19th-Century Opera: Meyerbeer, Wagner, & Verdi
Study Romantic and Grand Opera
Join Harvard University faculty in this online course to learn the music and cultural impact of three canonical operas from the 1800s: Les Huguenots , Das Rheingold , and Otello.
3-5 hours a week
What You'll Learn
Travel through central Europe in the 1800s to experience the premieres of Meyerbeer’s Les Huguenots , Wagner’s Das Rheingold, and Verdi’s Otello. A complement to our course on 18th-century opera, you’ll be introduced to opera through an in-depth study of these canonical works. You’ll learn about the musical details of each opera and the cultural influence of the works by understanding the circumstances of its composition, premiere performance, and its legacy and significance today.
First, step inside the Paris Opéra in 1836 for the premiere performance of Giacomo Meyerbeer’s grand opera Les Huguenots. Go behind the scenes to discover the people and technology that made this type of opera such a thrilling combination of music and spectacle, important in its time but little-known today. You’ll learn about the characteristics of opera from this period, those involved in producing the premiere, and the social context surrounding Les Huguenots.
Then, journey to Bayreuth in 1876 for the first production of Richard Wagner’s Das Rheingold, the opening opera of his four-part saga Der Ring des Nibelungen. Discover how Wagner used musical themes to tell this mythical story and learn about the advancements in stage technology that brought this work to life.
Finally, travel to Milan in 1887 for the premiere of Giuseppe Verdi’s second-to-last opera, Otello. Learn how Verdi’s musical approach to this Shakespearean tragedy, his first opera after a fifteen-year hiatus, was influenced by the operatic innovations of his contemporary, Richard Wagner.
Enroll now to get to know the music of these three amazing operas, the 19th-century cultural context in which they were performed, and how they remain relevant in today’s complex musical landscape.
The course will be delivered via edX and connect learners around the world.
Your Instructor
Thomas is the Morton B. Knafel Professor of Music at Harvard University. He received his B.A. from UNC-Chapel Hill, and his Ph.D. from Harvard. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, an honorary citizen of the city of Benvento, and a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Artes et Lettres of the French Republic.
Ways to take this course
When you enroll in this course, you will have the option of pursuing a Verified Certificate or Auditing the Course.
A Verified Certificate costs $209 and provides unlimited access to full course materials, activities, tests, and forums. At the end of the course, learners who earn a passing grade can receive a certificate.
Alternatively, learners can Audit the course for free and have access to select course material, activities, tests, and forums. Please note that this track does not offer a certificate for learners who earn a passing grade.