Not offered in 2008
This unit focuses on the history and repertoire of opera, including minor forms such as operetta and Singspiel and the popular musical. Opera is a highly complex form, enlisting in its service music, drama, poetry, acting, dance, stage-design, and costuming. The primary concentration will be on the music element of this combination, though attention will be paid to other elements of this dramatic experience.
On successful completion of the unit, students should have an understanding of the complexity of the relationship between a dramatic text and its musical setting in the theatre as well as a number of methods of analytical inquiry which can be applied specifically to theatrical music.
Written (4 short assignments): 10%
4 short class papers (15 minutes each): 10%
Essay (4000 words): 40%
Examination (3 hours): 40%
3 hours (2 x 1 hour lectures and 1 x 1 hour seminar) per week