Manhattanville College

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MUH 2049: Introduction to Opera Appreciation
MUE 3049/5049: Teaching Opera Appreciation

Course Requirements
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1. Attendance at all sessions
2. Listening Assignments
3. Reading Assignments
4. Saturday Field Trip (Jan 10)
5. First project (due January 12)
7. Summary Project (due January 20)

Required Text:
J. Merrill Knapp, The Magic of Opera, (New York, 1985);

Grading
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Part. & Attendance 20%
Class Projects 60%
New York City Tours 20%

This course will discuss, analyze, and view operas from the 17th -20th Centuries, and will look at an overview of the history of opera with emphasis on cultural background and different national traditions. The MUH 2049 section of the course will focus on the historical background and the integration of text and music. Students will address questions of musical style and the ways that composers communicate the dramatic sense of the text. The MUE 3049 section of the course will focus on the development of teaching materials and ways to bring the experience of opera into the classroom.

The main activity of the course will be the viewing and analysis of video performances. A written project will be due each week based upon the class materials. On Saturday, January 10, the class will meet in New York City for a backstage tour of the Metropolitan Opera House and a tour of Lincoln Center. We then will proceed to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for viewing of materials in that collecetion related to opera.

No musical background is required for the class, just an interest in learning about opera. There will be fees required to cover the Lincoln Center tours and the museum visit (Approximately $15.00).

"What should I be listening for?" This question cannot be answered specifically, because as opera lovers you should be listening to all stylistic factors that will help you form a critical judgment about a composer and his or her work. As initial guidelines, however, you may wish to consider the following questions to ask yourself. Remember that these operas are famous works that deserve to be part of your knowledge.

1. What is the meaning of the text? What language is being sung? What does the composer do to project or enhance the meaning of the text?
2. How has the composer cooperated with a librettist to produce meaningful drama?
3. How would you characterize the texture of the music--complex? simple? melody and accompaniment?
4. What role does repetition play in the formal pattern? Does the piece adhere to a traditional formal structure (recitative, aria, etc.)?
5. Is the piece composed idiomatically for the performing forces?
6. What performing forces are present? Do these help to identify the work?
7. In instrumental music, are there distinctive elements of scoring present (many passages for solo instruments, separation of choirs of different sonority, etc.)?
8. How would you characterize the harmony? Chromatic? Diatonic?
9. What other techniques, or striking details of any kind, give the piece its identity (e.g., dynamic contrasts, leitmotives, rhythmic detail, etc.)?
   

Course Outline and Reading Assignments

Operas Available on Videotape on Campus

Operas Resources on the Internet

The Yahoo Opera search provides a varied introduction to sources.

The Metropolitan Opera Guild web page describes resources at the Metropolitan Opera and links to various web materials.

The American Musicological Society web page contains links to many music organizations, as well the most comprehensive list of both classical and popular music on the web.

The Composers' Page lists links to many historical and popular composers.

The Library of Congress often has music exhibits, currently including music at the Vatican.

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