Opera Studies

"Enlightening!" "Revealing!" Inspiring!"

The Age of Verismo
January 24, 31; February 7, 21, 28, 2013, Thursdays beginning at 12:30 pm
Tuition: $50 ($60 Non-Members)
Members of the Vero Beach Opera enjoy the Museum membership price

Verismo (meaning “realism” from the Italian word vero meaning “true”) is the period in Italian opera from the premiere of Mascagni’s opera Cavalleria Rusticana in 1890 to the death of Puccini in 1924. With the passing of giants like Rossini, Bellini, and Donizetti, and with Verdi in decline, Italian opera at the end of the 19th century appeared to be on the wane. Then, suddenly, with the legendary premiere of Cavalleria Rusticana in 1890, Italian opera entered into a period of enormous artistic creativity and commercial success. The emergence of the giovane scuola (young school) of Italian composers was led by superstars Puccini and Mascagni, and included such lesser known but important figures as Giordano, Cilea, and Leoncavallo. Their works expressed an intensity of passion, sentimentality, and violence. What followed was the rise of cinema -- most opera houses were converted to movie theaters or closed -- and thus, the Verismo era marks the “autumn” and the last truly creative years of Italian opera.

The five-part course will study six opera performances including: Carmen (Bizet); Cavalleria Rusticana (Mascagni); Il Tabarro (Puccini); Andre Chenier (Giordano); Adriana Lecouvreur (Cilea); and Manon Lescaut (Puccini). Selected for their high quality, these presentations feature such noted performers as Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras, Eva Marton, Piero Cappuccilli, Kiri Te Kanawa, Juan Pons, Teresa Stratas, Renato Bruson, Anna Sofie von Otter, Jonas Kaufmann, Angela Gheorghiu and Thomas Allen on the stages of the Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden, La Scala and Glyndebourne.

This Vero Beach Opera and Vero Beach Museum of Art joint program is presented by Opera Studies Chair Wayne Kleinstiver.

(English subtitles for all performances)

If you prefer to order by phone, please call (772) 231-0707 x136 to reserve your space today.

Opera Studies Chair Wayne Kleinstiver is a graduate of Colorado College. He studied classical voice with H. Colin Thorpe. Opera and the study of classical singers has been his passion and avocation for more than 50 years, during which he has attended many live performances and acquired a large collection of recordings and videos. He is a member of Vero Beach Opera Board of Directors.

Visit the Vero Beach Opera website

Opera Studies is subject to the Museum Art School’s Refund Policy: student refunds are made in writing during each term’s drop/add week. No refunds are possible after the term’s drop/add week. Please contact the Museum Art School office for dates and forms.