B8694 - Musical Dramaturgy (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

The course aims at providing an approach to and a grasp of Musical Dramaturgy in its basic historical and critical principles According to the tenets of the discipline, opera is conceived as an intertwined system of verbal text, dramatic action, and music. In turn, such a system requires a contextualization within the history of Western music as well as within the history of Western theatre and literature. The course also aims at training students in the analysis of operatic music, from both a morphological and a theatrical perspective, starting from selected exemples within the European operatic repertoire, from seventeenth to twentieth century.

Course contents

Through dramaturgical and morphological analysis, this course will examine the development of melodrama from the early court experiments of the early 17th century to the consolidation of “Venetian-style” impresario opera after 1637. The course will examine librettos and scores of operas by Francesco Caccini, Claudio Monteverdi, Francesco Cavalli, and Antonio Cesti.

Particular attention will be given to the dramatic sources of the works studied and to the main dramaturgical and musical devices that guided their composition, in relation to the European theatrical and musical tradition of the modern era.

Readings/Bibliography

Fundamentals of musical dramaturgy and Italian morphology and verse form:

• N. Badolato, Drammaturgia musicale, Milan, Le Monnier Università / Sintesi, 2026 (in press)
• P. Fabbri, Metro e canto nell'opera italiana, Turin, EDT, 2007
• L. Bianconi - G. Pagannone, Piccolo glossario di drammaturgia musicale, in Insegnare il melodramma. Saperi essenziali, proposte didattiche, ed. by G. Pagannone, Lecce-Iseo, Pensa MultiMedia, 2010, pp. 201-263 (cf. Virtuale).

Court and Impresario opera:

• E. Rosand, Gli esordi del teatro pubblico a Venezia: dal teatro di corte ai teatri d'opera a pagamento, in Enciclopedia della Musica, ed. by di J.-J. Nattiez, Turin, Einaudi, 2001, pp. 403-415;
• Claudio Annibaldi, Quando l'opera si fece negozio. Logiche di mercato e teatro musicale nel Seicento veneziano, in Tra musica e storia. Saggi di varia umanità in ricordo di Saverio Franchi, ed. by G. Rostirolla e E. Zomparelli, Rome, IBIMUS, 2017
• N. Badolato, Amazzoni e sovrani, la festa e il teatro pubblico, in Il contributo italiano alla storia del pensiero – Musica, ed. by i S. Cappelletto, Rome, Istituto per l’Enciclopedia Italiana, 2017, pp. 156-163
• Alcuni casi di studio
• N. Badolato, Intorno all’“Orontea” di Giacinto Andrea Cicognini e Antonio Cesti: le fortune di un dramma musicale, in “Gloria e splendore delle scene secolari”. Pietro Antonio Cesti nel IV centenario della nascita, Florence, Edifir, 2026, pp. 93-112
• N. Usula, “‘Giasone’ a quattro mani: Cavalli messo a nuovo da Stradella,” in "Novello Giasone" (G. A. Cicognini, F. Cavalli, G. F. Apolloni, A. Stradella, Rome: 1671), facsimile ed. by N. Usula, "Drammaturgia Musicale Veneta", III, Milan, Ricordi, 2013, pp., XLV-XCIII
• L. Bianconi, Indagini sull’"Incoronazione", in "Finchè non splende in ciel notturna face". Studi in memoria di Francesco Degrada, ed. by C. Fertonani, E. Sala and C. Toscani, Milan, LED, 2009, pp. 53-72.
• T. Carter, Singing Orfeo: on the performers of Monteverdi's first opera, "Recercare", 11, 1999, pp. 75-118

Further bibliographical references and musical scores will be provided during the lessons.

 

 

Teaching methods

Lectures, with guided analysis of the libretto, listening and analysis of the score.

Assessment methods

In the examination (oral interview), students must demonstrate knowledge of the bibliography.

Students in the Music curriculum are required to have an analytical knowledge of the musical scores of the work. The candidate must report on the relative poetic, narrative, and theatrical structure; on musical morphology; and on the relationship with literary sources.

Students from the Theatre curriculum and other degree courses are exempt from in-depth knowledge of the musical score.

Possession of the rudiments of Italian metrics and versification will be ascertained during the interview.

Students with DSA or temporary or permanent disabilities: it is advisable to get in touch immediately with the University office responsible and with the lecturer in order to seek together the most effective strategies for following the lessons and/or preparing for the exam.

Teaching tools

Side activities and meetings will be announced during the course. Various teaching materials will be made available online.

Office hours

See the website of Nicola Badolato