Unit information: 20th-Century Opera: From 'Tosca' to Turnage in 2014/15

Unit name	20th-Century Opera: From 'Tosca' to Turnage
Unit code	MUSI30069
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

Description including Unit Aims

This unit covers the entire span of 20th-century opera, from Puccini’s Tosca (1900) to Nicolas Maw’s Sophie’s Choice (begun 1999). It looks at the way in which opera acts as a mirror of society, reflecting the political, philosophical and artistic currents of its own time. The unit will encompass issues of criticism, history and analysis: students are expected to listen to, and gain a good working knowledge of, all the operas studied, some in greater depth than others, to develop an understanding of major currents in 20th-century musical opera, and to begin to relate the works themselves to broader social, political and cultural trends.

This unit aims:

1. To show how operas relate to their social, political and cultural context
2. To give students a good overall awareness of 20th-century opera
3. To build students’ confidence in working with large-scale scores and dramatic forms
4. To build students’ overall knowledge of 20th-century music in Europe

Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of the module, students are expected to

1. Demonstrate awareness of major 20th-century composers and key operatic works
2. Show fluency in discussing several of the works examined in class
3. Have a good grasp of the impact 20th-century political and cultural trends in Europe and the USSR had on opera
4. Have developed their communication, writing and analytical skills
5. (Specific to Level H) Engage with and critique the theoretical ideas that underpin different scholarly interpretations of 20th-century operas.

Teaching Information

10x2-hour classes combining elements of lecture and seminar, taught jointly to students at levels I, H and M.

Assessment Information

Level H: 1x3000-word essay (50%); 1x 2-hour exam (50%).

Both the essay and the exam will demonstrate the intended learning outcomes (1), (2), (3) and (5) through (4), with the essay in particular providing an opportunity for the students to demonstrate (3) and (5).

Reading and References

• Mervyn Cooke, ed. The Cambridge companion to twentieth-century opera (2005)
• Richard Taruskin, Defining Russia Musically (1997)
• Paul Griffiths, Gyorgy Ligeti (1983)
• Lawrence Kramer, Opera and modern culture :Wagner and Strauss (2004)
• John Williamson, The music of Hans Pfitzner (1992)
• Alexandra Wilson, The Puccini problem :opera, nationalism and modernity (2007)
• Carl S. Leafstedt, Inside Bluebeard's castle :music and drama in Béla Bartók's opera (1999)
• Mervyn Cooke, The Cambridge companion to Benjamin Britten (1999)