SUS_218 World and Czech Verismo

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2022
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Taught in person.
Teacher(s)
prof. PhDr. Miloš Štědroň, CSc. (lecturer)
PhDr. Dagmar Koudelková (alternate examiner)
Guaranteed by
prof. PhDr. Miloš Štědroň, CSc.
Department of Musicology – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Mgr. Jan Karafiát
Timetable
Tue 12:00–13:40 N51
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 100 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 51/100, only registered: 0/100, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/100
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 6 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
European Operatic Verismo - the aim of the course is to illustrate, through a series of examples and situations, the state of European opera from the late 1880s to the end of the First World War. Against Verdi and Wagnerian opera, a new operatic movement emerged, especially in Italy, under the influence of literary naturalism from the 1860s onwards (Giovanni Verga). It is dominated by the strong influence of naturalism and tragic themes. It was originally created as a reaction to the Milanese publisher Ricordi's efforts to stimulate further development of opera and, in particular, to obtain shorter and more flexible operas. It evolved from the late 1880s onwards in three successive waves - first verismo rustico - rural, localised to the environment of southern Italy and Sicily with its rituals, then verismo borghese - civic, bourgeois, "bourgeois", and finally verismo exotico with a transference to Asia or America. The course will also cover our reaction to this direction (Janáček, Kovařovic, Bendl, Weiss and others). In the course of the course the audience will get to know the latest recordings of the most famous verismo operas by Puccini (Tosca, La Bohème, Turandot), but also by other composers.
Learning outcomes
Upon completion of the course, the student will be able to:
- orient themselves in the problems of verismo in European opera

- recognize the specifics and differences of the three basic stages referred to as verismo rustico, verismo borghese, verismo exotico
- characterise the works of selected composers
Syllabus
  • 1. Verga - musical verismo started in the 1880s and quickly spread throughout Europe and soon overseas (USA, South America) thanks to Italian connections
  • 2. Why is verismo a direction and not a style - thematicism of veristic operas, predominance of tragic themes
  • 3. The succession of veristic varieties - starting with verismo rustico, localized to southern Italy and Sicily (tragic stories); followed around 1900 by verismo borghese, civic, "bourgeois" (the city comes into play: La bohème - Paris, Tosca - Rome; recent past); verismo exotico - extension of verismo themes to Asia (Madama Butterfly, Turandot
  • 4. Czech reaction to Verism - especially Janáček: Janáček's Pastorkyňa as verismo rustico, Fate as verismo borghese, Mr. Brouček's excursions as verismo exotico
  • 5. Diffusion of Verismo into the First World War - the influence of Verismo on operetta (Nedbal)
  • 6. What bothered Z. Nejedlý about Verism?!?
Literature
    required literature
  • ABBATE, Carolyn and Roger PARKER. Dějiny opery : posledních 400 let. Translated by Robert Novotný. Vydání první. Praha: Argo, 2017, 652 stran. ISBN 9788073637002. info
  • ŠTĚDROŇ, Miloš. Leoš Janáček a hudba 20. století : paralely, sondy, dokumenty. 1. vyd. Brno: Nadace Universitas Masarykiana, 1998, 301 s. ISBN 80-902197-4-8. info
Teaching methods
lecture, listening, analysis
Assessment methods
test
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
The course is taught only once.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/autumn2022/SUS_218