3721 - Sullivan Without Gilbert (Judith Costello)
Course Description
Instructor: Judith Costello
Sir Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900) is remembered today almost exclusively for his fourteen comic opera collaborations with William S. Gilbert — but he yearned throughout his career to be recognized as a serious musician, a creator of grand opera and important choral and symphonic works.
This four-week course offers examples of Sullivan’s output in opera, oratorio, and cantata; his concert overtures, ballet-tableaux, and incidental music to Shakespeare; and a few of his fashionable Victorian “parlour songs.”
Bio: Judith Costello is a native of Oak Park, Illinois, where she divided her first 20 years between the family bookstore founded by her grandfather and the Frank Lloyd Wright-remodeled home where she was raised.
She has lived in NYC, Florida, and Michigan, and, since 1984, in the Atlanta area. She holds a degree in Music Journalism from the University of South Florida.
Following a long career as a classical music host for NPR stations WUSF and WFBE, Judith spent 25 years as academic and political officer for the Canadian Consulate General in Atlanta, retiring in 2013. She has been an OLLI instructor since 2024, and to date has presented more than 20 courses on aspects of music.