Unit name | Russian Opera |
---|---|
Unit code | MUSI30102 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | H/6 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
Unit director | Professor. Fairclough |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
None |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | Department of Music |
Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
This unit will look at the various ways in which Russian opera developed throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, reflecting changes in attitudes to 'Russianness', questions of Russian history, Russian musical nationalism and both cultural and political trends. Beginning with Glinka's Ruslan and Liudmila, we will explore Musorgsky's imposing historical operas, with their vocal and orchestral innovations and fascination with Russian medieval history, Borodin's overtly nationalistic Prince Igor, and Tchaikovsky's passionate settings of Pushkin's Evgeny Onegin and Queen of Spades. Among the numerous Soviet operas composed, we will focus on just three: Shostakovich's two completed operas, The Nose and Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk and Prokofiev's War and Peace.
This unit aims to acquaint students with a particular repertoire of Russian art music, drawing upon the research expertise of a member of academic staff. The unit will address political contexts for its creation and dissemination; sociological models for understanding its reception; national frameworks and aesthetic principles applicable in the Tsarist and Stalinist eras.
Upon successful completion of this unit, students will:
1) Have a good working knowledge of the operas selected for the unit
2) Demonstrate a grasp of their socio-political context
3) Be familiar with musical and other agendas for reception of Russian and Soviet music
4) Display a sensitivity to historical context in discussion this repertoire
5) Be aware of appropriate research methodologies and their application
6) Be able to plan and present an essay effectively
7) Defend and critique arguments effectively in writing
And additionally (specific to Level H) to:
8) Show original thinking and an ability to read and evaluate sources critically
9) Display a mature fluency in writing and a comprehensive grasp of academic conventions
10) Engage closely with musical texts and show a sophisticated grasp of how they function
Weekly 2-hour seminars/lectures.
2,500 word essay (40%);
3,500 word essay (60%)
Both essays assess ILOS 1-10, with the shorter essay focused on topics from the first part of the unit, and the second essay synthesizing material from the whole of the unit.