Week 2 • OPERA
Ring cycle at the MET #2 #3
Paris Opera Garnier / video
MIT Media Lab – Opera of the Future
Singing robots reflect tech’s humanity in opera of the future
Sci-fi opera ‘Death and the Powers’ is doing things differently … with robots
Opera of the Future
Watch: “The Birth and Life of Opera” in the MacDonald Kelce Library online video collection.
ASSIGNMENTS:
1) Watch Pjotr Sapegin’s ARIA (Madama Butterfly) animation and comment about it on your blogs.
2) Watch any Opera created before 1920 and write a three page paper (minimum) with your personal research and comments on the “mise en scene“. What did you discover watching this opera? How do you think audiences reacted to it when it was originally presented? Why do you think this piece is important in the chronology of Opera? How is technology used in it? If you were a 21st century director, how would you turn this piece into a VIDEO GAME?
750- 1000 word essay. Please use citations.
Opera Essay DUE September 13 @ 11:59 pm to Blackboard Site
Chronological List of Operas
Example online: Wagner – Tristan und Isolde (Barenboim, Ponnelle, 1983)
– Operas on DVD or VHS at the MacDonald Kelce Library
Outline – Topics Covered in this Module:
Opera as multimedia artform
Technology and performance
LINKS
Movies: Amadeus – Milos Forman / ARIA – Derek Jarman, Franc Rodham, and others / Wagner – Der Ring des Nibelungen – Die Walküre at the MET , Patrice Chéreau – Pierre Boulez, Bayreuth Festival (Complete Ring Cycle) DVD (2000) / Don Giovanni – Karajan – Peter Sellars / Sellar’s Cosi Fan Tute / Magic Flute – Julie Taymor / Fifth Element Diva – Madness Scene Lucia de Lammermoor / CARMEN Waltraud Meier / Casta Diva – Montserrat Caballé / La ci darem la mano – Thomas Allen / Hänsel und Gretel / Salome / La Traviata + Priscilla / La Boheme / Lakme / Aida / Bugs Bunny – What’s Opera Doc? / Sesame Street – Carmen /
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OPERA REVIEWS:
–DESCRIBE (accurately and vivaciously): Talk about what lies before you. Discuss the formal qualities of the mise en scene.
–INTERPRET: Internal and external evidence (meaning): Find out as much as you can about the context in which the opera was written and produced.
-Internal: Describe the mise en scene.
Questions to ask:
-Why is the director using the lighting, sets, costumes they have chosen?
-How does the mise en scene support the overall narrative (story) of the opera?
-External: (Gain understanding of the larger context surrounding the composer and their work). Gather information from other sources about the composer. Use historical documents and E-search to find out more about the composer and their work.
Questions to ask:
-Where does the composer come from?
-What is the era of the first production of the opera (i.e. romantic, ect.? See: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/aug/20/opera-through-the-ages
-What does the composer have say about their own process and work?
-JUDGE: Assess the artwork’s (and exhibitionís) value via the criteria you have set up. Was it a good, bad or mediocre show? Talk about what worked and what didnít work within the show.
Questions to ask:
-What are the themes of the opera? (Overall themes, logic, meaning)
-How well does it convey its meaning?
-How is this meaning relevant today?
-How does the opera relate to contemporary culture?