3.0

credits

Average Course Rating

What is a drama queen? According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a drama queen is “a person who is prone to exaggeratedly dramatic behaviour” and “a person who thrives on being the centre of attention.” While drama queens exist among us, the world of opera is certainly one of their ideal environments. Echoing back to their tragic fates, the powerful voices of Dido, Medea, Violetta, and Tosca never ceased to affect their empathetic public. In fact, excess and overreactions are two main features of the operatic experience both on stage and in the audience. By focusing on the ways in which operatic characters are brought to life, the course explores the social, political, and gender dynamics that inform the melodramatic imagination. Students will have the opportunity to attend live HD broadcasts of Verdi’s La Traviata and Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin from the Metropolitan Opera. No musical skills required.