WesMaps - Wesleyan University Catalog 2008-2009       Summer Session       Winter Session       Home       Archive       Search
CS92PROD
Orpheus and Eurydice: The Power of Music
MUSC 120
Fall 2008 not offered

The touching story of the inventor of music who reclaims his beloved Eurydice from death, then loses her again, has inspired poets and musicians for centuries. During this course we will scan history for outcroppings of this myth, reading literary texts from the ancient world, including Virgil and Ovid, as well as the modern poetry of Rilke and Ashbery, and delving into more than 30 operas and musical works devoted to this subject. We will pay particular attention to Claudio Monteverdi's opera, ORFEO; Igor Stravinsky's ballet, ORPHEUS; and Philip Glass's chamber opera, ORPHEE, which uses as its text the actual screenplay of a Jean Cocteau film. In addition to occasional quizzes and a paper, the class will also compose a short theater work with music based on some aspect of this classical Greek myth.

Essential Capabilities: None
Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: HA MUSC
Course Format: SeminarGrading Mode: Graded
Level: UGRD Prerequisites: None
Fulfills a Major Requirement for: None

Last Updated on MAR-28-2024
Contact wesmaps@wesleyan.edu to submit comments or suggestions. Please include a url, course title, faculty name or other page reference in your email ? Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 06459