Individual Course
Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo and the Birth of Opera
Course Length
3 weeks
3-5 hours per week
Featuring faculty from:
Harvard Faculty of Arts & Sciences
Enroll as Individual
Certificate Price:
$ 149
Enroll as Individual
Certificate Price:
$ 149
Explore an important example of early opera that helped to establish traditions, Monteverdi's L'Orfeo.
Claudio Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo premiered in Mantua in 1607 and continues to be regarded as one of the most important examples of early opera. With L’Orfeo, Monteverdi helped to establish the techniques and traditions that continue to inform the genre of opera to this day. Harvard’s Thomas Forrest Kelly (Morton B. Knafel Professor of Music) guides learners through the first half of L’Orfeo, highlighting aspects of operatic form and dramatic technique, the rehearsals and cultural context for the premiere performance, and the work’s continued relevance today. There will also be a focus on Monteverdi’s life and work as a Renaissance court musician. In this music course, you will learn the basics of operatic form and analysis, the genres and styles used, and the circumstances of this opera’s first performance and subsequent history. Learners in this course need not have any prior musical experience.
The course will be delivered via edX and connect learners around the world.
Self-Guided
edX
- Learning Outcome
Identify and describe the technical and formal aspects of 17th century opera.
- Learning Outcome
Understand the instruments of Monteverdi’s orchestra, as well as the voice types of the singers.
- Learning Outcome
Appreciate cultural context and performance circumstances of Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo.
- Learn from Harvard faculty
- Do it on your own time
- Get a certificate, add it to your resume
- Be part of the Harvard Community
Ways to take this course
Audit or Pursue a Verified Certificate
A Verified Certificate costs $149 and provides unlimited access to full course materials, activities, tests, and forums. At the end of the course, learners who earn a passing grade can receive a certificate.
Alternatively, learners can Audit the course for free and have access to select course material, activities, tests, and forums. Please note that this track does not offer a certificate for learners who earn a passing grade.
Faculty
Your Instructor
Thomas Forrest Kelly
Morton B. Knafel Professor of Music, Harvard University
Thomas is the Morton B. Knafel Professor of Music at Harvard University. He received his B.A. from UNC-Chapel Hill, and his Ph.D. from Harvard. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, an honorary citizen of the city of Benvento, and a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Artes et Lettres of the French Republic.
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