Subscribers renewing? You are invited to renew your subscription at the following link: [Click here]

Opera – When Music Meets Story

Merav Barak – holder of a master’s degree from the Interdisciplinary Arts Program at Tel Aviv University, and editor of the ARIA – Opera in Cinema series.

A surprising lecture series on the art of opera—larger-than-life, spectacular to the eye and ear, and extending beyond the music.

We will delve into leading works in performances from the world’s greatest opera houses and festivals. Opera at ear level.

6 sessions, Sundays at 10:00

18.10.26 — Verdi: Macbeth

“An ambitious soul is yours, Macbeth. But on the road to greatness, will you commit a crime?” (Lady Macbeth)

A winning combination of drama and music. Shakespeare’s timeless play deals with the unrestrained and boundless lust for power of a cruel and alienated ruler, whose wife is the “engine” behind his actions.

29.11.26 — Puccini: Il trittico – Part I

Three short works by Puccini intended to be performed on a single evening. Each work is in one act. The first lecture includes Il tabarro—the dramatic and dark work—and the first part of Suor Angelica, with its mystical and tragic character.

27.12.26 — Puccini: Il trittico – Part II

A continuation lecture, including the second part of Suor Angelica, as well as Gianni Schicchi—the third and comic work in the triptych Il trittico. A wild parody of the Italian family, Florentine romance, commedia dell’arte, and above all, the art of opera itself.

7.2.27 — Offenbach: The Tales of Hoffmann

A fascinating opera about opera. A literary, dramatic, and musical tribute to the writer, musician, and jurist E. T. A. Hoffmann, including musical and amusing “treatments” of the operatic medium itself.

7.3.27 — Mozart: Così fan tutte

A sharp and witty opera exposing the surprising sides of love, morality, fidelity, and seduction. What begins as an ostensibly innocent wager develops into a dangerous role-playing game and becomes an impossible and thought-provoking test of passion and love.

16.5.27 — Donizetti: The Elixir of Love

The young Donizetti receives a commission for a new opera, but there is a problem. The singers signed their contracts before him, so he has to compose—as he puts it—for a prima donna, a stammering tenor, a comic baritone with the voice of a goat, and a worthless bass... Nevertheless, he must succeed!