Opera in the 20th Century

Here are the latest topics from my class this semester on Opera in the 20th Century:

• November 12: Opera in Russia (Shostakovich, Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District, 1934; Prokofiev, War and Peace, 1941–1952; and Schnittke, Life with an Idiot, 1992)
  
• November 5: Opera and Minimalism (Glass, Einstein on the Beach, 1976; Adams, Nixon in China, 1987)
  
• October 29: Opera in America (Virgil Thomson, Four Saints in Three Acts, 1934; Stravinsky, The Rake's Progress, 1951; Menotti, The Saint of Bleecker Street, 1954; Barber, Vanessa, 1958)
  
• October 22: Opera and Jazz (Ravel, L'Enfant et les Sortilèges, 1925; Krenek, Jonny Spielt Auf, 1927; Gershwin, Porgy and Bess, 1935; Weill, Street Scene, 1947)

We're getting close to the end, so I also posted some thoughts about Making Opera Relevant, which is something we have been discussing in class. I think it might be something to which some readers may want to contribute a couple cents.