2010 Spring MUSIC 49S-02
Bulletin Course Description Topics vary each semester offered. Instructor: Jaffe, McCarthy, or staff
(Instructor named in bulletin description above may not be current. For current instructor, see listing below.)
Title FROM OPERA TO FILM Department MUSIC Course Number 2010 Spring 49S Section Number 02 Primary Instructor Waeber,Jacqueline Prerequisites
Synopsis of course content
This course will discuss how opera, and other forms of musical theaters, including
musicals, operettas, Broadway shows, have influenced the cinematographic
aesthetic and made their ways into films (from La Traviata to Moulin Rouge!) ;
special attention will be given to the notions of utopia and self-referentiality of
musicals (as in Rent and La Bohème, or Wicked and The Wizard of Oz), as well as
on the impact of opera, its aesthetics and its technique on cinema (The Phantom of
Opera), and the increased attention given to issues on society, gender and race
(Western perception of the “Exotic” from Madama Butterfly to South Pacific; social
class and the status of women in West Side Story, Carmen).
Textbooks
None
Assignments
• Listening, viewing and reading assignments accompanied by short written
reports
• In-class discussion
Exams
None
Term Papers
Three term papers
One final paper
Grade to be based on
35% class participation (incl. the short written assignements)
30% Term papers
35% Final paper
Additional Information
Seminar for freshmen only. NO PRIOR MUSICAL KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED
