Workers’ Educational Association

The UK’s largest voluntary sector provider of adult learning

Course Outline

This course outline describes what will be covered in your course.

It also sets out what you should expect to learn. There will be an opportunity for course members to discuss the course content with the tutor.

Course Title / Music Studies: Opera
Course ID / C2416237 / Tutor / John Riley
Start date / 27.09.12 / Day(s)/time(s) / Thursday 14:00-16:00
No. of sessions / 20 / Hours per session / 2 / Fees / £150
Venue / Methodist Church Hall, South Croydon
Branch/Partner / WEA Sanderstead and Selsdon
Branch/Partner contact details / Josie Green, Tel: 020 8651 4684, Email:
Publicity Description
We will study several operas - both well-known and rarer works - being performed at ENO or Covent Garden or shown in cinemas. After looking at the background, we will study them closely. To include ‘The Lighthouse’ and ‘Maria Stuarda’.
Course Aims
The course will look at a range of operas to understand how the music and drama support each other, and how they relate to the historical context and to the composers’ other work.
Main Topics Covered
For each opera we will look at:
The historical context of when it was written and, if appropriate, the events it portrays
The biography of the composer and librettist
The dramatic, literary and music forms it employs
Pre-course preparation, reading, internet research etc.
No preparation necessary
TITLE / AUTHOR / PUBLISHER
The Penguin Opera Guide / Amanda Holden / Penguin
Essential costs/materials
There are optional visits to productions of the operas to be studied, tickets to be paid for by the learners
Entry Requirements/Level
None
Qualification gained / None
Awarding Body / N/A
Teaching and learning methods used
Listening to recordings; studying the libretti; class discussion
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course learners will be able to:
1. Understand the background to the operas, including the composers’ biographies and historical and artistic context
2. Recognise the operas’ forms and structures, and how they relate to the drama
3. Recognise the operas’ literary and musical styles and explain why they were chosen
4. Explain how each opera fits in the context of the history of the form
How do you know you are learning?
Quizzes and informal feedback will ensure that learning is successful
Suggested Further Study and Progression Routes
Various London colleges run both practical and theoretical opera courses
Brief tutor profile
John Riley is a teacher, curator, writer and broadcaster specialising in classical music, film and film music. He has taught and lectured for WEA as well as at Goldsmiths and elsewhere, and lectured across the Uk as well as in Europe, Russia and the USA. Among his publications are Dmitri Shostakovich: a Life in Film (IB Tauris) and Discover Film Music (Naxos) and has written for Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press Routledge, BFI Publishing and others including The Independent, The Times and Sight and Sound. He has appeared on BBC radio 3 and 4 several times.

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WEA London and Southern Regions' Support Centre

57 Riverside 2, Sir Thomas Longley Road, Rochester, Kent ME2 4DP

Tel: 01634 298600 Fax: 01634 298601 email: london&

The Workers' Educational Association is a charity registered in England and Wales (number 1112775) and in

Scotland (number SC039239) and a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (number 2806910)