursor to the first real opera.
Watch How to Listen to and Understand Opera Season 1 Episode 7 Now
November 1, 2023
In Lectures 5 through 8 we review the Greek idea of music as it related to music of the Renaissance. We see the evolution of intermezzo as a precursor to the first real opera.
Watch How to Listen to and Understand Opera Season 1 Episode 6 Now
November 1, 2023
In Lectures 5 through 8 we review the Greek idea of music as it related to music of the Renaissance. We see the evolution of intermezzo as a precursor to the first real opera.
Watch How to Listen to and Understand Opera Season 1 Episode 5 Now
November 1, 2023
Throughout the history of European music, style and form have changed constantly. Beginning in ancient Greece, we trace the history of vocal music through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
Watch How to Listen to and Understand Opera Season 1 Episode 4 Now
November 1, 2023
Throughout the history of European music, style and form have changed constantly. Beginning in ancient Greece, we trace the history of vocal music through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
Watch How to Listen to and Understand Opera Season 1 Episode 3 Now
November 1, 2023
In the first two lectures we develop a methodology for listening to and understanding opera. We are introduced to the concept of opera as a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts in its combination of soliloquy, dialogue, scenery, action, and continuous music.
Watch How to Listen to and Understand Opera Season 1 Episode 2 Now
November 1, 2023
In the first two lectures we develop a methodology for listening to and understanding opera. We are introduced to the concept of opera as a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts in its combination of soliloquy, dialogue, scenery, action, and continuous music.
Watch How to Listen to and Understand Opera Season 1 Episode 1 Now
How to Listen to and Understand Opera is a series categorized as a new series. Spanning 1 seasons with a total of 26 episodes, the show debuted on 2023. The series has earned no reviews from both critics and viewers.
How to Watch How to Listen to and Understand Opera
How can I watch How to Listen to and Understand Opera online? How to Listen to and Understand Opera is available on The Great Courses with seasons and full episodes. You can also watch How to Listen to and Understand Opera on demand at Prime, The Roku Channel, Prime Video online.
Channel
The Great Courses
Channel
The Great Courses
Stream shows like How to Listen to and Understand Opera
Top TV Shows
Also on The Great Courses
