Discover the hidden world of opera, find out how it works and debate whether it’s still relevant today. How does opera work? How has it changed over 400 years? And most importantly, is opera relevant today? Get the answers to these questions and more with this course taking you behind opera’s velvet curtain.

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If you’ve never been to an opera, or assumed it’s not for you, you’ll learn the basics in a new and exciting way. And if you already enjoy opera and want to learn more, this course will enrich your future experiences, helping you to develop a toolkit of operatic concepts to draw on long after you have finished the course.

Now is your chance to explore this diverse and spectacular art form.

What topics will you cover?

What is opera? What happens onstage? What goes on backstage? How is opera embedded in the world beyond the opera house?

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you'll be able to...

- Describe opera and its main musical and dramatic features

- Discuss how opera has changed with the world around the opera house

- Explore the major roles involved in staging an opera, both in the past and today

- Reflect on opera’s changing role in culture and society during its four-century history

- Explore how new technologies have altered the way audiences experience opera

- Discuss what opera has to offer in the 21st century