FAQ

  • What kinds of materials does an online course with The Metropolitan Opera Guild give me access to?

    Our online course materials are comprised of lecture videos, readings, response questions, and handouts. All course materials are curated by the instructor.

  • Do I need to be able to read music to understand the course material?

    No music reading skills are necessary! Our lesson readings often include score examples and illustrations within the flow of reading, however, readings have been carefully curated such that you do not need to read music in order to understand the main point of the text. Our courses are designed to be accessible for all levels of music reading knowledge.

  • How long will I have access to the online material?

    All courses composed of pre-recorded lectures are available for 60 days after the purchase date. All webinars occur live at the stated time, and the a recording of the live webinar will be available for 72 hours. Please see each individual page to learn more.

  • What kind of technology do I need to take the course?

    You can access course material on a desktop computer, tablet, or smartphone. As long as you have internet access, you can access the course website. Select readings are available to download so that you read them while offline as well.

  • Can I use my Met Opera or my Met Guild log in credentials for this site?

    This website, containing the Metropolitan Opera Guild's Online Learning content, is hosted through Thinkific. Thinkific is a separate website than the Met Opera website, or the Met Guild website. As such, you will be asked to create a new account when you make your first purchase, and set up that account using an email and password. This new account is not connected to any preexisting accounts on the other websites.

Currently Available Courses

Instructors

Dr. Naomi Barrettara

Lecturer

Dr. Naomi Barrettara is a program development consultant and lecturer at The Metropolitan Opera Guild involved with several of the Guild’s community programs, including Opera Boot Camp, Score Reading, Continuing Education classes and Online Learning courses. She is also a co-host on The Metropolitan Opera Guild Podcast, and in her work producing the podcast between fall 2015 and summer 2020, the podcast reached over 1.25 million listeners. In addition to her work at the Guild, Naomi is a co-founder and co-host of the podcast Opera After Dark, and works on various freelance digital media projects. Naomi holds a PhD in Musicology from The Graduate Center, City University of New York, with an additional certificate in interactive technology and pedagogy. Her main research areas include opera studies, public musicology, and classical music in the digital age.

Victoria Bond

Composer, Conductor, and Lecturer

Victoria Bond leads a dual career as composer and conductor receiving praises from The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. Ms. Bond has been commissioned by ensembles including American Ballet Theater, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Houston Symphony, and Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, and her compositions have also been performed by the Dallas Symphony, New York City Opera, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and musicians from the New York Philharmonic and Chicago Symphony, among others. Her opera “Clara” about Clara Schumann will premiered under the auspices of the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden in April 2019. The first woman awarded a doctorate in orchestral conducting from The Juilliard School, she regularly appears as a guest conductor throughout the United States, Europe, South America, and China. Ms. Bond has served as music director of the New Amsterdam and Roanoke Symphony Orchestras; artistic director of Opera Roanoke, Harrisburg Opera, and Bel Canto Opera; music adviser of the Wuhan Symphony in China, assistant conductor of New York City Opera and the Pittsburgh Symphony. She is currently principal guest conductor of Chamber Opera Chicago.

Dr. Naomi Perley

Lecturer

Naomi Perley holds a PhD in Musicology from the CUNY Graduate Center. Her research focuses on the Wagnerian legacy in fin-de-siècle France, and particularly on the impact it had on French chamber music during this period. She has presented her research at the annual meetings of the American Musicological Society and at international conferences. Naomi has sung professionally with Polyhymnia, a choir devoted to singing Renaissance sacred music. She works full-time at the Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto, as an Instructional Writer in the Digital Learning department.