production
Skip to Content

MU4502: CONTEMPORARY EUROPEAN OPERA (2020-2021)

Last modified: 24 Jun 2020 14:31


Course Overview

In the mid-twentieth century, it seemed that opera was a dying art form, surviving at best on the back of a canon of great historical works. While its future prospects looked bleak, the composition of over 150 new operas in the period between 1978 and 2003 marked a perhaps unexpected renaissance of the genre. Students on this course will study the factors which led to the resurgence of operatic/music theatre composition in Europe. A range of key operatic/music theatre works by composers from France, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom will be considered from a number of points of view.

Course Details

Study Type Undergraduate Level 4
Term Second Term Credit Points 30 credits (15 ECTS credits)
Campus Aberdeen Sustained Study No
Co-ordinators
  • Dr Edward Campbell

What courses & programmes must have been taken before this course?

  • Either Programme Level 4 or Programme Level 5
  • Any Undergraduate Programme (Studied)
  • One of Bachelor of Music or Bachelor of Music with Honours (Music and Communities) or Bachelor of Music with Honours (Education)

What other courses must be taken with this course?

None.

What courses cannot be taken with this course?

  • MU3518 Contemporary European Opera (Studied)

Are there a limited number of places available?

No

Course Description

In the mid-twentieth century, it seemed that opera was a moribund art form, surviving at best on the back of a canon of great historical works. While its future prospects looked bleak, the composition of over 150 new operas in the period between 1978 and 2003 marked a perhaps unexpected renaissance of the genre in a number of new forms.

This course will engage students in studying the factors which led to the resurgence of operatic/music theatre composition in Europe. A number of works by composers from France, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom will be studied by a number of points of view (analysis of music scores, libretti, vocal style, stage design, recordings etc).

Students will be expected to view and listen to a number of operas/music theatre pieces, to analyse aspects of scores and libretti and to think critically about the cultural significance of this late flowering of these important genres. Students will give a number of short presentations throughout the course.


Contact Teaching Time

Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.

Teaching Breakdown

More Information about Week Numbers


Details, including assessments, may be subject to change until 30 August 2024 for 1st term courses and 20 December 2024 for 2nd term courses.

Summative Assessments

Essay

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 100
Assessment Weeks Feedback Weeks

Look up Week Numbers

Feedback

 Written feedback on essay in the form of annotations to the script and a report form.

Word Count
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
Sorry, we don't have this information available just now. Please check the course guide on MyAberdeen or with the Course Coordinator

Formative Assessment

There are no assessments for this course.

Resit Assessments

Essay

Assessment Type Summative Weighting
Assessment Weeks Feedback Weeks

Look up Week Numbers

Feedback Word Count
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
Sorry, we don't have this information available just now. Please check the course guide on MyAberdeen or with the Course Coordinator

Course Learning Outcomes

Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome

Compatibility Mode

We have detected that you are have compatibility mode enabled or are using an old version of Internet Explorer. You either need to switch off compatibility mode for this site or upgrade your browser.