This course will chart the history of opera in the Western world in both its relationship to social and political history and that of other major musical and theatrical genres.Through the close reading of the genre, students will learn about opera as the art of singing, poetry, and stagecraft, and make their acquaintance with some of the remarkable protagonists of its history, be they singers or composers, poets or designers, impresarios or monarchs. Attention will also be placed on the strength and resilience of local, as opposed to national or continental, traditions, such as the ones that flourished in Rome and London in the 17th century, Naples in the 18th, or St. Petersburg in the 19th, to name a few. The course will also provide students with an appealing and vivid demonstration of the diversity of musical and literary traditions in Europe during the period between ca. 1600 and 1900. The course will end with a reflection on the current state of Western opera as performed and consumed in East Asia, with particular reference to China.
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