“Human Rights Through the Lens of Opera” part 2 of 6
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
to Wednesday, September 14, 2016
1:15-2:45 PM
Location: Pittsburgh Opera Headquarters
In partnership with the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh Opera will offer “Human Rights Through the Lens of Opera” at the Pittsburgh Opera headquarters, 2425 Liberty Avenue in the Strip District, on Wednesdays (September 7, 14, 21, 28, and October 5 & 19, 2016) from 1:15-2:45 PM.
Course description:
All operas tell stories. As George Jellinek wrote in History Through the Opera Glass, hundreds of operas in the standard repertoire trace a continuous narrative of human history from Roman times to the 1800s. We can identify with characters in historical operas to a point, but we need the stories in new opera to help us grapple with events closer to our own times and closer to our own homes. Name any opera; themes of love, conflict, and death are probably featured. The theme of man’s inhumanity to man is ever-present, too. This course will explore how issues of human rights thread through the standard opera repertoire, with deeper exploration of the 2016-17 Pittsburgh Opera productions, including La traviata, Salome, Richard the Lionheart, As One, and Turandot. The final, culminating focus will be on the world premiere of The Summer King – The Josh Gibson Story.
