CLAS 300 / MUS 300: Greek Tragedy and Opera

The Catholic University of America, Fall 2003

Instructors:  Andrew Simpson and Sarah Ferrario

Class meetings:  Tuesday, 4:10-6:40 PM

Office hours:  For both instructors: by appointment.  You may ask to see either instructor individually or both together, all schedules permitting.

Books:  Because so much of this course centers around the discussion of fine points of translated literature, it is important that you have copies of the exact books on the list at the bookstore.  These are as follows:

Ahl, Frederick, trans., Seneca: Medea (Cornell Univ. Press, ISBN #080149432X).

Gregory, Horace, trans., Ovid: Metamorphoses (Signet Classic, ISBN #0451527933).

Grene, David, and Richmond Lattimore, eds., Sophocles I: Three Tragedies, 2^nd ed. (Univ. of Chicago Press,

            ISBN #0226307921).

________, eds., Sophocles II: Four Tragedies (Univ. of Chicago Press, ISBN #0226307867).

Hadas, Moses, trans., Ten Plays by Euripides (Bantam Classic, ISBN #0553213636).

Lloyd-Jones, Hugh, trans., Aeschylus: Oresteia (Univ. of California Press, ISBN #0520083288).

Mandelbaum, Alan, trans., The Aeneid of Vergil (Bantam Classic, ISBN #0553210416).

Watling, E. F., trans., Seneca: Four Tragedies and Octavia (Penguin Classics, ISBN #0140441743).

Other translations will not only have different paginations and numbering systems, but will also communicate different concepts through their different choices of words.  Try e.g. amazon.com and half.com for used copies of books at lower prices, if you like (not all books are needed right away).

In addition to the books listed above, you will also be consulting reserve materials in the Music Library in order to read opera libretti and listen to musical recordings.  A course reserve list with call numbers and instructions is attached as part of this syllabus.

Grading:  Grading will run according to the following percentage breakdown:

11%                             Attendance and participation in class discussions

6%                               Listening quizzes (about 4)

22%                             Short-response assignments (about 4 @ c. 1-2 pages each)

22%                             Presentation (c. 20 minutes + discussion)

17%                             Midterm exam (format TBA via handout)

22%                             Final paper (c. 7-10 pages)

You can check your progress on assignments, exam and presentation grades, or attendance at any time, and we encourage you to do so.

Assignments:  Much of the work for this course will consist of the careful preparation of weekly reading and listening assignments.  You are responsible for coming to class ready to answer questions about and talk about the texts you have studied and the music you have listened to; your active participation will help your grade (see Grading, above).  Some weeks will necessarily have larger reading and listening assignments than others, and we will attempt to highlight these in advance to aid you in planning your time.  You should pay special attention to the materials that you must necessarily study on reserve (opera libretti and musical recordings): take detailed notes on these items, if necessary, so that you are able to recall details in class.

In terms of graded work, there will be one major research presentation (c. 20 minutes + discussion), a midterm exam (format TBA via handout), and a final paper (c. 7-10 pages) required in the course of the semester; there will also be several very brief listening quizzes and small (c. 1-2 pages each) short-response assignments dealing with particular issues in the literary and musical works we are studying.

CLAS 300 / MUS 300, Greek Tragedy and Opera: Master Syllabus

Assignments in boldface are to be prepared for the class date next to which they appear.  Normal type gives some idea of the lecture and discussion topics for each week.

T             8/26                         · Course Introduction

                                                · Greek Tragedy and Its Roman and Renaissance Receptions

                                                · The Florentine Camerata and the Birth of Opera

                                                · Some Basic Musical Terms and Concepts

                                                · MUSIC LIBRARY TOUR AND ORIENTATION

T             9/2                           · Vergil, Georgics 4.453-527 (handout)

                                                · Ovid, Metamorphoses 10-11 = Gregory 273-6, 278, 299-301

                                                · Peri, Iacopo, Euridice libretto (ALL), with CD 1 tr. 1, 7, 13; 2 tr. 4-5

                                                · Monteverdi, Claudio, Orfeo libretto (ALL), with (I) excerpt CD tr. 1-5

                                                · The Orpheus Story as Tragedy and as Philosophical and Intellectual Operatic Source

                                                · Peri and Monteverdi: Two Orpheus Operas

                                                · LISTENING QUIZ 1 (practice quiz)

T             9/9                           · Vergil, Aeneid, book 4 (ALL) = Mandelbaum 81-104

