Opera Lecture Series: Opera
A Musical Journey through Jewish History
Learn about the rich traditions of Ladino, Hassidic, Sephardic love songs and Polish shtetl music, then look at Jewish composers, Judaism as portrayed in opera, music in the concentration camps, and finally travel to Israel with it's rich tradition of Israeli folk songs and a closer look at Israel's classical music life. Multi-Media Lecture with live harp performances.
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Fallen Female or Femme Fatale?: Operatic Portraits
Explore the role of women in opera, their struggles, conflicts, and the sexual politics that ensnared them, their relationships with lovers, mothers and fathers. Gaining a new perspective into the psychological and sociological forces that formed their creation, celebration and rejection.
The course will explore operas from Mozart, Bizet, Verdi, Gounod, Wagner, and Alban Berg through a multi-media format.
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Verdi's Othello: Farewell the tranquil mind
Take a journey from heroism to murderous darkness - and on the way explore racism, love, jealousy and betrayal through an in-depth look at Verdi's opera Othello. Hear about hell, demons and monsters by Iago and learn about important symbols such as the fateful handkerchief. Multi Media Lecture
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From Darkness to Light: German Opera Discovered
An opera lecture which discusses the development of German opera through the following examples: Mozart's Magic Flute (Singspiel), Weber's Freischuetz, (romantic opera), Beethoven's Fidelio (Rescue Opera) and Richard Wagner's music drama, Lohengrin.
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Fun with Operetta
This lecture series discovers a lighter form of opera. "Operetta" is filled with romantic and sentimental stories, great music, and joyful tunes sung by remarkable characters. Learn about the heydays of operetta, the life and times of their successful composers, and the comic plots which are filled with farce and parody. Multi-media lecture.
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Gilbert and Sullivan
Travel into the wonderfully witty world of the Savoy operas of Gilbert and Sullivan. Explore their social and historical context, learn about the musical forms that define them such as pattern songs and connect the ironic texts to real historical figures. Multi-media lecture.
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"Golden Voices from Abroad"
Explore the passions of operatic stars and composers who immigrated to the United States in search of new opportunities, to spread their wings, and find their voice. This amazing journey will take you from Italy, Germany, Brazil to Poland recreating these extraordinary performers lives and careers. Multi-Media lecture.
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Grand Opera
This lecture focuses on the French Grand Opera style. Learn what to expect, how to listen and the history of Grand Opera.
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In the Abyss of Madness
An exploration of mental disease as portrayed in opera.
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"Jewish Musical Traditions"
Explore the musical traditions of the Sephardic, Ashkenazi and Hassidic world through a concert-lecture with live performances on the harp by Jasmin Bey Cowin. Hear and learn about Ladino love- songs, Klezmer music, music of the Jewish festivals, famous melodies and and modern Jewish songs. Rediscover old childhood favorites and hear new compositions. This lecture will explore in depth the history and traditions of Jewish music spanning several centuries and continents.
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Mozart, His Life and His Work
This multi-media course will examine Mozart's music and life in a social and biographical context. Specialized musical terms will be explained and musical examples will form highlights of each session.
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Mozart's Operas Discovered
Learn about Mozart's operas, his operatic style and his life.Understand the forms he used such as opera buffa, opera seria, and Singspiel. Travel through Mozart's adolecense to his musical maturity with his operas. Mulit-media lecture.
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"Muslim Civilization through the Eyes of Western Opera"
This four part multi-media lecture cycle takes a closer look at the representation and the portrayal of the Muslim people through the eyes of Western opera. It focuses on prejudices and stereotypes in still popular operas and their influence on Western society at the time of the premiere and beyond.
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"On the Deathbed of the Consumptive Heroine" or "The White Plague"
This multi-media lecture is an operatic journey through the history of Tuberculosis.
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Opera and the Seven Deadly Sins
An absorbing journey into the minds of the villains of opera. Explore their motivations, the composer’s thoughts and the religious predispositions of the time. Careful study of the plays, libretti, music and psychodynamics of the main protagonists. Each lecture will feature selections of music with both historic and contemporary performances.
