Smithsonian Associates: Fairy Tales in Classical Music, Lecture 4 – Operatic Occult

Ever since early humans began to gather, they attempted to understand the inexplicable universe by telling tales. While composers have frequently enjoyed exploring the macabre and Gothic horror, classical repertory is equally graced with gentler stories, some of which end happily ever after.

In the perfect follow-up to Halloween, speaker and concert pianist Rachel Franklin revisits her seasonal tour through the most mysterious corners of classical music as well as illustrates how fantasy and folklore have inspired some of history’s greatest composers.

British-born Franklin has been a featured speaker for organizations including the Library of Congress and NPR, exploring intersections among classical and jazz music, film scores, and the fine arts.

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Experience an intimately eerie encounter with some of the favorite ghouls and ghosts of the operatic underworld. Selections include excerpts from Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Benjamin Britten’s The Turn of the Screw, Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld, Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman, and other works.