For Thursday, September 26
Listen to these three renditions of Nessun Dorma. What do you hear? What’s different in their performances? Do you have a preference? Can you use YouTube to find your own favorite performance?
Francesco Merli: The first complete recording of Turandot, 1937
for Thursday, October 3
Turandot as a “problem” opera:
1. Problems with Characters and Characterizations
2. Problems with the Ending
3. “Orientalism” and Cultural Appropriation
https://www.operaphila.org/backstage/opera-blog/2016/watching-turandot-with-modern-eyes/
https://operawire.com/no-hero-why-calaf-is-the-dramatic-problem-in-puccinis-turandot/
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2002/jun/08/artsfeatures
The Berio ending to Turandot
The ending at the Met
for Thursday, October 24
Listen to the following arias from Manon. How do the music and words help convey the development of her character? Can you sense the changes she is experiencing?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWQMTLvLqn0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJAc1d8HRDs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HR-VZy7_6oI
for Thursday, November 21
Listen to this music at least twice.
What does it evoke in you?
Can you hear/track changes in the music?
Do the changes suggest changes in emotion/message?