Repertoire Studies (493-0-1)
Topic
Opera Repertoire
Instructors
Roger Golden Pines
Meeting Info
RCMA Choral Room 1-190: Thurs 9:00AM - 10:50AM
Overview of class
The aim of the second half of the Opera Repertoire course is to continue to expand the class's awareness of vocal style in significant areas of the repertoire, encompassing repertoire that was not covered in the first half of the course in Winter Quarter that is, less familiar 19th- and 20th-century French; Puccini; German Romantic (Beethoven, Weber, Nicolai, Lortzing, Flotow, Lortzing, Wagner);
Russian (Glinka, Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Prokofiev, Shostakovich); Verismo (Mascagni, Leoncavallo, Cilea, Giordano, Zandonai); classic operetta and, if time permits, pre-1980 American musical-theater repertoire. The class sessions will be divided between lecture, discussion, performance, and coaching elements.
Registration Requirements
The majority of registrants are generally juniors, seniors, and graduate students, although a sophomore attending is not without precedent (however, any sophomore wishing to register for the course would need their voice teacher's approval regarding the student's vocal readiness for the course). If the student does not already know repertoire by the composers being covered in the class, that student must be willing to learn at least two arias assigned by the instructor for in-class coachings (in addition to the aria to be assigned for the final).
Learning Objectives
The student will be expected to be conversant with: 1) differences in style that distinguish the operas of all the composers studied in the course; and 2) the evolution of vocalism from the early 19th century to today, specifically as regards the vocal requirements needed for each area of the repertoire that the course will cover.
Teaching Method
The instructional design is lecture/discussion in the first hour, covering one of the above-mentioned areas of repertoire, followed in the second hour by a maximum of in-class coachings, with each singer performing an aria by one of the composers covered in the first hour.
Evaluation Method
1) Attendance; 2) participation in class discussions; 3) preparation and overall performance - including spoken introduction -- of 2-4 arias coached in class (number of arias depends on size of class); and 4) three in-class written assignments of the "drop-the-needle" variety (i.e. writing in so-called "Blue Books," without access to mobile phone or laptop). Evaluation for the final will be based on the preparation and overall performance of the aria assigned well in advance by the instructor, and also the spoken introduction that must address specific questions outlined in advance by the instructor.
Class Materials (Required)
The only materials required are PDFs of any aria the student performs in class, which must be submitted to the instructor and the pianist a week ahead of the coaching.
Class Notes
This class gives students an opportunity to develop a more in-depth sense of style, one of their most essential tools as both intelligent singers and thoughtful listeners. The course also introduces them to a great deal of repertoire, while enabling them to develop a much broader frame of reference in opera, especially as regards historically important performances and the "continuum of singing" in general.