Opera History

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

This course places emphasis on an historical understanding of opera, a specific repertoire of works (primarily from the seventeenth to twentieth centuries) and representative genres of the tradition. We will emphasize critical listening and interpretative skills, focusing on specific acts and scenes (not complete works) to demonstrate characteristic musical (solo soliloquies and ensembles), dramatic (character development and theatrical topoi) and sociological aspects (specific sources, etc.) of the operas under examination. Contextual issues such as operatic production, the role of singers, the dissemination of compositions, and the relationship between composer and playwright/librettist will also be areas of discussion. X-List: Journalism, Comparative Literature, Theater and Performance Studies.