Introduction to Opera

Opera takes place in a strange world where everyone sings. All the time. That world resonates with passions that cannot be expressed in words alone; its inhabitants cannot help but burst into song. When we visit a world where no feeling or thought is left unsung, the barriers between us are broken down, empathy becomes beguiling, and the human condition is exposed in all its beauty and terror. In this course we will explore in depth through readings, discussion, and screenings some of the most powerful statements about that condition in operas by Mozart, Verdi, Wagner, and Alban Berg. This course counts as a performance elective or as an elective for courses at the 0200-level and above.