                                                · Purcell, Henry, Dido and Aeneas libretto (ALL), with CD (ALL)

                                                · Vergil in Rome and Vergil in the Renaissance

                                                · Tragedy and Politics

                                                · Introduction to the European Baroque

                                                · Tragédie lyrique, opéra-ballet, and the Masque

                                                · Short-Response 1 handed out: SHORT-REPONSE 1 DUE 9/16

T             9/16                         · Sophocles, Trachiniae (‘Women of Trachis’) (ALL) = Grene and Lattimore Sophocles II, 73-119

                                                · Ovid, Metamorphoses 9 = Gregory 247-53

                                                · Handel, George, Hercules libretto (ALL), with LP 1 side 2 ( = side 2) and 3 side 2 ( = side 6)

                                                · Hercules Narratives: Sophocles’ Trachiniae and Ovid’s Metamorphoses

                                                · Handel and Italian Opera: Artistic Responses to Ancient Narratives

                                                · SHORT-RESPONSE 1 DUE

T             9/23                         · Euripides, Medea (ALL) = Hadas 33-63

                                                · Charpentier, Marc-Antoine, Medée libretto (ALL), with CD 3 tr. 13-end

                                                · Cherubini, Luigi, Medea libretto (ALL), with CD 2 tr. 8-9

                                                · Medea as (Barbarian?) Female in Classical Athens

                                                · Two Operatic Medeas a Century Apart

                                                · LISTENING QUIZ 2

                                                · Short-Response 2 handed out: SHORT-REPONSE 2 DUE 9/30

T             9/30                         · Euripides, Alcestis (ALL) = Hadas 3-30

                                                · Vergil, Georgics 4.453-527 (handout)

                                                · Ovid, Metamorphoses 10-11 = Gregory 273-6, 278, 299-301

                                                · Gluck, Christoph Willibald von, Orfeo ed Euridice libretto (ALL), with CD 1 tr. 18-29

                                                · Gluck, Christoph Willibald von, Alceste libretto (ALL), with LP 2 side 1 ( = side 3)

                                                · Another (‘Orphic’?) Journey Back: The Appeal of Alcestis

                                                · Gluck and Operatic Reform

                                                · French and Italian Opera Contrasted

                                                · Student Presentation: Offenbach, Jacques, Orphée en Enfers

                                                · Student Presentation: Rameau, Jean-Philippe, Hippolyte et Aricie

                                                · SHORT-RESPONSE 2 DUE

T             10/7                         · Euripides, Iphigeneia in Aulis (ALL) = Hadas 315-54

                                                · Euripides, Iphigeneia in Tauris (ALL) = Hadas 243-78

                                                · Gluck, Christoph Willibald von, Iphigénie en Aulide libretto (ALL), no listening

                                                · Gluck, Christoph Willibald von, Iphigénie en Tauride libretto (ALL), with CD 1 tr. 1-2; 2 tr. 15-27

                                                · Euripides’ Two Iphigeneias

                                                · Looking Back to tragédie lyrique

                                                · Student Presentation: Handel, George, Semele

                                                · Student Presentation: Handel, George, Xerxes

T             10/14                       · Euripides, Alcestis (ALL) = Hadas 3-30

                                                · Vergil, Georgics 4.453-527 (handout)

                                                · Ovid, Metamorphoses 10-11 = Gregory 273-6, 278, 299-301

                                                · Mozart, Wolfgang, Die Zauberflöte libretto (ALL), with CD 1 tr. 6; 2 tr. 6, 10; 3 tr. 9

                                                · Orpheus and Orphism Transformed

                                                · Late Classical Opera: Singspiel and opera buffa

                                                · MIDTERM EXAM (in class)

                                                · Short-Response 3 handed out: SHORT-REPONSE 3 DUE 10/28

T             10/21                       · Euripides, Trojan Women (ALL) = Hadas 175-204

                                                · Euripides, Hecuba selections = http://classics.mit.edu/Euripides/hecuba.html, to death of Polyxena

                                                · Vergil, Aeneid 1, 2, and 4 (ALL) = Mandelbaum 1-27, 29-55, 81-104

                                                · Seneca, Trojan Women (ALL) = Watling 154-203

                                                · Berlioz, Hector, Les Troyens libretto (ALL), with CD listening as per handout

                                                · The Iliou persis and the Trojan Tragedy

                                                · Grand Opera

                                                · Student Presentation: Offenbach, Jacques, La Belle Helène

                                                · Student Presentation: Monteverdi, Claudio, Il Ritorno di Ulisse

                                                · LISTENING QUIZ 3

T             10/28                       · Aeschylus, Oresteia (ALL 3 PLAYS) = Lloyd-Jones 27-271

