Open MINDS Institute

Announcing its thrilling 2016-17 season of live broadcasts, the Metropolitan Opera has expanded its on stage productions into our learning community in Connecticut. Celebrating its 50th season at Lincoln Center, this promises to be a particularly exciting fall/winter season, beginning with a new production of Wagner’s music drama of doomed love, Tristan und Isolde, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle. In addition to audience favorites such as there will be a production of L’Amour del Loin by Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho—a breathtaking opera described by the New York Times as “transfixing…a lushly beautiful score” when it was premiered at the Salzburg Festival in 2000. This will be the first opera at the Met composed by, and conducted by, a woman, and, like Tristan, features a knight on a quest.

In this specially designed ‘listening & learning’ class, we focus on the live HD season of Metropolitan Opera broadcasts. We will discuss both the operas and the specific productions we will see. Dr. Grossman’s animated, insightful sessions includes demonstrations of musical sections or themes as he teaches from the piano in a masterclass style. Whether you just enjoy opera with no real musical training, or a lifelong devotee, this course enhances your appreciation for the live performances you will be watching. As a special event, members of the Metropolitan opera company will join us for one of the mornings for an intimate backstage look at the Met.

DR. ORIN GROSSMAN has been delighting audiences the world over with his unique approach to performing and explaining great American and European music. As a performer he is in demand as an interpreter of the music of George Gershwin, playing his songs and classical compositions around the world, including Florence, Cairo, Australia, and St Petersburg, Russia, where he performed Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and gave the Russian premiere of Gershwin’s Second Rhapsody with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic to a standing ovation. Appearing across the nation as a star professor for “One Day University,” he has a unique talent for educating and entertaining with a disarming wit and uncanny intelligence.