Lourdes Offers Lifelong Learning, 'Faust' Class

The Lifelong Learning program at Lourdes University in Sylvania is for people who love learning. The classes are filled with active, interested and interesting adults. There are no exams or grades, and the enthusiasm is contagious!

Topics are varied so there is something for everyone -- including opera lovers!

To complement the Toledo Opera's spring performance, Lifelong Learning will offer a class on "Faust" taught by a member of the Lourdes English department faculty. The class will meet twice before the performance to discuss different versions of the book, then once afterwards to discuss the story's adaptation to the stage.

Toledo Opera Guild members receive free membership to Lifelong Learning this spring, which includes waived membership fees (for spring semester), free admission to the monthly lecture series, and discounts on all classes and trips.

Details on the "Faust" class:

Instructor: Susan Shelangoskie, Ph.D.
Dates: Tuesdays, April 15, 22, 29
Time: 10 a.m.
Site: Carmel Hall 1 (campus map)
Fee: $42/60 non-members
Bonus: Receive a 10% discount on tickets to the opera performance by calling (419) 255-7464 and mentioning Lifelong Learning.

Description: Have you ever wanted something so badly you would "sell your soul"? This familiar idea actually is rooted in the 15th-century German legend of Faust, an alchemist who sells his soul to the devil in return for power over the natural and supernatural world. In this class, we will discuss two of the most pivotal renditions of this tale: Christopher Marlowe's early-modern English drama "The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus" and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's influential Romantic text "Faust." We will learn how the story was transformed as it was adapted for the stage and think about this literary tradition as a framework for Charles Gounod's 1859 opera "Faust" in preparation for seeing a live performance by the Toledo Opera at the Valentine Theatre. After the performance, we will have a concluding discussion of the adaptation in light of what we have learned.

Guild members, please invite others to this amazing course and help promote the Lifelong Learning program at Lourdes.

Some of the other Lifelong Learning classes offered include: Australia, U.S. first ladies, genealogy, wine tasting, current events, Holocaust, jewelry making, Thomas Jefferson, technology, and religion. The program also offers day trips, including an upcoming one to Grand Rapids, Mich., for a visit to the Gerald Ford Museum, Meijer Gardens and the Gandy Dancer restaurant.

For more information, call Lourdes University at 419-824-3707 or visit www.lourdes.edu/lifelong.