FAQ
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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.
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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.
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How long will I have access to the online material?
All courses are available for 60 days after the purchase date.
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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.
Currently Available Courses
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Free
Introduction to Score Reading
This course is designed as an introduction to music notation, terminology, and score elements, using exclusively operatic examples, so that you can begin learning how to follow along in a score with your favorite opera recordings!
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$100.00
Operatic Libretti and Librettists
This course explores the life and work of librettists including Lorenzo Da Ponte, Salvadore Cammarano, Michel Carré, Jules Barbier, Luigi Illica, and Giuseppe Giacosa. The process of adaptation of works from the page to stage is also explored.
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$100.00
Wagner's Ring: Music, Motifs, and Magic
This course focuses on Wagner’s masterful Ring cycle. For each opera in the cycle, lessons in this course provide an in-depth exploration of the musical fabric and dramatic elements of each work with composer, conductor, and lecturer Victoria Bond.
Instructors
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Dr. Naomi Barrettara
Lecturer
Dr. Naomi Barrettara is a program development consultant and staff lecturer at The Metropolitan Opera Guild involved with several of the Guild’s community programs, including Opera Boot Camp, Score Reading, and Continuing Education classes. She is also a cohost and producer of The Metropolitan Opera Guild Podcast, established in the fall of 2015. In addition to her work at the Guild, Naomi is a cofounder and cohost of the podcast Opera After Dark, and works on various freelance digital media projects. Naomi holds a Ph.D. 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.