Course Schedule and Catalog

Long Title: GREEK AND ROMAN SOURCES IN THE HISTORY OF OPERA

Department: Music

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Description: The aim of the course is to develop critical skills and new ideas about classical antiquity and western music of the last four centuries, with special reference to musical drama. This course takes a literary-historical approach to what has come to be known as opera. Among the major themes we will discuss are the complex admixture of factors which produced the earliest operas, the persistent influence of Ovid, the appeal of mythic Crete, Greek & Roman history, the centrality of pastoral poetry in the history of the genre, and recurrent efforts through musical-literary history since 1600 to 'reform' and correct 'abuses' in compositional style in poetry and music.