This 2-credit course is for students at mixed levels, including advanced (3rd- and 4th-year) undergraduates and graduate students. Music literacy is required. The course explores topics related to historical and musicological aspects of opera in the Romantic era. It is divided into five parts that explore opera as a multifaceted cultural phenomenon. We begin with the social context of 19th-century Europe, looking at the impact of the politics and national (and nationalistic) ideologies upon the creation, perception, and production of opera. We then discuss the issue of text-music relation, focusing on the question of how the libretto shapes the music (and vice versa), and how the literary sources contributed to the larger conceptual frame of the narrative. This leads us to a different definition of the work concept (Werktreue), and the creative process of an opera composer in relation to the “definitive version” of his work. We then consider performance and production of opera, exploring the star system, the changing roles of opera conductors, and the visual and acoustical space of opera houses as major factors in the aesthetics of opera-going. We will also look at the practical aspects of opera production, considering issues of staging, rehearsal, and costume design. We conclude with opera at the turn of the century, discussing how Romantic opera was continued and gradually taken over by concepts and techniques related to modernism.

The aim of this course is twofold: to introduce students to major stylistic traits in the standard repertoire of Romantic opera, and, even more importantly, to help students understand Romantic opera as a cultural phenomenon in 19th-century Europe—rather than a musical genre alone—with a distinct set of expectations from composers, librettists, and audiences, as well as governments and nations.

This 2-credit course is for students at mixed levels, including advanced (3rd- and 4th-year) undergraduates and graduate students. Music literacy is required. The course explores topics related to historical and musical aspects of opera in the Romantic era. It is divided into five parts that explore opera as a multifaceted cultural phenomenon. We begin with the social context of 19th-century Europe, looking at the impact of the politics and national (and nationalistic) ideas upon the creation, perception, and production of opera. We then discuss the issue of text-music relationship, focusing on the question of how the libretto shapes the music (and vice versa), and how the literature sources contributed to the larger conceptual frame of the narrative. This leads us to a different definition of the work concept (Werktreue), and the creative process of an opera composer in relation to the “definitive version” of his work. We then consider performance and production of opera, exploring the star system, the changing roles of opera conductors, and the visual and acoustical space of opera houses as major factors in the aesthetics of opera-going. We will also look at the practical aspects of opera production, considering issues of staging, rehearsal, and costume design. We conclude with opera at the turn of the century, discussing how Romantic opera was continued and gradually taken over by concepts and techniques related to modernism.

The aim of this course is twofold: to introduce students to major stylists in the standard repertoire of Romantic opera, and, even more importantly, to help students understand Romantic opera as a cultural phenomenon in 19th-century Europe—rather than a musical genre alone—with a distinct set of expectations from composers, libretitists, and audiences, as well as governments and nations.

Anthologies:
The Oxford Illustrated History of Opera
The Cambridge History of 19th-Century Music
Opera: A History in Documents
Opera in Context: Essays on Historical Staging from the Late Renaissance to the Time of Puccini
The Cambridge Companion to Verdi

Journal articles from:
Cambridge Opera Journal
19th-Century Music
Journal of the American Musicological Society
Critical Inquiry
The Journal of Interdisciplinary History
Journal of Musicology
The Opera Quarterly

Anthologies:
The Oxford Illustrated History of Opera
The Cambridge History of 19th-Century Music
Opera: A History in Documents
Opera in Context: Essays on Historical Staging from the Late Renaissance to the Time of Puccini
The Cambridge Companion to Verdi

Journal articles from:
Cambridge Opera Journal
19th-Century Music
Journal of the American Musical Society
Critical Inquiry
The Journal of Interdisciplinary History
Journal of Musicology
The Opera Quarterly