M525—Opera Literature

Midterm Exam

Essays for Summer '03

Please prepare the following topics as 15-minute essays.  The day of the exam, I will choose 3 for you to write about.

1)      Discuss the place of Monteverdi’s Orfeo in the context of early opera.  Include in your discussion its topic, the libretto, and such aspects of the composition as overall structure and orchestration.

2)      Discuss the ways in which Mozart uses elements of style and genre to delineate his characters in The Marriage of Figaro.  Focus not only on the typical aspects of such characterization (for example, how the Countess’ music confirms her as an opera seria character) but also on how the characters cross social/musical distinctions (for example, how is the Count a buffo character?)

3)      Discuss the philosophical underpinnings of Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea, using various characters to show the different views represented in the drama.

4)      Compare the use of dance in Handel’s Ariodante and Lully’s Atys.