Our speaker this morning, Stephen Gottlieb (Professor Emeritus, English Literature), writes: I’d like to discuss the extreme life events often presented in Western classical music, especially opera. This music strips away what is non essential in our lives, and concentrates on the essentials: birth, love, death, and transitions. Special emphasis is on the interrelationship of grief and transcendence. Examples are selected from Gustav Mahler, Giacomo Puccini, and Richard Wagner.