ANCIENT ROME THROUGH OPERA

Ancient Roman history may be divided into four periods: monarchy, republic, empire, and the fall of the empire. Each was marked by the glory or the infamy of such vivid personalities: Julius Caesar, Cleopatra and Nero, whose stories have long inspired opera composers— and, in the 20th century, moviemakers—to recreate these Roman lives on the stage and the screen. This course—unique in conception—explores the thousand-year arc of Rome’s history as depicted in operas by Monteverdi (L’incoronazione di Poppea), Handel (Giulio Cesare and Agrippina), Bellini (Norma), Britten (The Rape of Lucretia), and Barber (Antony and Cleopatra). Readings are drawn from selections of Roman literature, history and biography, including Marguerite Yourcenar’s novel Memoirs of Hadrian, and Chris Scarre’s Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Rome.

COURSE LENGTH: 12 weeks
DISCUSSION TEAM: David Dussault, Ossama el Naggar, Diane Moreau
FIRST SESSION: Tuesday, September 20, 2011 at 6:15 pm