A History of Germanic Opera

German & Austrian operas are without doubt some of the most dramatic and exciting musical genres. During this course we focus on the development of opera from the Baroque era and the works of Telemann, to the great achievements of Mozart at the end of the 18^th century; and in the next century, from Beethoven’s Fidelio, to the Wagnerian music dramas, the works of Richard Strauss and the modernistic output of Schoenberg and Alban Berg.

A Selected Discography:

Telemann & the Leipzig Opera

Anne Sofie Von Otter Sings Baroque Arias

Drama Queens ~ Joyce DiDonato, mezzo

Hasse Opera Arias ~ Max Emanuel Cencic

Hasse – Cleofide

Mozart: Arias ~ Emma Kirkby, soprano

Mozart: Die Entführung aus dem Serail ~ John Eliot Gardiner, cond.

The Art of the Prima Donna ~ Joan Sutherland, soprano

Mozart: Die Zauberflöte (highlights) ~ Otto Klemperer, cond.

Mozart: Die Zauberflote ~ Harnoncourt, cond.

Beethoven : Fidelio [Highlights] – Nikolaus Harnoncourt, cond.