The course tackles a musical phenomenon with drama-performance implications at a Master’s level: from opera to the different forms of musical theatre to drama-musical genres bereft of a stage (such as oratorios or passions). The focus therefore is on the meeting point between music and theatre, examining how the different languages (verbal, musical, performative) interact reciprocally giving place to an aesthetic object of value.
The course aims to develop awareness of the central questions of musical theatre in its historical development in the modern and contemporary period, giving students the necessary theoretical instruments for a critical evaluation of the interaction between music and theatre in the broader sense of the term.
The course aims at developing – at the level of knowledge – the awareness of the central questions of musical theatre in its historical development in modern and contemporary age, giving students – at the level of abilities - the necessary theoretical instruments for a critical evaluation of the interaction between music and theatre in the broader sense of the term.
6 CFU
At the end of the course students will be able to competently understand the musical theatre phenomena studied in class, remember and aknowledge the contribution of different components that compose the aesthetic object of extreme complexity; he/she will have the tools in order to analyze such complexity and will be able to apply this knowledge in the critical evaluation, also in creative terms, of the meaning that each component brings to the overall dialectic.
9 CFU
The above mentioned learning outcomes will be achieved on a deeper level of awareness, both in the extent of the context the phenomena discussed are inscribed and in the more detailed analysis of the musico-dramatical questions implied.
Basic knowledge of history of music and theatre in Europe, 17th to 20th centuries.
Lectures with systematic use of audiovisual support: CD, DVD, web.
Due to the pandemic, the course will be held online on Teams. The code to access the team will be published in the course AulaWeb before the course begins.
Students are warmly invited to attend classes, because of the listening and watching experiences the course offers.
Students are warmly invited to enroll to Aulaweb, where study materials are going to be uploaded.
The teacher is available to discuss the preparation for students willing to study in a language other than Italian.
The Joy of Song under the shade of Mount Vesuvius: Opera in 18th-century Naples
18th-century Naples - first Spanish, then Austrian, and finally Bourbon – was a breeding ground of European musical theatre. Exposed by the philosophes as the natural home of music, proclaimed in 1739 by Charles de Brosses «la capitale du monde musicien», during the whole 18th century the city of Partenope enjoyed undisputed international prestige. This was based on the wealth and variety of vast private and public, religious and social musical activity fed by excellent training institutions such as the four Conservatoires and the continuous renewal of generations of composers and musicians who, with their sought-after title of “maestro di cappella napoletano”, colonised Europe from Lisbon to Saint Petersburg. In a similar context musical theatre encountered an exceptional flourishing both in relation to the excellent aesthetics and the wealth of permanent experimentation that led to production that had a decisive influence on a continental scale in an impressive variety of genres. The course will explore in its main part (6 CFU) the main genre, “dramma per musica”, and its comical counterpart, “intermezzi”, that is to say the main offer on Neapolitan stages for a whole century. Such a journey will allow to discuss questions related to the main subjects (composers, librettists, singers) of such a thriving operatic life and to specifically follow the birth and development of Metastasian opera. In its full format (9 CFU), the course will broaden its scope to consider the genre of serenata, the theoretical debate around opera, and comic theatre in its different forms, both “commedia musicale” and “dramma giocoso”.
Required Readings - Part 1 only (6 CFU).
8. Libretto and recording (CD, DVD, web) of the following intermezzi (one only for each composer):
N.B.: n. 1-6 will be uploaded, after lessons have started, in the course's Aulaweb.
Instructions are going to be given in class on how to find librettos and recording concerning n. 7-8.
Required Readings - Part 1+2 (9 CFU)
11. Libretto and recording (CD, DVD, web) of the following intermezzi (one only for each composer):
12. Libretto and recording (CD, web) of Hasse's Enea in Caonia
13. Libretto and recording (CD, DVD, web) of Pergolesi's Lo frate ‘nnamorato
14. Libretto and recording (CD, DVD, web) of Piccinni's La buona figliuola
N.B.: n. 1-9 will be uploaded, after lessons have started, in the course's Aulaweb.
Instructions are going to be given in class on how to find librettos and recording concerning n. 10-14.
Enrolling in the course's Aulaweb is warmly recommended.
Ricevimento: On appointment on Skype or Teams, until classes are going to be online.
RAFFAELE MELLACE (President)
DAVIDE MINGOZZI
GIADA ROBERTA VIVIANI (Substitute)
14.02.2022
MUSICAL DRAMATURGY
Oral
The exam consists of an assessment of the contents of the course and the bibliography. Knowledge of the authors, genre and historical-cultural context of the works treated in the course programme. The evaluation will consider knowledge of the programme (topics tackled in lectures, readings indicated in the bibliography, material made available on Aulaweb, mandatory or optional operas), as well as presentation ability, use of specific lexicon and capacity for critical reworking.
