Module overview
Aims and Objectives
Learning Outcomes
Transferable and Generic Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- communicate coherently your knowledge and critical perception of subjects related to 19th-century Italian opera with your peers and others
- research and interpret primary and secondary sources
- present your knowledge and ideas in persuasive written prose
- impart the results of your research with a secure handling of appropriate apparatus (footnotes, bibliography, examples)
Cognitive Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- appreciate opera performances with a developed understanding of their status as (and relation to) ‘texts’
- comment perceptively on the social, intellectual, and political forces that shaped the culture of opera in 19th-century Italy
- demonstrate confidence in handling the multi-layered notion of operatic text
Knowledge and Understanding
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
- the formal, stylistic, and textual features of a number of contrasting Italian operas from the early- and mid-19th century
- the careers and historical significance of Gioachino Rossini, Vincenzo Bellini, Gaetano Donizetti, and Giuseppe Verdi, and their relations with their musical and social environments
- the processes of creation, production, dissemination, and reception of Italian opera in the 19th century
Syllabus
Learning and Teaching
Teaching and learning methods
Type | Hours |
---|---|
Teaching | 24 |
Independent Study | 126 |
Total study time | 150 |
Resources & Reading list
Journal Articles
Carl Dahlhaus (1989). What is a musical drama?. Cambridge Opera Journal 1, pp. 95-111.
Textbooks
Philip Gossett (2006). Divas and Scholars: Performing Italian Opera. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Reinhard Strohm (1997). Dramma per musica: Italian Opera Seria of the Eighteenth Century. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Alison Latham and Roger Parker (2001). Verdi in Performance. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Assessment
Summative
This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.
Method | Percentage contribution |
---|---|
Essay | 40% |
Essay | 60% |
Referral
This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.
Method | Percentage contribution |
---|---|
Essay | 100% |