MUSC 115 Topics in Vocal Music
A historical and cultural survey course of a select genre of vocal music, such as opera, song, musical theater, and choral music. Topics vary by semester and may satisfy different Core requirements.
Opera
From its beginnings in late sixteenth-century Italy, opera has walked a line between exclusivity and mass appeal. As both a form of popular entertainment and a tool of elite power, opera has wielded tremendous cultural influence in addition to functioning as a barometer of social and political change. This course introduces students to opera through the lens of opera’s connection to contemporary social and ideological concerns. The first half of the course surveys the first two centuries of opera in Europe, culminating in the study of two of Mozart’s most influential operas, The Marriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni, which premiered in 1786 and 1787. In the second half of the course, we will examine some of the most influential nineteenth-century operas by Bellini, Donizetti, Verdi, Bizet, Puccini, Wagner, and Strauss, looking at both their American and European reception. In particular, we will examine turn-of-the-century New York, an important inflection point in opera’s history when waves of immigration reshaped the contours of American society. This course highlights the idea that opera, like any art form, is not a fixed entity but rather an ever-changing and multifaceted reflection of a society’s contemporary concerns. Students will learn opera’s main forms and styles, examining not only the works themselves but also primary documents and secondary sources that reveal the many ways aesthetic matters are enmeshed in broader social debates. No prior musical experience is required. Core Requirements Met: Pre-1800, Regional Focus, and Fine Arts
Core Requirements Met
- Fine Arts
- Pre-1800
- Regional Focus