2. The Opera Aria. To different degrees, the operas of Handel, Mozart, Verdi, and Puccini are built around solo arias through which the characters plumb their emotional depths. In the first hour, we shall look at some arias from The Marriage of Figaro to see some of the different ways in which an aria can be used. In the second hour, we shall consider the question of what kinds of text are most suitable for lyrical singing in English, distinguishing what opera can do well from what it can scarcely do at all. Among other examples, we shall refer to my own adaptation of EM Forster's Where Angels Fear to Tread for the composer Mark Lanz Weiser, which had its professional premiere in San Jose, California, in 2015.

PREPARING FOR THE CLASS. The section of the class devoted to arias from Where Angels Fear to Tread may not be very useful if you don't know the situations in which they arise. I therefore strongly advise that you read the 3-page PDF of EXCERPTS from the EM Forster novel; it includes a synopsis that will set each passage in context. You may also be interested in the ARTICLE I wrote about the production; it gives more background in greater detail than I can manage in class.

I will explain the context of all the other arias in the class itself. However, you may find it helpful to print out the TABLE of arias from Figaro to have by you as you listen.

The script, videos, and images will be posted immediately after class.