Get your videos of William Berger's past Zoom webinar "The Epic of Opera!" Purchase now!!

The Epic of Opera
A Live, Vibrant, Star-Studded Online Course

The Epic of Opera
An In-Depth Journey to the Soul of the Art Form -- Feel Free to Drink

The Epic of Opera
A Leap Through Time and Space

The Epic of Opera
A Rowdy, Raucous, Mind-Bending Race Through History

The Epic of Opera
A Crashing Blow To Previous Preconceptions

The Epic of Opera
A Mesmerizing, Meditative Stroll Toward a Deeper Understanding ...Have Snacks Handy

The Epic of Opera

A Live, Vibrant, Star-Studded Online Course

The Epic of Opera

An In-Depth Journey to the Soul of the Art Form -- Feel Free to Drink

The Epic of Opera

A Leap Through Time and Space

The Epic of Opera

A Rowdy, Raucous, Mind-Bending Race Through History

The Epic of Opera

A Crashing Blow To Previous Preconceptions

The Epic of Opera

A Mesmerizing, Meditative Stroll Toward a Deeper Understanding ...Have Snacks Handy

“The Epic of Opera with William Berger" was an eight-session course/community convergence addressing the subject of opera itself: What IS it? Why is it the way it is? How did it become that way? What can be gained from engaging with it that can’t be gained elsewhere? The course followed the development of this most unusual art form. So, it was a sort of a history—but really it was an inquiry into context rather than a historical rundown. What emerged was a sense of how opera—far being merely a freakish side show to the pageant of history—is actually a sort of vast audio-visual-sensual kaleidoscope, providing a unique, profound, and essential perspective on that pageant.

“I don't think there's anything out there like this," Berger says, "either on line or elsewhere. There are webinars for singing technique, for music history, and even for backstage gossip, but nothing else unpacking the very question of what this art form is and how best to mine its deep vein of gold, today and tomorrow. As such, this is for everybody, from the complete newcomer to the jaded know-it-alls needing a reboot of this huge subject.”

Recordings of all sessions are available for free to those who purchase a package. Get individual videos below, at the bottom of the page.

If you previously purchased a subscription: go the bottom of the page, choose a video, and enter your special Discount Code when processing payment! Use that code through July 15!

The Epic of Opera with William Berger VIDEO PACKAGE

Regular price: $50.00
Sale price: $50.00
Regular price
Unit price: per

This webinar took place over eight Zoom sessions during two weeks in June. It addressed the subject of opera itself: What is it? Why is it the way it is? How did it become that way? What can be gained from engaging with it that can’t be gained elsewhere? Each session was about an hour long and was comprised of three 20-minute components.

The first component was a multi-media presentation by author, lecturer, and Metropolitan Opera commentator William Berger. (See down on the homepage for individual descriptions of each session.)
The next component was a chat with one (or two) major opera stars, offering their perspective on the diverse elements of opera. Meet our guests.
Finally, there was an interactive period with the featured opera star, with questions and subjects prompted by the attendees.

Links are provided for further reading and watching, along with recommended playlists (you must have a Spotify account to listen). It’s important to clarify, however, that this is not a group listening session comparing, say, the styles of Callas and Tebaldi. When our playlists include a Callas or a Tebaldi and others, it will be in order to illustrate the mechanics of the art form itself. (This is not be a forum for snark and diva battles. There are other on-line destinations for that.)
Each session also included a recommended, theme-appropriate “Featured Cocktail” devised by notable musical mixologists, emphasizing that this was a social and artistic event, as well as an educational one. See what our mixologists came up with!

Once the Video Package is purchased, you will be provided with a confirmation email, and then another email with a document to download that has a link to a .zip file on Google Drive. You will need to then download that .zip file to your computer. A .zip-unpacking program on your computer or device will be necessary, as will roughly 7 gigabytes of hard drive space.

THIS PACKAGE INCLUDES:

All eight previously recorded sessions.
Playlists on Spotify, with descriptions and info on each piece for each session, are provided below as well as within the same .zip file as the videos. An account on Spotify will be needed to listen.

See down on the homepage for the description of each session, to download the playlists individually, to find out information about our guests, and/or to see more info about our mixologists and their concoctions.

Please note: all videos are available for download only; they are not available to stream.

Videos are meant for home entertainment use only. No part of the video can be posted, sold, or used for other means without prior permission.

If you previously purchased a subscription to the LIVE webinar, you can not use the special Discount Code with this package. You must order the videos individually (or collectively in your 'Cart').

Videos are available to download individually (click 'Get a Specific Video(s)' at the top of this page), but buying this package will save you more than 35%!!

“The Epic of Opera” is aimed at everyone, from the absolute newcomer to the most rabid and educated fan – a range which William Berger says he has the ability to encompass every time as his “one and only (but essential) Superpower.” The course aims to be fun, yet substantial and eye- (and ear- and mind-) opening for all who participate. No attendee will be left behind, and at the same time, no attendee will be left unchallenged. He says, “Every time we encounter an artistic masterpiece, it is a new creation and we are experiencing it for the first time: that’s what defines a masterpiece.” “The Epic of Opera” is a distilled online analogue of the evergreen, life-long experience of encountering opera as if anew, and guaranteed to have more “ah hah!” moments for the participants than any other webinar on line.

