OVERVIEW

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.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

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.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

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.

PREREQUISITES

Basic knowledge of history of music and theatre in Europe, 17th to 20th centuries.

TEACHING METHODS

Lectures with systematic use of audiovisual support: CD, DVD, web.

The class will attend a performance of Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia at Teatro Carlo Felice.

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.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Forms and mechanisms of comedy through a century of Italian musical theatre

Comic musical theatre is a more delimited phenomenon, as far as longevity and spread, compared to tragic one. Italian comic opera has however experienced an extraordinary flowering with extensive international backlash, during a long season extending from one end to the other of the 18th century, something which has no equal in previous nor later history of opera. Forms of comic musical theatre have of course been radically changing during that century, influenced by changes in social life, taste, theatrical conventions, musical style. At the same time comic musical theatre has been constantly renovating itself, successfully obtaining the audiences’ appreciation, to the detriment of nobler and more illustrious tragic theatre. The course will explore in its main part (6 CFU) the various phenomenology of comic musical theatre, its forms and mechanisms taking as reference three classic masterpieces: Li zite ngalera (1721) by Leonardo Vinci, Il matrimonio segreto (1792) by Domenico Cimarosa, staged in two cities which have been the cradle of 18th-century musical theatre, respectively Naples and Vienna, at the outset and at the sunset of gallant style; lastly, Il barbiere di Siviglia (1816) by Gioachino Rossini, the paradigm itself of 19th-century comic opera. Even without analysing in detail any further works, appropriate consideration will be given the Carlo Goldoni’s vital contribution to the definition of comic musical theatre at mid-18th century. In its full format (9 CFU), the course will broaden its scope to the context of the operas taken into account, respectively considering Johann Adolf Hasse’s musical comedies and intermezzi, Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Rossini’s two other comic masterpieces, L’italiana in Algeri and Cenerentola.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Required Readings - Part 1 only (6 CFU).

1. P. Weiss, L’opera italiana nel ’700, ed. by R. Mellace, Roma 2013, pp. 77-94.
2. G. Staffieri, L’opera italiana. Dalle origini alle riforme del secolo dei Lumi (1590-1790), Roma, Carocci, 2014, pp. 321-339, 384-412.
3. R. Mellace, Introduzione a C. Goldoni, Drammi comici per musica. IV. 1756-1758, ed. by A. Vencato, Venezia, Marsilio, 2020, pp. 24-40.
4. L. Vinci, Li zite ngalera, Milano, Edizioni del Teatro alla Scala, 2023:
   • C. Toscani, La genesi dell’opera, pp. 11-12
   • Idem, Il libretto in sintesi, p. 14
   • Idem, La musica, pp. 21-22
   • R. Mellace, Goldoni all’ombra del Vesuvio: Bernardo Saddumene, drammaturgo di genio, pp. 51-61
   • Il libretto dell’opera, pp. 66-159
5. D. Cimarosa, Il matrimonio segreto, Milano, Edizioni del Teatro alla Scala, 2022:
   • C. Fertonani, La genesi dell’opera, pp. 4-5
   • Idem, Il libretto in sintesi, p. 8
   • A. Di Profio, La musica, pp. 21-25
   • P. Maione, “Il matrimonio segreto” o sia la consacrazione di Cimarosa, pp. 53-59
   • L. Mattei, Il segreto del “Matrimonio segreto”, pp. 61-65
   • Il libretto dell’opera, pp. 81-109
6. G. Rossini, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Milano, Edizioni del Teatro alla Scala, 2002:
   • Il libretto dell’opera, pp. 7-39
   • C. Toscani, Il soggetto, pp. 40-41
   • Idem, L’opera in breve, pp. 50-51
7. A. Chegai, Rossini, Milano, Il Saggiatore, 2022, pp. 171-187
8. P. Fabbri, Come un baleno rapido. Arte e vita di Rossini, Lucca, LIM, 2022, pp. 286-305
9. Recordings (CD, DVD, web) of the following:
   • L. Vinci, Li zite ngalera
   • D. Cimarosa, Il matrimonio segreto
   • G. Rossini, Il barbiere di Siviglia

N.B.: n. 1, 3, 4, 5 and 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 the remaining readings and the recordings.

Enrolling in the course's Aulaweb is warmly recommended. 

