Learning objectives
At the end of the course the students - who do not require a previous disciplinary competence - will have acquired a specific knowledge both of the communicative processes of musical expression and related information and promotional strategies, and of the evolution of musical theatre in various declinations (from ‘intermedio apparente’ to musical drama, from opera to operetta, from musical to opera-rock) and derivatives (movie, videoclip, etc.).
Knowledge and understanding:
students will develop knowledge and understanding skills through the constant use of different sources (sound and multimedia materials, books and articles of scientific, educational and informative nature, archival documents, conferences, seminars, guided tours, etc.) and course of exercises dedicated to the analysis of communication products (paper, audiovisual and IT).
Applying knowledge and understanding:
students will be able to exploit their knowledge and understanding to critically consider their experience in music and theatre in particular and music users both live and reproduced, to reflect in depth on the roots and on the evolution of musical language, to consciously investigate the information system, dissemination, promotion and marketing. The application of this knowledge and skills will be particularly useful for literary students who will enrich their disciplinary education by studying the terms of the relationship between music and literature that is the basis of musical theatre and the deep-rooted phenomenon of musical and theatrical criticism exerted by professional writers.
Making judgment:
students will develop the ability to collect and interpret data useful for determining independent judgments, establishing relationships and connections between genres of entertainment and different artistic expressions and interpreting them in the light of their relationship with historical, social and economic reality.
They will be able to critically consider their experience, assess the reliability of sources and information, and integrate the acquired knowledge.
Communication skills:
the student will put to good use the analysis of the communication processes related to music, the critical approach to the subject and the interrelation with the teacher and the other students during the lessons to develop the ability to communicate in a clear and grounded way his personal experience and his reflections both during the lessons and during the exam and in non-educational context towards specialists and non-specialists interlocutors.
Learning skills:
thanks to the approach to the subject, which tends to problematic reflection and aims at developing a critical sense with respect to the current reality, the students will develop the stimuli and skills needed to increase their knowledge through further non-occasional studies and even independently conducted.
Course unit content
The course is dedicated to the evolution of music and musical theatre from the point of view of communication strategy.
This strategy is implemented on three levels:
- linguistic and dramaturgical
- social
- informational and promotional
In particular, the following aspects are investigated:
- forms and history of musical dramaturgy
- national traditions: Italian, German, French, Slavic area
- relationships with other artistic expressions
- execution (the ritual and the feast, the show)
- economy and society: production and representativeness
- places: theatres and halls, outdoor places, virtual places
- protagonists: authors, interpreters, implementers, managers, governors, communicators, public
- reproduction (the manuscript, printed, electronic text; recorded and televised execution)
- information: promotion and dissemination (paper and electronic); news and criticism (periodical press, radio and television, internet, etc.)
Bibliography
Bibliography contains general reference texts. The final list for the preparation of the exam and the Dispensa are provided at the beginning of the lessons on paper and on the Elly online teaching portal.
- M. Capra, Dispensa di testi e immagini (1. “Stampa periodica e critica musicale”; 2. “Il suono ‘tecnologico’: ricerca, caratteri e implicazioni”; 3. “Verdi, da gloria musicale a padre della patria. Tappe di un percorso mediatico”)
- J. Le Goff, “Documento/Monumento”, in “Enciclopedia Einaudi”, Torino, Einaudi, 1978, vol. 5, pp. 39-47
- AA. VV., “Storia dell'opera italiana”, voll. 4-6, cur. G. Pestelli e L. Bianconi, Torino, Edt, 1987 sgg.
- AA. VV., “Storia della musica”, voll. 5-10, cur. SIdM, Torino, Edt, 1982 sgg.
- M. Capra, “La musica e il tempo libero. Domande e riflessioni sulla fruizione musicale nell’Ottocento”, in “Il tempo libero nell’Italia unita”, cur. F. Tarozzi e A. Varni, Bologna, Clueb, 1992, pp. 45-57
- L. Bianconi, “Il teatro d'opera in Italia”, Bologna, Il Mulino, 1993
- M. Capra, “Cronologie teatrali dal 1989 a oggi. Considerazioni sul metodo”, in “Rivista italiana di musicologia”, XXIX/2, 1994, pp. 210-224.
- AA.VV., “Musica in scena”, cur. A. Basso, Torino, Utet, 1995 sgg.
