This course invites students into the bold world of Richard Wagner (1813–1883), whose operas reshaped the course of music history. Wagner’s works broke with convention through their seamless musical flow, adventurous chromatic harmony, and visionary approach to storytelling on stage. Celebrated and controversial in equal measure, his operas left an imprint on generations of composers and continue to shape the operatic repertory today.
We begin with a concise overview of Wagner’s life and early influences, tracing how composers such as Rossini, Weber, and Meyerbeer helped shape his artistic foundations. From there, the course moves chronologically through Wagner’s ten mature operas. Each class explores the musical, dramatic, and cultural dimensions of a single work, with two extended sessions dedicated to the monumental Ring Cycle, including an in-depth look at leitmotifs and other hallmarks of Wagner’s style.
No ability to read music is required. Musical ideas are introduced clearly and engagingly through guided listening, PowerPoint illustrations, and curated audio and video excerpts that bring Wagner’s operatic universe vividly to life.
