Opera: How to understand and enjoy it once and for all

Have you ever thought about attending an opera but then been scared by length, intricate plots, and classical musical understanding?

Or maybe you always wondered what is that many people find exciting about people singing in a strange way on a stage? Then this course is for you!

What will we be doing?

We are going to immerse ourselves in the shiny and dramatic world of opera by listening and watching some excerpts, familiarizing with characters and plots, getting to know the different kinds of voices, analysing musical details and everything that can make attending this show more interesting and exciting. I will provide you with useful technical tools (what is an aria? And recitativo? Cabaletta?) and little inside views and curiosities about the pieces.

How it works

Each meeting will focus on a different relevant work of the repertoire by the most known composers. We will follow chronological order but with some comparisons between different styles and authors too.

The lesson will be structured as follows

• A brief introduction of the subject of the day.
• Commented listening and watching of some relevant excerpts.
• Discussion, questions, comparisons, etc.
• There is no need for prior musical experience or knowledge, quite the opposite!     

About the teacher

I am a violinist and music teacher from Italy. I have an academic musical education in modern and baroque violin and worked both as a private and a public teacher. My career as musician led me to be part of different orchestras and to play for many opera productions, therefore I can give a lot of inside sights of operatic repertoire and how a show like that is built and prepared. Moreover, being Italian the most used language in these compositions, I can offer a close look at the words and texts.