Mondays, March 19 - April 16 1:30 - 3:30 pm With Iain Scott, one of Canada’s foremost opera educators. The nineteenth century was a period when European interest in the rest of the world expanded and fascination with other cultures became widespread - a process which culminated in the imperialist and colonial "scramble for Africa" at the end of the century. In the middle of the century, a series of great international expositions in London and Paris spurred the public's focus towards foreign markets and overseas opportunities. This outward-looking trend was reflected in all the arts and especially in opera - where it became fashionable to select far-away and seemingly “exotic” countries as the location of opera plots. March 19 Opera and the Mysterious East March 26 Exotic India April 2 The Americas April 9 The Steppes of Asia April 16 Africa 5 week series: $90; Drop-in: $22 info: lisar@mnjcc.org Click here to register for all 5 weeks