What you will see with a "The Epic of Opera Video Package" (individual videos are available at bottom of page):

Session #1: The Strange Creation of the Florentine Camerata

Sunday June 7th, 4:00 PM NY Time

What was this strange thing called “opera”? What is it now? Why is it what it is, and what do we really need to know about it in order to mine its vein of gold?

Special Guest: Justino Díaz

Featured Cocktail: The Don Justino, by Benson Liam Serr

Playlist

Session #2: The Baroque – The Theater of Art, Sexuality, and God

Tuesday June 9th 7:30 PM NY Time

The so-called “Age of Reason” sought extreme measures to reconcile the split between Art and Nature, and some of their operatic creations (e.g., the box office, warped time, and outlandish celebrity singers) continue to define life in our day

Special Guest: Anthony Roth Costanzo

Featured Cocktail: The Castrato, by Hunter Thore

Playlist

Session #3: There’s Something About Mozart

Thursday June 11th 7:30 PM NY Time

A very few artists (Shakespeare and The Beatles also come to mind) are so great that the magnitude of their greatness prevents people from appreciating how great (and enjoyable) they actually are. Mozart heads this list. What did he really accomplish, and how do we access it (and savor it) without being crushed by the pressure to worship his art?

Special Guest: Christine Goerke

Featured Cocktail: The Madamina, by Carlos Crowcell-Avelar

Playlist

Session #4: Madness and Magnificence in Bel Canto and Grand Opéra

Saturday June 13th 4:00 PM NY Time

Vocal abilities become characters of their own in the 19th century, creating forms of opera that will never be understood by the prosaic. But with a few new ways of looking at these forms, we can experience profound journeys in places where literalists can only see fodder for satire and cartoons.

Special Guest: Jamie Barton

Featured Cocktail: The Rossini, by William Berger

Playlist

Session #5: Romantics and Nationals – The World Got Smaller, Opera Got Bigger

Sunday June 14th 4:00 PM NY Time

Verdi and Wagner blazed bright and created works that we are still just beginning to unpack today, while a curious “little” work called Carmen showed up unassumingly – and changed everything in the opera house and beyond.

Special Guest: Morris Robinson

Featured Cocktail: The Palais Garnier, by Casey Emerald

Playlist

Session #6: Things Get Real: Verismo, Cinema, and Modern Urban Life

Tuesday June 16th 7:30 PM NY Time

New technologies for seeing and hearing the worlds of what people were able – and willing – to see and hear in the beauty and brutality of the world. Suddenly, audiences are content to open the door to such moments as the heroine of one opera of the new verismo style screaming from her gut “Per ché non sono morta?!?” (“Why am I not DEAD!”)

Special Guest: Latonia Moore

Featured Cocktail: The "Tremava Tutta Roma," by Dino Colacito

Playlist

Session #7: The Cataclysm of Modernity

Thursday June 18th 7:30 PM NY Time

At the beginning of the 20th Century, Einstein and Picasso show everyone that time and space (respectively) are relative. So opera – the bastard step-child of time and space – offers a century’s worth of ways to respond these Great Brain Fries, from shattering existential angst to palliative vernacular loveliness.

Special Guest: Anthony Dean Griffey

Featured Cocktails: The Countess Geshpritz, by Carlos Crowcell-Avalar

Playlist

Session #8: The Recent Past, Today, and Tomorrow… “What IS Reality Anyway, Man?”

Saturday June 20th 5:00 PM NY Time

New operas continue to be created at a rate that would have made our ancestors gag with envy, despite (or because of) a lack of consensus about the one “right” way to write them. There are new ways to savor the old art form, and traditional ways to experience it are challenged by new realities. How will the art form – and its audience – evolve into tomorrow?

Special Guest: Susanna Phillips

Featured Cocktail: The Minimalist Mule, by Hunter Thore

Playlist

Recordings of all sessions are available for free to those who purchase a package. Get individual videos below, at the bottom of the page.

If you previously purchased a subscription: go the bottom of the page, choose a video, and enter your special Discount Code when processing payment! Use that code through July 15!

Meet our Guests

Meet our Mixologists and their Creations!

Author / Commentator William Berger

William Berger has written on a variety of subjects, including architecture, religion, and sports. He is the author of several books and numerous articles, and has been a familiar voice on radio for over 20 years. He is a commentator for the Metropolitan Opera and is heard on Met Opera Radio’s Sirius/XM broadcasts and the podcast series “In Focus”, and is responsible for the Met’s Opera Quiz. He is a keen and active supporter of new music in a variety of genres and frequently produces and hosts live music events in New York City.

For a longer bio, see the About Us page.