Hello everyone,

In preparation for next week, there are three readings about opera which are now all up on the website:  these include a longer piece by Tim Carter introducing some basic ideas about opera, as well as two shorter pieces about opera in America and the Met/Lincoln Center in particular. For the Carter reading, you’ll see that I’ve asked you to only read excerpts, so any time you reach a red star, you can skip ahead to the following red arrow. However, if you’re curious, you can read the whole thing.

As you’re reading the Carter, you should consider the following questions, which we will address in our in-class discussion. You do not need to write up answers to these, but be prepared to discuss possible answers, and so you may want to jot down some notes in response:

  • In the first section, what are the major issues that Carter presents when studying opera? Where are the lines of conflict?
  • Highlighted text on p. 4: what is the absurdity that Carter points out? What does he mean by “space, agency, and outcome”?
  • Why is it significant that the Met receives much of its yearly operating budget from donor and investment income?
  • What’s the difference between a performing repertoire and performing new operas? When did this shift take place?
  • Why are so many operas performed that are by the same composers?
  • What is verisimilitude (look up the word)? Why is that a particularly important term for opera? Why does Carter point out that it’s OK for some characters, like Orpheus, to sing in an opera?
  • What is the difference between “phenomenal” and “noumenal” music?
  • What is a “set piece” and why might these pose a problem for verisimilitude?
  • What does Carter mean in the last sentence (highlighted) that “we all know, deep down, that [Dr. Johnson] was exactly right”?