| Title: | Opera Studies |
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| Long Title: | Opera Studies |
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| Field of Study: |
Music & Performing Arts
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| Valid From: |
Semester 1 - 2016/17 ( September 2016 ) |
| Module Coordinator: |
MARIA JUDGE |
| Module Author: |
ROISIN MAHER |
| Module Description: |
This module explores opera in its socio-historical and cultural contexts from c. 1600 to the present day. The course considers opera as a vehicle for ideas and social change and examines issues relating to stage design, performance practice and gender on the operatic stage. |
| Learning Outcomes |
| On successful completion of this module the learner will be able to: |
| LO1 |
Contextualise significant developments in opera from c. 1600 to the present day |
| LO2 |
Interpret key figures, operatic works and developments in opera of selected periods |
| LO3 |
Analyse interpretations of selected operatic works |
| LO4 |
Evaluate the significance of a selected opera composer, performer or development in opera |
| LO5 |
Research and present an approved specialised topic in opera |
| Pre-requisite learning |
Module Recommendations
This is prior learning (or a practical skill) that is strongly recommended before enrolment in this module. You may enrol in this module if you have not acquired the recommended learning but you will have considerable difficulty in passing (i.e. achieving the learning outcomes of) the module. While the prior learning is expressed as named MTU module(s) it also allows for learning (in another module or modules) which is equivalent to the learning specified in the named module(s).
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Incompatible Modules
These are modules which have learning outcomes that are too similar to the learning outcomes of this module. You may not earn additional credit for the same learning and therefore you may not enrol in this module if you have successfully completed any modules in the incompatible list. |
| No incompatible modules listed |
Co-requisite Modules
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| No Co-requisite modules listed |
Requirements
This is prior learning (or a practical skill) that is mandatory before enrolment in this module is allowed. You may not enrol on this module if you have not acquired the learning specified in this section.
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| No requirements listed |
Module Content & Assessment
| Indicative Content |
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Mozart and opera
Mozart's stylistic development in opera; choice of musical forms; treatment of the voice; focus on works complementary to those covered in other modules including Mozart and the Singspiel/opera seria
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French opera in the nineteenth century
The origins and development of grand opéra; scenic effects and stage design in French opera; Mayerbeer and Gounod; the influence of grand opéra on Wagner and Verdi
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Gender and opera
Gender representation on the operatic stage; the social and historical phenomenon of the castrato; depiction of women in nineteenth-century opera; opera and the embodied voice
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Opera and mythology
Early opera and mythology; the Orpheus myth through the centuries: from Monteverdi to Birtwistle; mythology in French opera: Rameau; Wagner and Strauss; mythology and contemporary opera
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Specialised topic
Medium length (4,500-5,000 word) essay OR lecture/recital with programme notes on an approved topic related to the course
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| Assessment Breakdown | % |
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| Course Work | 100.00% |
| Course Work |
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| Assessment Type |
Assessment Description |
Outcome addressed |
% of total |
Assessment Date |
| Project |
Project in criticism |
1,3,5 |
25.0 |
Every Second Week |
| Short Answer Questions |
Terminology, chronology, definition of key concepts |
1,2,3 |
25.0 |
Week 7 |
| Other |
Essay or Lecture/Recital |
2,4,5 |
50.0 |
Sem End |
| No End of Module Formal Examination |
| Reassessment Requirement |
Coursework Only
This module is reassessed solely on the basis of re-submitted coursework. There is no repeat written examination.
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The institute reserves the right to alter the nature and timings of assessment
Module Workload
| Workload: Full Time |
| Workload Type |
Workload Description |
Hours |
Frequency |
Average Weekly Learner Workload |
| Lecture |
Opera history from 1600 to present |
2.0 |
Every Week |
2.00 |
| Tutorial |
Engaging with opera |
1.0 |
Every Week |
1.00 |
| Independent & Directed Learning (Non-contact) |
Reading, listening, research, study |
4.0 |
Every Week |
4.00 |
| Total Hours |
7.00 |
| Total Weekly Learner Workload |
7.00 |
| Total Weekly Contact Hours |
3.00 |
| This module has no Part Time workload. |
Module Resources
| Recommended Book Resources |
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- Abbate, Carolyn & Parker, Roger 2015, A History of Opera: The Last 400 Years, Norton London [ISBN: 978-039334895]
| | Supplementary Book Resources |
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- Abbate, Carolyn 2001, In Search of Opera, Princeton University Press Princeton [ISBN: 0691117314]
- Abbate, Carolyn and Roger Parker (eds.) 1989, Analyzing Opera: Verdi and Wagner, University of California Press Berkeley [ISBN: 0520061578]
- Charlton, David (ed.) 2003, The Cambridge Companion to Grand Opera, Cambridge University Press Cambridge [ISBN: 978-052164683]
- Donnington, Robert 1990, Opera and its Symbols: The Unity of Words, Music and Staging, Yale University Press Yale [ISBN: 0300056613]
- Everett, Yayoi Uno (ed.) 2015, Reconfiguring Myth and Narrative in Contemporary Opera, Indiana University Press Indiana [ISBN: 978-025301799]
- Henson, Karen 2015, Opera Acts: Singers and Performance in the Late Nineteenth Century, Cambridge University Press Cambridge [ISBN: 978-110700426]
- Grout, Donald and Hermine Weigel Williams 2003, A Short History of Opera, 4th Ed., Columbia University Press New York [ISBN: 0231119585]
- Kerman, Joseph 2005, Opera as Drama, 3rd Ed., University of California Press Berkeley & Los Angeles [ISBN: 0520246926]
- Lee, Hyunseon & Segal, Naomi (eds.) 2014, Opera, Exoticism and Visual Culture, Peter Lang AG Bern [ISBN: 978-303431782]
- Noske, Frits 1977, The Signifier and the Signified: Studies in the Operas of Mozart and Verdi, Springer The Hague [ISBN: 902471995X]
- Parker, Roger and Arthur Groos (eds.) 1988, Reading Opera, Princeton University Press Princeton [ISBN: 0691027099]
- Robinson, Paul A. 1986, Opera and Ideas: from Mozart to Strauss, Cornell University Press New York [ISBN: 0801494281]
- Till, Nicholas (ed.) 2012, The Cambridge Companion to Opera Studies, Cambridge University Press Cambridge [ISBN: 9780521671699]
- Weiss, Piero (ed.) 2002, Opera: A history in documents, Oxford University Press Oxford & New York [ISBN: 0195116380]
| | This module does not have any article/paper resources |
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| This module does not have any other resources |
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Module Delivered in
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