HV_814 Mozart's Operas in Context

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2023
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Martin Nedbal, Ph.D. (lecturer)
doc. Mgr. Vladimír Maňas, Ph.D. (assistant)
prof. PhDr. Jana Perutková, Ph.D. (assistant)
Guaranteed by
prof. PhDr. Jana Perutková, Ph.D.
Department of Musicology – Faculty of Arts
Supplier department: Department of Musicology – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Wed 12:00–13:40 N43
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is offered to students of any study field.
Course objectives
The aim of the course is an orientation and deeper insight into the operas of W. A. Mozart and an understanding of their musical, cultural and social context.
Learning outcomes
—become familiar with the content, inception, and reception of Mozart’s late operas —become familiar with the social, cultural, and political context of Mozart’s late operas —become familiar with major trends in the reception of Mozart’s late operas in the last two centuries —becomes familiar with major analytical and interpretive approaches to Mozart’s opera as reflected in musicological literature
Syllabus
  • February 15: Introduction, Mozart and Opera Seria (Idomeneo) Watch: Idomeneo (La Scala, 2005): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ba9K_T5ivTQ Read libretto: in Metropolitan Opera Book of Mozart’s Operas Read secondary literature: —Hermann Abert, “The Music Dramas of Gluck,” chapter 20 of Abert, W. A. Mozart, trans. Cliff Eisen (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006), 479–92. —Julian Rushton, W. A. Mozart: Idomeneo (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993), excerpts —Tim Carter, “Two into Three Won’t Go? Poetic Structure and Musical Forms in Mozart’s Idomeneo,” Cambridge Opera Journal 24 (2012): 229–48. March 1: Mozart and Dynastic Politics (La clemenza di Tito) Watch: La clemenza di Tito (Ponnelle, 1980): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0-1RWLrz4o Read libretto: in Metropolitan Opera Book of Mozart’s Operas Read secondary literature: —John A. Rice, W. A. Mozart: La clemenza di Tito (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1991), excerpts —Magnus Tessing Schneider and Ruth Tatlow, Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito: A Reappraisal (Stockholm: Stockholm University Press, 2018), excerpts —Martin Nedbal: “La clemenza di Tito and the Habsburg Dynasty in Bohemia, 1791–1891,” chapter 4 of Mozart’s Operas and National Politics March 15: Mozart and Opera Buffa I (Le nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni) Watch: Le nozze di Figaro (Glyndebourne, 1994): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yy-DTtJ5q-A Watch: Don Giovanni (Zürich 2001):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aL2VdxseTvE Read librettos: in Metropolitan Opera Book of Mozart’s Operas Read secondary literature: —Wye Jamison Allanbrook, Rhythmic Gesture in Mozart (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1983), 233-250. —Nedbal, “Sex, Politics, and Censorship in Mozart’s Don Giovanni/Don Juan,” in Oxford Handbook of Music Censorship — John Platoff, “Musical and Dramatic Structure in the Opera Buffa Finale,” The Journal of Musicology 7, no. 2 (Spring 1989), 191-229 —John Platoff, “The Buffo Aria in Mozart’s Vienna,” Cambridge Opera Journal 2, no. 2 (1990): 99-120 March 29: Mozart and Opera Buffa II (Così fan tutte) Read libretto: in Metropolitan Opera Book of Mozart’s Operas Watch: Così fan tutte (Gardiner, 1992): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXCEuYL1pBU Read secondary literature: —Abert, W. A. Mozart, chapter on Così, 1164-1196 —Bruce Alan Brown, W. A. Mozart: Così fan tutte (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1995), excerpts —Martin Nedbal, “František Šír’s First Czech Translation of Mozart’s Final Opera Buffa and the Reception of Così fan tutte in Prague 1791-1831,” Czech Theater Review 27, no. 2 (Fall 2016), 53-70 April 12: Mozart and Singspiel (Die Entführung aus dem Serail) Read libretto: in Metropolitan Opera Book of Mozart’s Operas Watch: Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Bayerische Staatsoper, 1980): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QH6nqgqx-Q Read secondary literature: —Thomas Bauman, W. A. Mozart, Die Entführung aus dem Serail (New York, Cambridge University Press, 1988), excerpts —Gretchen Wheelock, “Konstanze Performs Constancy” in Siren Songs: Representations of Gender and Sexuality in Opera, ed. Mary Ann Smart (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000), 47-57. —Nedbal, Morality and Viennese Opera in the Age Mozart and Beethoven, chapter 2 April 26: Mozart and German Nationalism (Die Zauberflöte) Read libretto: in Metropolitan Opera Book of Mozart’s Operas Watch: Die Zauberflöte (La Scala, 1995): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDDDQ20aBEs Read secondary literature: —Malcolm S. Cole, “Monostatos and His ‘Sister’: Racial Stereotype in Die Zauberflöte and Its Sequel,” Opera Quarterly 21, no. 1 (Winter 2005): 2-26. —Nedbal, Morality and Viennese Opera in the Age Mozart and Beethoven, chapter 3–4 —Nedbal, “Die Zauberflöte and the Rise of Czech National Theater,” chapter 6 of Mozart’s Operas and National Politics. May 10: Discussion of Final Projects
Literature
  • Mary Hunter, Mozart’s Operas: A Companion (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009)
  • The Metropolitan Opera Book of Mozart’s Operas (New York: HarperCollins, 1991)
Teaching methods
Lectures with visual and musical examples, discussions.
Assessment methods
The final grade will be based on a Final Essay and an Oral Exam. The ESSAY (in English or Czech) of at least 2000 words including footnotes (Chicago Style) and bibliography. It will be due on Monday, May 22, at noon. In the essay students will discuss operatic works by Mozart, his contemporaries, and followers in connection to these works’ social, cultural, and political contexts. In May 2023, students will also schedule an ORAL EXAM with the instructor. Students will be asked to discuss their final project and the topics covered in the course throughout the semester.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught only once.
Teacher's information
Recommended Performances at the National Theater Brno —March 10 and 12: Così fan tutte —March 19: Die Zauberflöte
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