EdX

18th-Century Opera: Handel & Mozart (edX)

18th-Century Opera: Handel & Mozart (edX)

Study Baroque and Classical opera through Handel’s Giulio Cesare and Mozart’s Don Giovanni. In this breathtaking course, you'll get to know the music of two beautiful operas — both in their spellbindingartistry and colorful histories.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see EdX's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

First, you'll travel to London in 1724, where George Frideric Handel premiered his most famous opera, Giulio Cesare. Meet the performers and experience what it was like to attend the first production, all while gaining an appreciation for the typical characteristics of Italian opera represented in this popular Baroque opera seria.

Then fast-forward 63 years to the Estates Theatre in Prague for the premiere of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s enduring classic, Don Giovanni. Learn about the challenges Mozart faced during the rehearsal process and the revolutionary relationship he created between music and drama in this opera.

What you'll learn

  • How singers and the orchestra interact
  • How performances of these works have changed since their premieres
  • The basic structures of Baroque opera
  • Essential characteristics of Classical music
  • Mozart’s techniques for representing characters through music

-How to compare the social and cultural contexts of the two premieres

Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Artistic Research in Music – an Introduction (edX) EdX
KU Leuven University,KULeuvenX

Artistic Research in Music – an Introduction (edX)

Learn about the topics, issues, and approaches of artistic research in music – research in and through musical practice - vital to today’s musicians and music culture. Artistic research (AR) is one of the most vibrant areas of creative thought in music – in the academic and professional worlds, but also among artists of all kinds who want to develop their practice by working and thinking coherently through its implications, questions, context and potential.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
Music For Wellness (edX) EdX
Berklee College of Music,BerkleeX

Music For Wellness (edX)

Learn how music can help reduce stress and improve your health, and well-being. You love music. You listen to music all the time. Maybe you sing, play an instrument, or compose music. You don’t need to have musical talent to use music to enhance your well being, and even your health.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
Composición de canciones (Coursera) Coursera
Berklee College of Music,Inter-American Development Bank - IDB

Composición de canciones (Coursera)

Aprende un proceso eficiente y efectivo para escribir canciones que expresen tus ideas y emociones, incluyendo una gama de herramientas que giren alrededor del concepto de prosodia; la adecuación de letra y música para apoyar tu mensaje subyacente.

Aug 17th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Pro Tools Basics (Coursera) Coursera
Berklee College of Music

Pro Tools Basics (Coursera)

Producing music is an incredibly creative process, and knowing the tools of the trade is essential in order to transmit the musical ideas in your head into the DAW in a creative and uninhibited way. Whether you have used a computer to create music before, or you have been curious about production for years, this 4-week course will give you an introductory look into the world of Avid Pro Tools and Pro Tools First.

Aug 17th 2026
4 Weeks
Music Technology Foundations (edX) EdX
University of Adelaide,AdelaideX

Music Technology Foundations (edX)

Learn how to use creative technologies to make your own music and get a step closer to a career in music. Technology has greatly altered how we write, listen to and enjoy music. This music course will show you how to apply new technologies to your own creative practice.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
First Nights: Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique and Program Music in the 19th Century (edX) EdX
HarvardX,Harvard University

First Nights: Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique and Program Music in the 19th Century (edX)

Learn about Hector Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique, an iconic Romantic symphony that ushered in an era of narrative “program music.” Six years after the premiere of Beethoven’s monumental Ninth Symphony, composer Hector Berlioz sought to make use of the symphonic genre, but on his own terms. Indeed, he wrote not only a five-movement symphony, but also a narrative program to accompany and explain the symphony.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
Introduction to the Music Business (edX) EdX
Berklee College of Music,BerkleeX

Introduction to the Music Business (edX)

Learn the latest about the rapidly changing music industry from recording, publishing, and distribution to legal issues confronting music commerce. Three things are clear about today’s music industry: The consumption of music is expanding at the greatest rate in history and from the most portals ever imagined, the cost of producing music is decreasing, and the number of artists creating and seeking to expose their work and develop careers through the Internet has increased dramatically.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
First Nights: Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo and the Birth of Opera (edX) EdX
HarvardX,Harvard University

First Nights: Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo and the Birth of Opera (edX)

Learn about Claudio Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo, one of the first operas ever written. Claudio Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo premiered in Mantua in 1607, and continues to be regarded as one of the most important examples of early opera. With L’Orfeo, Monteverdi helped to establish the techniques and traditions that continue to inform the genre of opera to this day.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
World Music: Balinese Rhythms (edX) EdX
MIT,MITx

World Music: Balinese Rhythms (edX)

Learn and Play: An interactive course focusing on the rhythms of Bali. This course provides an introduction to Balinese music, and the role of music in Balinese culture. Students will have the opportunity to both learn about and watch Balinese performances, as well as start to learn and practice the rhythms and techniques of Balinese gamelan online, using the “Jamelan” game.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
Soundcool: Módulos de vídeo y propuestas creativas (edX) EdX
Universitat Politècnica de València,UPValenciaX

Soundcool: Módulos de vídeo y propuestas creativas (edX)

Aprende los conceptos básicos para poder usar la parte correspondiente a vídeo del sistema Soundcool para educación musical y creación colaborativa mediante móviles, tablets y Kinect. En este curso en línea aprenderás los conceptos básicos para poder usar la parte de vídeo del sistema Soundcool para educación musical y creación colaborativa mediante móviles, tablets y otros dispositivos.

Self Paced
Self-Paced