Composer Meredith Monk’s opera “Atlas” is an anomaly. Though operatic in some ways—it prizes the beauty of the human voice—it deviates from convention by conveying its narrative through music and movement, but not words. It was one of many that redefined the experience of opera in the 1980s and ‘90s. This presentation traces the development of Atlas, using the story of its creation as a window into broader transformations in American opera at the end of the twentieth century.

Ryan Ebright is a musicologist at Bowling Green State University. His work on 20th-century and contemporary opera has appeared in the New York Times, New Yorker, Cambridge Opera Journal, and American Music. His current book project, Making American Opera after “Einstein,” centers on the efforts of artists and institutions over the last forty years to redefine American opera. As a public scholar, he has given talks for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Opera Philadelphia, and Toledo Symphony.

This is the third lecture of a six-lecture series. The subject of the series is Music in Detroit and Michigan: The Legend Continues. The next lecture in the series will take place March 24, 2022. The title is Music of Arab America. Learn from well-known experts about an array of interesting subjects, with an interactive Q&A period following each lecture.

Preregistration is required via the OLLI website or phone. A link to access the lecture will be e-mailed to you approximately one week prior to the lecture.