Required Readings are meant both for attending and for not attending students

Required Readings - Part 1+2 (9 CFU)

1. P. Weiss, L’opera italiana nel ’700, ed. by R. Mellace, Roma 2013, pp. 77-94.
2. G. Staffieri, L’opera italiana. Dalle origini alle riforme del secolo dei Lumi (1590-1790), Roma, Carocci, 2014, pp. 321-339, 384-412.
3. R. Mellace, Introduzione a C. Goldoni, Drammi comici per musica. IV. 1756-1758, ed. by A. Vencato, Venezia, Marsilio, 2020, pp. 24-40.
4. L. Vinci, Li zite ngalera, Milano, Edizioni del Teatro alla Scala, 2023:
   • C. Toscani, La genesi dell’opera, pp. 11-12
   • Idem, Il libretto in sintesi, p. 14
   • Idem, La musica, pp. 21-22
   • R. Mellace, Goldoni all’ombra del Vesuvio: Bernardo Saddumene, drammaturgo di genio, pp. 51-61
   • Il libretto dell’opera, pp. 66-159
5. R. Mellace, Gli intermezzi di Pergolesi e di Hasse: due produzioni a confronto, in «Studi pergolesiani» 5, ed. by Fertonani and C. Toscani, 2006, pp. 187-210.
6. R. Mellace, «Io v’era frate». Sorelle e fratelli innamorati tra Pergolesi e Hasse, in «Studi pergolesiani / Pergolesi studies», 9, ed. by F. Cotticelli and P. Maione, 2015, pp. 197-210.
7. W.A. Mozart, Don Giovanni, Milano, Edizioni del Teatro alla Scala, 2011:
   • Il libretto dell’opera, pp. 5-49
   • A. Bentoglio, Il soggetto, pp. 50-51
   • E. Sala, L’opera in breve, p. 60-61
   • C. Fertonani, La musica, pp. 62-65
8. D. Cimarosa, Il matrimonio segreto, Milano, Edizioni del Teatro alla Scala, 2022:
   • C. Fertonani, La genesi dell’opera, pp. 4-5
   • Idem, Il libretto in sintesi, p. 8
   • A. Di Profio, La musica, pp. 21-25
   • P. Maione, “Il matrimonio segreto” o sia la consacrazione di Cimarosa, pp. 53-59
   • L. Mattei, Il segreto del “Matrimonio segreto”, pp. 61-65
   • Il libretto dell’opera, pp. 81-109
9. G. Rossini, L’italiana in Algeri, Milano, Edizioni del Teatro alla Scala, 2021:
   • Il libretto dell’opera, pp. 5-28
   • C. Toscani, Il libretto in sintesi, pp. 32-33
   • Idem, L’opera in breve, pp. 52-53
   • M. Marcarini, La musica, pp. 54-57
10. G. Rossini, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Milano, Edizioni del Teatro alla Scala, 2002:
    • Il libretto dell’opera, pp. 7-39
    • C. Toscani, Il soggetto, pp. 40-41
    • Idem, L’opera in breve, pp. 50-51
11. G. Rossini, La cenerentola, Milano, Edizioni del Teatro alla Scala, 2001:
    • Il libretto dell’opera, pp. 7-35
    • C. Toscani, Il soggetto, pp. 36-37
    • Idem, L’opera in breve, pp. 46-47
12. A. Chegai, Rossini, Milano, Il Saggiatore, 2022, pp. 104-115, 171-187, 217-230.
13. P. Fabbri, Come un baleno rapido. Arte e vita di Rossini, Lucca, LIM, 2022, pp. 125-132, 286-305, 319-329.
14. Recordings (CD, DVD, web) of the following works:
    • L. Vinci, Li zite ngalera
    • J.A. Hasse, L’artigiano gentiluomo or La fantesca or La finta tedesca
    • W.A. Mozart, Don Giovanni
    • D. Cimarosa, Il matrimonio segreto
    • G. Rossini, L’italiana in Algeri
    • G. Rossini, Il barbiere di Siviglia
    • G. Rossini, La Cenerentola

N.B.: n. 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 e 11 will be uploaded, after lessons have started, in the course's Aulaweb. Instructions are going to be given in class on how to find the remaining readings and the recordings.

Enrolling in the course's Aulaweb is warmly recommended. 

Required Readings are meant both for attending and for not attending students

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

RAFFAELE MELLACE (President)

DAVIDE MINGOZZI

GIADA ROBERTA VIVIANI (Substitute)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

The week starting with 19th February 2024

Class schedule

MUSICAL DRAMATURGY

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Oral

ASSESSMENT METHODS

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.

Exam schedule

FURTHER INFORMATION

Enrolling in the course's Aulaweb is warmly recommended