MUSIC 2246 - Modern Opera: Is It Dead Yet?

(LA-AS)

Spring. 3 credits. Letter grades only.

P. Miller.

Since 1945, opera has undergone dramatic transformations and developments as composers, librettists, science designers and artists have collaborated in new ways. Many would say that opera in our time faces a very real “crisis” in dwindling audiences and relevance; others would point the success of theater simulcasts and say it is flourishing. What is the real story? Apart from examining the types of collaboration necessary for opera to work, this course is designed to interest a broad range of students from different disciplines. We will examine specific works, theories and “case studies’ of production, collaboration and reception. Finally by examining projects at the MIT media lab, we will get some idea for what opera of the future might be like.

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