3.0

credits

Average Course Rating

Operatic Technologies offers an introduction to opera via a series of case studies about the materials used to produce it. With a particular focus on the Italian case, we will trace issues such as how auditoriums have historically been illuminated; orchestras directed; machines used to create and sustain illusion and operas simulcast. Students will leave this course with a clear sense of how the look and feel of the operatic experience has changed over time; how technological practices established in the past continue to determine productions now, and how the cinema can be considered an extension of opera. Our course includes a visit to the cinema to see a Metropolitan Opera simulcast. Ability to read music is not required.