The Arts Society Ashdown Forest presents "The Gilded Stage: A Social and Cultural History of Opera"

The Gilded Stage: A Social and Cultural History of Opera a lecture by Daniel Snowman will provide us with a richly illustrated history of an art form that incorporates all the others. From the birth of opera in Renaissance Italy we move to Louis XIV’s Versailles, Handel’s London, Mozart’s Vienna, Verdi’s Italy and Wagner’s Germany, Gilded Age America and the worldwide spread of opera in the 20th century. During the course of this magnificent tour of the mind, we consider patronage of the arts, the changing nature of audiences, theatrical architecture and stage design and the impact of new technologies such as electric lighting, recording, photography and film. Refreshments follow the lecture.