MUSCLG 35
Introduction to Opera
Description: Lecture, four hours; discussion, one hour. Exploration of history of opera from its origins in Florentine Camerata in Italy in early 17th century, through ages of Enlightenment and Romanticism, and ending with modern era of early 20th century. History of opera, biography of composers and singers, operatic conventions, dramaturgy, plot, stagings, hermeneutics of opera, and musical style, with focus on learning appreciation of music of opera within rich context of its compelling history. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 5.0
Units: 5.0
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2024 - This class was awesome. It was the perfect GE to take. The professor understands that most people coming into this class don't have musical knowledge and she walks you through everything you need to know. The only homework there is once a week you need to watch the opera assigned and write a short paragraph answering a single question. I didn't always watch the whole opera and would still get full points anyways. There is one midterm and one final but they're not culminative. The midterm will be on the material talked about in the first five weeks and then the final will be on week 6-10. The T.A. sessions were always super helpful as well. Easy A as long as you're willing to go to the lectures and Professor Brown is a good speaker and always kept the lectures engaging.
Fall 2024 - This class was awesome. It was the perfect GE to take. The professor understands that most people coming into this class don't have musical knowledge and she walks you through everything you need to know. The only homework there is once a week you need to watch the opera assigned and write a short paragraph answering a single question. I didn't always watch the whole opera and would still get full points anyways. There is one midterm and one final but they're not culminative. The midterm will be on the material talked about in the first five weeks and then the final will be on week 6-10. The T.A. sessions were always super helpful as well. Easy A as long as you're willing to go to the lectures and Professor Brown is a good speaker and always kept the lectures engaging.
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Most Helpful Review
Winter 2020 - This class was pretty okay. Dr. Syer is a really nice, caring person. She is evidently very interested with opera and really loves what she does. The lectures are 2 hours long, and for me it was impossible not to get bored. This class had a fair amount of assignments. We had to write 3 papers on operas. As for testing, the midterm has a listening component where you listen to a piece (which is on a list of about 20 pieces we looked at in class) and we write about the piece and identify the composer and the importance of that piece in the opera, there was also an essay component, which she gave the prompt for a week before the exam. The grading in this class wasn't harsh, and we all loved our TA, Pheaross. There were long and boring reading assignments, which I never did. I think they helped out a lot of people with giving context for this class, but I'm an opera singer so this was unnecessary for me. Dr. Syer conducted lectures on Zoom when she was out of town (she was really ahead of her time lmao), and she was very helpful. She would give us feedback on our essays before submitting them, which was very nice of her. The only problem is that it's often hard to get a hold of her and many emails you send her aren't responded to. I'd say, take this class if you're interested in opera. There isn't too much work, and it isn't too hard. That being said, you will get bored and need to do the long readings if you don't have musical background. Dr. Syer is a sweet lady, who really cares about her students, which made this class a lot better.
Winter 2020 - This class was pretty okay. Dr. Syer is a really nice, caring person. She is evidently very interested with opera and really loves what she does. The lectures are 2 hours long, and for me it was impossible not to get bored. This class had a fair amount of assignments. We had to write 3 papers on operas. As for testing, the midterm has a listening component where you listen to a piece (which is on a list of about 20 pieces we looked at in class) and we write about the piece and identify the composer and the importance of that piece in the opera, there was also an essay component, which she gave the prompt for a week before the exam. The grading in this class wasn't harsh, and we all loved our TA, Pheaross. There were long and boring reading assignments, which I never did. I think they helped out a lot of people with giving context for this class, but I'm an opera singer so this was unnecessary for me. Dr. Syer conducted lectures on Zoom when she was out of town (she was really ahead of her time lmao), and she was very helpful. She would give us feedback on our essays before submitting them, which was very nice of her. The only problem is that it's often hard to get a hold of her and many emails you send her aren't responded to. I'd say, take this class if you're interested in opera. There isn't too much work, and it isn't too hard. That being said, you will get bored and need to do the long readings if you don't have musical background. Dr. Syer is a sweet lady, who really cares about her students, which made this class a lot better.
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