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Opera and Tragedy
This lecture explores operas based on tragic plays, fanatical heroes and heroines, Freudian psychodramas, misguided religious zeal, and wretched endings. An in- depth study of cultural and musical history through opera.
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Opera at Home
Dr. Cowin brings opera alive at your home through personalized lectures and discussions. (Only in Manhattan)
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Opera in New York
This lecture series will discover the rich treasure trove of operatic life in New York City. It will explore in-depth some of the new productions and revivals at the Metropolitan Opera, City Opera and Opera Company of Brooklyn. Each session will look at one or two operas employing contemporary and historic CD's, DVDs, videotapes and some live performances by young, talented singers.
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Opera Rara
This lecture examines rare and infrequently performed operas based on famous plays, and flawed heroes and heroines who are facing traumatic decisions. A focused look on operas cultural and musical history will provide insight into the inner life of the forgotten gems.
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Operafest
This lecture will explore famous, beloved, treasured operas and their composers. Discover other great operatic works by Verdi, Puccini and Mozart. Learn about the operas cultural and musical history; the composers, their life and their censorship troubles.
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Puccini Discovered
A methodical, in-depth look at Puccini and his flawed heroines. The lecture will focus on characters studies, emotions, situations and productions.
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Opera: Sexuality, Illness, and Death: "The Damming Mark of Disease"
This lecture combines medical and musical history by looking at operatic representations of disease, gender and
sexuality, and the depiction of the 'stage death' in the musical, social and medical realm.
This multi-media talk focuses on the 'Phthisic Beauty' contaminated by the Tubercle bacillus, and the stigma of the
'polluted blood' theory of syphilis, and cholera as portrayed in opera.
The lecture will feature operatic excerpts from La Traviata (Verdi), La Boheme (Puccini), Parsifal (Wagner) and Death
in Venice (Britten).
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Tales of Love
Learn about some of the most famous and beloved love scenes in opera and why they still touch our soul.
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"The African American Opera Experience"
As Rosalyn M. Story, author of And So I Sing: African-American Divas of Opera and Concert, states, "Today, the Black diva flourishes in a world that excluded her for generations." Besides Norman, the members of this impressive sorority include Harolyn Blackwell, Kathleen Battle, Barbara Hendricks, Leona Mitchell, Wilhelminia Fernandez, Marvis Martin, Clamma Dale, Isola Jones, Carmen Balthrop, Cynthia Clarey, Gwendolyn Bradley, Florence Quivar and Roberta Alexander. This lecture explores the lives of exceptional operatic Divas and ventures beyond expected appearances in such standards as Porgy and Bess, Aida, to Madame Butterfly, La Forza Del Destino, and other repertoire they have made unforgettable.
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The damming mark of Disease
Take an operatic journey to the deathbed of the phthisistic heroine - meet Violetta (La Traviata/Verdi), Antonia (Les contes d'Hoffmann/Offenbach), and Mimi (La Boheme/Puccini). These three well known operas, produced successively over the last half of the nineteenth century deal explicitly with consumption. Not only do these operas show the evolution in thinking and diagnosis of spes phthisica or Tuberculosis but also society's views and the physician's role. Then experience the "madness" of men and women tormented by society and personal daemons follow the decent into evil deeds, suicide and disintegration.
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"The Jewish People in Opera"
These multimedia lecture centers on the portrayal of the Jewish people and history through the looking glass of opera. Learn about anti-Semitism in operatic plots, music, libretti, and composers. In-depth character studies of the main protagonists in the opera will be presented. In addition, the lectures will spotlight the political and artistic climate during the compositional process (such as censorship) and the audience's reception during the premiere. Some of the featured operas are: Moses and Pharaoh (Rossini), Nabucco (Verdi), La Juive (Halevy), Sampson and Dalila (Saint-Saens), and Die Meistersinger (Wagner)
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"The Jewish Voyage through Music"
A review of history through the kaleidoscope of music. This lecture starts with the emergence of successful Jewish composers and instrumentalists in the nineteenth century and spans through the twentieth century chronicling the lives, careers and history of famous Jewish musicians. The lecture will focus on their triumphs and rejections, their struggles within society and spotlight at some length the time from 1930 and beyond in Germany. Multi - media lecture
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The Ring of the Nibelung
Explore in depth Wagner’s complete Ring cycle, its mythology, symbolicism and different interpretations.
