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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY
COURSE CODE: "MUS 102"
COURSE NAME: "Italian Opera"
SEMESTER & YEAR:
Spring 2020
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SYLLABUS
INSTRUCTOR:
David Castronuovo
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS:
MW 11:30 AM 12:45 PM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS:
45
CREDITS:
3
PREREQUISITES:
OFFICE HOURS:
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COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Opera is perhaps one of Italy's most important cultural innovations, continuing to fascinate the world since its birth over four hundred years ago. The aim of the course is to examine the birth and development of opera in Italy from the late Renaissance to contemporary Italian opera. The inherent problems in the union of music, text, and drama in this complex music form are explored in the solutions that the most important operatic composers have provided. The aim of the course is then not only to understand and appreciate a story set to music, but the different and varied aspects of opera, its creation, and production. The course explores the history of Italian opera from its birth in the late Renaissance, its development in the 17th century, Italian opera abroad with G.F. Handel and W.A. Mozart, the Belcanto operas, G. Verdi, the Verismo movement, 20th century and contemporary opera. Form and structure in opera, relations between text and music, the world of singers and the characters they portray, historic study of the operatic orchestra, notions of opera production: staging, sets, costumes and the Italian opera house.
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SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:
Please note that all students -- with or without formal musical training -- are welcome to enroll.
Course members may study all works in English translation.
Students will leave the course with the ability to assess the often fluid relationship between words and and music that informs the major works in the Italian repertory, and to determine how successfully the composer and librettist have used music in the service of theatrical drama.
A. Participants will study a number of Italian operas in depth. Students will familiarize themselves with both libretto and music, such that they can analyze successfully the ways in which specific sections of each work relate to the whole piece. Students will also gain expertise in understanding how composer and librettist fashion an opera from a literary source. Our study will consider all aspects of theatrical production (sets, staging, performance venue, costumes, etc.).
Principal works studied:
1. L'Orfeo (Orpheus), libretto by Alessandro Striggio, music by Claudio Monteverdi (first performed Mantova, Italy, 1607)
2. La serva padrona (The Servant-Mistress), libretto by Gennaro Federico, music by Giovanni Pergolesi (first performed Naples, Italy, 1733)
3. Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (first performed Vienna, Austria, 1786)
4. La traviata (The Fallen Woman), libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, music by Giuseppe Verdi (first performed Venice, Italy, 1853)
5. Otello (Othello), libretto by Arrigo Boito, music by Giuseppe Verdi (first performed Milan, Italy, 1887)
6. La bohème, libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, music by Giacomo Puccini (first performed Torino, Italy, 1896)
7. Madama Butterfly, libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, music by Giacomo Puccini (first performed Milan, Italy, 1904)
B. Participants will read the literary sources for the last four of the works listed above. In each case, students will examine the choices that librettist and composers made as they selected, amplified, ignored, or supplemented material from the literary sources of their operas.
Othello (Shakespeare)
Scenes from the Bohemian Life (Henri Murger)
Madame Butterfly (John Luther Long) (short story)
C. Participants will view the following films/filmed operas, and gain appreciation for the ways in which film can either enhance or diminish the experience of Italian opera.
Farinelli the Castrato (Gérard Corbiau, director, 1994)
Madama Butterfly (Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, director, 1975)
D. In addition to the complete operas above, students will gain a more perfect knowledge of the history of Italian opera by studying excerpts from the works listed below:
Rinaldo (Handel)
Orfeo ed Euridice (Gluck)
L'elisir d'amore (The Elixir of Love) (Donizetti)
E. To achieve a comparative sense of Italian, German, and French opera, students will evaluate excerpts from the following works:
Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), libretto and music by Richard Wagner (Munich, Germany, 1870)
Carmen, music by Georges Bizet (Paris, 1879)
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LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Participants will leave the course with extensive knowledge of the forms and conventions of Italian opera; its relation to the broader cultural and artistic history of the Italian peninsula (and of Europe); basic Italian prosody; opera's literary sources; the importance of the librettist; voice types; and the fundamentals of all aspects of operatic stage production. Participants will gain the ability to assess critically (1) the dynamic relationship between poetry and and music that gives Italian opera its own style and theatrical power, and (2) the success with which the composer and librettist have used music, in any given work, to serve the interests of dramatic art.
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TEXTBOOK:
| Book Title | Author | Publisher | ISBN number | Library Call Number | Comments | Format | Local Bookstore | Online Purchase |
| A Short History of Opera | Donald Grout | ebook | 0000000000 | ebook available through Frohring Library site | | | | |
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REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
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GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
| Assignment | Guidelines | Weight |
| Mid-term Exam 1 Wed. 4 March | Listening (Recognition of operatic pieces) | 15% |
| Mid-term Exam 2 - Wed. 18 Mar. | Written analysis of an operatic scene | 10% |
| Mid-term Exam 3 - Wed. 1 April | History | 15% |
| Quizzes | | 10% |
| Final Project - due Mon. 11 May (after exam period ends) | Staging | 20% |
| Final Exam | Analysis / History / Listening | 30% |
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-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
A Work of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensive knowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the course.
B This is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised.There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluate theory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture and reference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments.
C This is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.
D This level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material.Important information is omitted and irrelevant points included.In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail.
F This work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant.
-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:
The course has a strict attendance policy. Absences lead to a lowering of the final course grade, as follows: 1st absence, 1%; 2nd absence, an additional 2%; 3rd absence, an additional 3%; for every subsequent absence, an additional 5% is taken off the final course grade.
The instructor will only excuse absences if class is missed (1) due to religious holiday, or (2) due to a medical illness that is verified by the JCU Clinic physician (or other qualified doctor).
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ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic
dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred.
In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment,
may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of
academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student
who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from
the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation
to the President, who will make the final decision.
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STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap.
Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning
of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.
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SCHEDULE
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Weeks 1-3
Poetic and musical forms
Renaissance to Baroque: the Birth of Opera
The Florentine Camerata
Weeks 4-5
Orpheus (complete opera)
Film: Farinelli the Castrato
Rinaldo (excerpts) (Handel)
Opera seria
The geography of Italian opera
La serva padrona (The Servant-Mistress) (Pergolesi)
Comic forms
Weeks 6-7
The Marriage of Figaro (complete opera)
L'elisir d'amore (The Elixir of Love) (excerprts) (Donizetti)
Bel canto
Weeks 8-9
The Risorgimento
La traviata (complete opera)
Comparative influences: Wagner and Bizet
Weeks 10-12
Reading: Shakespeare's Othello
Othello (complete opera)
Film: Otello (Zeffirelli)
Verismo
Reading: Cavalleria rusticana (Rustic Chivalry) (short story)
Cavalleria rusticana (Rustic Chivalry) (complete opera)
Weeks 13-14
Reading: Murger's Scenes from the Bohemian Life
La bohème (complete opera)
Reading: John Luther Long's Madame Butterfly (short story)
Madama Butterfly (excerpts) (Puccini)
Film: Madama Butterfly (Ponnelle)
The Twentieth Century
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