This Week’s Topic – The Musical Artist as German Hero: Romanticism, Myth, and Wagner’s Tannhäuser

This week we will delve into the two medieval stories that Wagner combined for his libretto: the knight-poet seeking redemption after succumbing to Venus’s erotic pleasures and the famous singing contests held at Wartburg Castle. These two German-centric narratives also offered Wagner the perfect vehicle for celebrating the (super) power of the voice.

About this 4-week course…

Ready to rethink what you know about opera history? In partnership with HLAO and Opera League, the LA Opera is kicking off a groundbreaking course that will explore two works from their 2021/22 season: Rossini’s Cinderella (La Cenerentola) and Wagner’s Tannhäuser.

Join Kristi Brown-Montesano, Ph.D., Chair of Music History and Literature at the Colburn Conservatory of Music, for an exploration of the fascinating connections and contrasts between these operas as well as the composers, Gioachino Rossini, famed champion of bel canto style, and Richard Wagner, pioneer of the Gesamtkunstwerk (we’d be lost on that word, too, but luckily, Dr. Brown-Montesano is here to help).

This free course is open to anyone and taught over Zoom on four consecutive Saturdays (October 2, 9, 16 and 23) from 11am-12:15pm.

Plus…there are prizes!

• 45 registered attendees will be selected at random to win two FREE tickets to our production of Tannhäuser on October 16.
• 5 registered attendees will be selected at random to win a FREE copy of Dr. Kristi Brown-Montesano’s book, Understanding the Women of Mozart’s Operas.