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The Story of Opera
A concentrated study of famous Italian, French, German, and American operas. Student receive an in-depth look at operatic history, composers, plots, and libretti. Multi-media lecture.
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Viva Verdi!
A comprehensive journey through Verdi’s life. The course will focus on all aspects of Verdi’s productive career and his rise as Italy’s most favorite opera composer. The works will be related to the milieu from which they emerged and embedded in a discussion of a biographical narrative. Multi-media.
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Music Appreciation
Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms — the Story of the Symphony
Four German masters are explored in depth. This multi-media lecture series will focus on their life and music, their growth as individuals, their influence on society and culture. Musical forms, genres and relevant musical periods will be examined with an emphasis on broadening perceptive listening skills.
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800 Years of Music
An overview of the world of music through selected masterworks. Course covers Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic and 20th Century music. Concentration on style characteristics, personal and national styles, and the life of the composers. The goal is to gain a historical perspective, training listening and analytic skills through a wide selection of musical genres such as symphonies, concertos, instrumental and vocal music.
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History of Western Music
A study of the history of Western music from the ancient Greeks through the mid-18th century. Emphasizes the development of score analysis and listening skills in a historical context.
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Music of the Baroque and Classical Periods
A rigorous study of composers, forms, styles, and cultural context of baroque and classical music. Focal points are representative composers such as Monteverdi, Lully, Vivaldi, Bach, and Handel and in the classical period works of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. Emphasizes the development of opera, symphony, concerto, and chamber music.
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Music in the Classic Era
An examination of music from the mid-18th century through the time of Beethoven. A close look at the developments in Italian and French opera, of German and English instrumental and sacred works, patronage systems and the dissemination of music including its place in the concert repertory today.
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The Barber and The Merry Widow
"To eat, to love, to sing, to digest; in truth, these are the four acts in the opera buffa we call life." - Gioacchino Rossini. Take a closer look at the workings of opera buffa, operetta, and the Savoy operas.
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A Day in the Life of Tosca
A closer look at the play and Puccini's opera Tosca through a historic-topographic panorama. Multi-media event.
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Les Troyens
An in-depth lecture bringing Virgil's Aeneid and Berlioz's masterwork Les Troyens to life.
Explore one of the greatest break-up stories of all times.
Multi Media.
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Turandot by Puccini
"The Mythological Battle of the Sexes" as the lecture
Puccini's Turandot, a "finis" to the Golden Century of Italian Opera, explores the frozen Daphne-like state of the Persian Princess Turandot who can only be awakened by Love, encompassed by Calaf, her suitor and savior. The lecture explores the historical roots of the Persian tale "The daughter of Turan", Turandot and the mythological battle of the sexes through a mulit-media presentation.
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The Magic Flute by Mozart
"A psychological portrait of the main characters in the Magic Flute" as the lecture
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Greek mythology, Strauss and Electra
Electra's UndoingA portrait of Night and Light, Greek mythology expressed through musical tragedy. Electra's portrayal is what appealed to Strauss' librettist Hofmannsthal, who "develops with the new insights of psychology Sophocles' portrait of a woman corroded and destroyed by her years of waiting and obsessive brooding" (Quote M. Ewans) Multi Media Lecture
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Der Beginn der Romantik
Ein Einblick in frueh-romantische Mythologie, Goethe's "Erlkoenig", und Schubert's Vertonung des Erlkoenigs.
(In German).
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Goethe and Schubert's "Earlking"
the early romantic "Lied", and the beginning of the Romantic Movement in music
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"An analysis of the arch typical figure of Mozart's Don Giovanni and Soren Kierkegaard's interpretation"
with a theological response & dialog pertaining to the figure of Don Juan and his counter part Dr. Faust.
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