Thayer Hall
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19th-Century Parisian Courtesans: A Feminist’s Perspective with Tiffany Kuo, Professor of Music, Mount San Antonio College and Colburn Conservatory of Music
Guest speaker Tiffany Kuo provides background information on Verdi’s classic opera. The lecture will explore the evolving roles of working women in mid-19th century Paris, as their quest for independence grew socially and politically after the patriarchal order of Napoleon.
Among the various strata of sex workers, courtesans represented the apex, captivating society with their influence and power. These women were not merely figments of fiction found in novels and operas; they were real-life figures who authored their own destinies. Through a comparative analysis of fictional narratives and non-fictional accounts, we will seek a fuller backdrop to Verdi’s La traviata.
Professor Tiffany Kuo is a conservatory-trained pianist and liberal-arts educated musicologist. She is on faculty at Mt. San Antonio College and at the Colburn Conservatory. She is also an affiliated scholar at Los Angeles Opera.