                                                · Taneyev, Sergei, Oresteia libretto (ALL), with CD 1 tr. 13, 22, 28; 2 tr. 8, 18-20, 28, 35, 43

                                                · Aeschylus’ Trilogy and Its Impact

                                                · Russian Opera and Greek Tragedy

                                                · Student Presentation: La Chiusa, John, Marie-Christine

                                                · SHORT-RESPONSE 3 DUE

T             11/4                         · Sophocles, Elektra (ALL) = Grene and Lattimore Sophocles II, 126-87

                                                · Euripides, Elektra (ALL) = Hadas 207-39

                                                · Strauss, Richard, Elektra libretto (ALL), with CD 1 tr. 9; 2 tr. 6-8, 13-14, 17

                                                · Sophoclean Individualism

                                                · Sophoclean vs. Euripidean Drama

                                                · Late Romantic Opera in Germany and the Expressionist Movement

                                                · Student Presentation: Theodorakis, Mikis, Electra

                                                · Student Presentation: Wagner, Richard, Der Ring des Nibelungen

                                                · Paper topic suggestions and paper guidelines handed out: FINAL PAPER DUE 12/5

                                                · LISTENING QUIZ 4

T             11/11                       · Sophocles, Oedipus tyrannos (Oedipus the King) (ALL) = Grene and Lattimore Sophocles I, 10-76

                                                · Seneca, Oedipus (ALL) = Watling 208-51

                                                · Stravinsky, Igor, Oedipus Rex libretto (ALL), with CD (ALL)

                                                · Oedipus--And Oedipus--For a New Age

                                                · The Libretto and Its Problems

                                                · Neoclassicism in the 20^th Century

                                                · Student Presentation: Enesco, Georges, Oedipe

                                                · Short-Response 4 handed out: SHORT-REPONSE 4 DUE 11/18

T             11/18                       · Sophocles, Antigone (ALL) = Grene and Lattimore Sophocles I, 160-212

                                                · Euripides, Phoenissae (ALL) = http://classics.mit.edu/Euripides/phoenissae.html

                                                · Theodorakis, Mikis, Antigone libretto (ALL) with CD 1 tr. 2, 5, 10; 2 tr. 3, 12-14

                                                · Antigone as Political Figure, Ancient and Modern

                                                · Modern Greece and Ancient Greece

                                                · Student Presentation: Theodorakis, Mikis, Medea

                                                · Student Presentation: Verdi, Giuseppe, Aïda

                                                · SHORT-RESPONSE 4 DUE

                                                · LISTENING QUIZ 5 on Stravinsky and Theodorakis

                                                · Short-Response EC (extra credit) handed out: SHORT-RESPONSE EC DUE 12/2

T             11/25                       · Aeschylus, Agamemnon (ALL) = Lloyd-Jones 27-117

                                                · Simpson, Andrew, Agamemnon libretto (ALL), with DVD (ALL)

                                                *Libretto may be printed out from http://music.cua.edu/agamemnon/libretto*

                                                · Aeschylus’ Oresteia (big) handout: study closely and be ready to discuss

                                                · Opera as Tragic Mirror

                                                · Greek Tragedy and Opera: An American Composer’s Perspective

                                                · Problems of ‘Adaptation’ vs. ‘Translation’

                                                · Student Presentation: Birtwistle, Harrison, Mask of Orpheus

                                                · LISTENING QUIZ EC on Taneyev and Simpson

T             12/2                         · Aristophanes, Ranae (‘Frogs’) (ALL) = Reserve reading in Music Library

                                                · Sondheim, Stephen, Frogs (ALL), with CD (ALL Frogs tracks)

                                                · Aristophanes and Greek Tragedy

                                                · The Legacy of the Greek Theatre in the Contemporary American Musical

                                                · Music as Comic Vehicle

                                                · Student Presentation: Argento, Dominick, Aspern Papers

                                                · Student Presentation: de Leeuw, Ton, Antigone

                                                · SHORT-RESPONSE EC DUE

F              12/5                         · FINAL PAPER due in Andrew Simpson’s office by 4PM

CLAS 300 / MUS 300, Greek Tragedy and Opera: Course Repertory List