Giacomo Meyerbeer was the most celebrated Opera composer in 19th century Europe, so beloved that children collected trading cards with his face on them; why have you never heard of him? Fromenthal Halevy composed La Juive but demanded that the ending be changed to turn the Jewish protagonist into a hate-filled fanatic; why? Cantor Mike will examine the history of 19th century opera (including how one opera caused a revolution that created the country of Belgium) and how Jewish composers used it as a tool to express their concerns about their role in a post-Enlightenment Europe and a rising bitter culture war between what would become the Reform and Orthodox movements.