MUSIC 323

OPERA HISTORY

Spring 2007

 

Instructor:    Dr. Patricia Holland, NFAC 308, campus phone 346-3119

 

Text:    The Oxford Illustrated History of Opera. Roger Parker, editor. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996. Please come to class having read the assignment for the day.

 

Course Goals: Students will examine the history of the genre from its inception to the present, and will make associations between musical developments and other historical events.  Students will become familiar with representative examples of opera literature. Additionally, students will increase their familiarity with music research procedures and develop and refine their writing skills.

 

Attendance:   Your on-time attendance is expected at every class period. Class members find latecomers very disruptive, and so do I.  Unexcused absences and tardiness will result in a reduction of your final grade.

 

Listening:       A listening list is provided in this syllabus. Compact disc recordings of these pieces are on reserve at the LRC (first floor). There will be quizzes on listening material, where you will be asked to identify pieces of music and/or answer questions about them.

 

Writing Emphasis: The goals of the writing emphasis component of the course will be to improve studentsŐ writing skills and to facilitate writing within the music discipline.  THE RESEARCH PAPER AND RELATED ASSIGNMENTS (BIBLIOGRAPHY, OUTLINE) MUST BE COMPLETED IN ORDER TO RECEIVE A GRADE.  Failure to complete these assignments will result in a grade of "incomplete."

 

Hybrid Course: This is a hybrid course, meaning that some face-to-face meetings are eliminated in favor of online activities.  These online activities will be centered on the two course web sites: http://www.uwsp.edu/music/pholland/323/index.htm and https://uwsp.courses.wisconsin.edu/

 

Grades: Your grade will be determined by your performance on several evaluative opportunities:

Online Quizzes 4 @ 25 points each                          100 points total

Online writing assignments 5 @ 20 points each        100 points total

Listening Quizzes 2 @ 20 points each                      40 points total

Paper                                                                          80 points

Bibliography assignment                                            10 points

Outline assignment                                                     10 points

Final Exam                                                                  60 points

Total possible points                                                   400

 

Grade translations (minimum points for each letter grade):

A (93%)           372                                          C (73%)           292                             

A- (90%)          360                                          C- (70%)         280                             

B+ (87%)         348                                          D+ (66%)        264                             

B (83%)           332                                          D (60%)           240                             

B- (80%)          320                                          F                      less than 240             

C+ (77%)        308                                         

 

Grades for late assignments will be reduced. Excessive absence or tardiness will result in reduction of the final grade.