MUSI 004A. Zombie Art: Why Opera Will Never Die

Do you sometimes enjoy insatiable lust, crazed debauchery, a bit of madness? How about the thrill of revenge, exquisite music, demented theater, and hunchbacks? Please read on....
This class explores the exhilarating musical, dramatic and cultural tightrope walk that is opera. Before there was Justin Timberlake there was Farinelli, and way before today's trans movement there was normalized gender bending. We will examine key works from opera's 400-year history and take a closer look at the unfolding of this deeply human, monumental art form and the forces that have tried, unsuccessfully, to kill it over the last century. This class is intended to demystify what is often seen as an elitist music, and requires no pretentiousness or previous operatic experience.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Spring 2023. Milewski.
Spring 2025. Milewski.
Catalog chapter: Music and Dance: Music
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/music

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