- “The New Grove Dictionary of Opera”, ed. S. Sadie, London, Macmillan, 1996
- M. Capra, “Criticism - Italy: 1890-1945”, in “The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians”, ed. S. Sadie, London, Macmillan, 2001, vol. 6, pp. 685-686
- AA. VV., “Giuseppe Verdi und seine Zeit”, hg. M. Engelhardt, Laaber, Laaber Verlag, 2001, pp. 117-142
- AA. VV., “La divulgazione musicale in Italia”, cur. A. Rigolli, Torino, Edt, 2005
- AA. VV., “La musica sulla scena. Lo spettacolo musicale e il pubblico”, cur. A. Rigolli, Torino, Edt, 2006
- M. Capra, “Il teatro d’opera a Parma. Quattrocento anni, dal Farnese al Regio”, Cinisello B., Silvana Ed., 2007
- AA. VV., “Il suono riprodotto. Storia, tecnica e cultura di una rivoluzione del Novecento”, cur. A. Rigolli e P. Russo, Torino, Edt, 2007
- AA. VV., “Arturo Toscanini: il direttore e l’artista mediatico”, cur. M. Capra e I. Cavallini, Lucca, LIM, 2011
- AA. VV., “La critica musicale in Italia nella prima metà del Novecento”, cur. M. Capra e F. Nicolodi, Venezia, Marsilio, 2012
- M. Capra, “Verdi in prima pagina. Nascita, sviluppo e affermazione della figura di Verdi nella stampa italiana dal XIX al XXI secolo”, Lucca, LIM, 2014
- AA. VV., “Verdi e Wagner nel cinema e nei media”, cur. S. Miceli e M. Capra, Venezia, Marsilio, 2014
- AA. VV., “Storia di Parma. X: Musica e teatro”, cur. F. Luisi e L. Allegri, Parma, MUP, 2013
- AA. VV., “Verdi e Wagner nel cinema e nei media”, cur. S. Miceli e M. Capra, Venezia, Marsilio, 2014
Teaching methods
Lectures (with constant use of slides, audio and audiovisual aids); meetings with sector operators; guided tours to theatrical, museum and archival structures; seminars and conferences.
The exam preparation program (in the versions for attending and non-attending students) is available on paper and on the Elly portal at the beginning of the lessons.
The program for non-attending students provides additional bibliography that make up for the lack of attendance to the lessons.
All the texts indicated for the preparation of the exam can be consulted at the Library of the Musicology section. Texts and images are available at the beginning of the lessons on the Elly portal or can be requested directly from the teacher.
The teaching materials used during the lessons (diagrams, lists and slides in particular) or support for guided tours, seminars and conferences are available on the Elly portal after their use in class or during the aforementioned events.
Assessment methods and criteria
Oral exam.
The exam consists of several questions aimed at verifying the degree of knowledge and awareness achieved by the student. For attending students 50% of the test focuses on the content of the lessons (including slides, multimedia aids, guided tours), the rest on the content of the texts (including the images contained in them) and listening musical pieces indicated in the exam program .
For non-attending students the test focuses on the content of the texts (including the images contained in them) and on the listening musical pieces indicated in the program.
In particular, the following are evaluated:
- basic methodological awareness through the analysis of the different sources for research
- knowledge of the presuppositions, characteristics, evolution of musical theatre and music as a language, with special reference to aspects related to the theory and practice of communication
- the ability to establish relationships and identify differences between the musical language and the languages of other artistic expressions
- awareness and critical sense in relation to the current reality and to the historical roots of this reality are the foundation
- the capacity for rationalization on specific topics and the correct presentation of the related results
- finally, but of primary importance, the ability to connect concepts and notions acquired during lectures and in the study of texts with specific listening experiences.
An insufficient evaluation is determined by the ignorance of the minimum contents of the teaching; the inability to formulate judgments in an autonomous and founded way, and to relate concepts and events between them; from the inability to express themselves adequately. A sufficient assessment (18-23 / 30) is determined by an acceptable level with respect to the aforementioned evaluation indicators; an average rating (24-27 / 30) reflects a level that is more than sufficient to good; a high rating (28-30 / 30 and praise) attests a very good to excellent level.
Other information
Lessons and exams at Casa della Musica (p.le San Francesco 1).
