MUS 362: Opera: Culture and Politics
This course examines how politics and culture play out in that most refined of art forms: opera. The course will introduce students to the history of European opera, focusing on 19th century composers in France, Germany, and Italy. We will closely examine three operas: one French (Bizet’s Carmen), one Italian (Verdi’s Aida) and one German (Wagner’s Die Meistersinger). Following Edward Said’s work, we will examine how politics and culture play out in these works: European colonialism in Aida; the question of antisemitism in Wagner; stereotypes of Spain in Carmen. Includes excursions to the Metropolitan Opera.
MUS 346: Performing Myth in Early Modern Europe
In early modern Europe, mythology provided the stimulus for a host of performances in theaters, palaces, and different media involving song, stone, gardens, and even water. This course will consider the performance of mythology in early modern Europe. What are the gendered implications of the myths in which women turn into plants, trees, flowers, and animals, and how were they presented in media? How is the trope of the abandoned transformed into song and painting? We’ll explore the interactions between artists, poets, and musicians and the ways in which opera – a brand new medium in the early 17th century -brought the ancient world to life.
MUS 362: Opera: Culture and Politics
This course examines how politics and culture play out in that most refined of art forms: opera. The course will introduce students to the history of European opera, focusing on 19th century composers in France, Germany, and Italy. We will closely examine three operas: one French (Bizet’s Carmen), one Italian (Verdi’s Aida) and one German (Wagner’s Die Meistersinger). Following Edward Said’s work, we will examine how politics and culture play out in these works: European colonialism in Aida; the question of antisemitism in Wagner; stereotypes of Spain in Carmen. Includes excursions to the Metropolitan Opera.