First-Year Seminars 110MD - Early Music Drama

This seminar will explore the development of the relationship between music and drama in Europe from its beginnings in classical Greece to the first public performances of opera in the 1630s. We will hear, see and read selected works along the way. These plays, rituals and entertainments will be our texts for the semester. We will discuss and write about such issues as the relationship between words and music, the interaction between music and the visual component of these works (dance, costumes, sets, acting) and the social, political and economic contexts of these texts.

First-year students only, by placement.