ID:
501371
Duration (hours):
36
CFU:
6
SSD:
MUSICOLOGIA E STORIA DELLA MUSICA
Located in:
CREMONA
Year:
2025
Overview
Date/time interval
Secondo Semestre (02/03/2026 - 12/06/2026)
Syllabus
Course Objectives
Starting from the study of one or more specific case studies, the course aims to provide students with the methodological tools necessary to engage critically with musical theatre – with particular emphasis on the nineteenth-century operatic repertoire – by examining its aesthetic, dramatic, and compositional dimensions. Students will acquire the skills to analyse a work in relation to the socio-cultural context in which it was conceived, to trace its circulation through to the most significant contemporary stagings, and to investigate its possible encounters with other media and art forms.
Course Prerequisites
The following are assumed: familiarity with the major milestones in the history of opera from its origins to the present day, and the ability to read and analyse musical scores. Students are encouraged to view – through live performance or audiovisual recordings – an adequate number of operas representing different periods, genres, and composers. Although not mandatory, the ability to read musicological texts in English and/or French is also beneficial.
Teaching Methods
The course consists primarily of lectures, during which active student participation is strongly encouraged. Each week, supporting teaching materials (PowerPoint presentations, videos, supplementary readings, etc.) will be made available to students.
Assessment Methods
a) Attending students
Submission of a written paper, the topic of which will be agreed in advance with the lecturer; an oral examination during which the student must demonstrate knowledge of the material covered in class and of the readings recommended during the course.
b) Non-attending students
Submission of a written paper, the topic of which will be agreed in advance with the lecturer; an oral examination during which the student must demonstrate knowledge of the syllabus agreed with the lecturer (see also "Testi di riferimento").
Submission of a written paper, the topic of which will be agreed in advance with the lecturer; an oral examination during which the student must demonstrate knowledge of the material covered in class and of the readings recommended during the course.
b) Non-attending students
Submission of a written paper, the topic of which will be agreed in advance with the lecturer; an oral examination during which the student must demonstrate knowledge of the syllabus agreed with the lecturer (see also "Testi di riferimento").
Texts
All students (both attending and non-attending) are required to demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of both versions of "Macbeth", acquired through the study of the libretto, the score, and the audiovisual recordings indicated by the lecturer.
For the score and for a historical contextualisation of the opera, reference should be made to the critical edition:
GIUSEPPE VERDI, "Macbeth", critical edition edited by David Lawton, The Works of Giuseppe Verdi, I/10, The University of Chicago Press – Ricordi, Chicago – Milan, 2005.
For a collection of essays and documents of various kinds relating to "Macbeth" (reviews, letters, reproduction of the 1847 libretto, etc.), reference may be made to:
DAVID ROSEN, ANDREW PORTER (eds), "Verdi’s Macbeth: A Sourcebook", New York, W. W. Norton, 1984.
a) For attending students, the oral examination will focus on the material covered in class and on the readings indicated by the lecturer during the course.
b) Non-attending students must study one of the following volumes (provided it has not already been studied for the courses in Musical Dramaturgy 1 and/or 2):
LORENZO BIANCONI (ed.), "La drammaturgia musicale", Bologna, Il Mulino, 1986.
CARL DAHLHAUS, "Drammaturgia dell’opera italiana", Turin, EDT, 2005.
FABRIZIO DELLA SETA, "“non senza pazzia.”. Prospettive sul teatro musicale", Rome, Carocci, 2008.
ANSELM GERHARD, "The Urbanization of Opera: Music Theater in Paris in the Nineteenth Century", Chicago–London, University of Chicago Press, 1998.
They must also study four essays of their choice from the following:
MARCO CAPRA, "Aspetti della ricezione del “Macbeth” di Verdi", in Shakespeare e Verdi, a cura di G. Silvani e C. Gallico, Parma, Università degli Studi di Parma, 2000, pp. 7-24.
ANDREA CHEGAI, "Seduzione scenica e ragione drammatica: Verdi ed il “Macbeth” fiorentino del 1847", «Studi verdiani», 11, 1996, pp. 40-74.
MARCELLO CONATI, "Aspetti della messinscena del “Macbeth” di Verdi", «Nuova rivista musicale italiana», XV, 3, 1981, pp. 374-404.
FABRIZIO DELLA SETA, "Shakespeare alla luce di Verdi", «Festival Verdi Journal», 1, 2018, pp. 11-21.
MARKUS ENGELHARDT, "“Macbeth”: Chélard (1827/28) – Verdi (1847/65) – Taubert (1857)", in Verdi-Studien. Pierluigi Petrobelli zum 60. Geburstag, a cura di S. Döhring e W. Osthoff, München, G. Ricordi & Co., 2000, pp. 107-128.
PAOLO GALLARATI, "Il sonnambulismo di Lady Macbeth fra Shakespeare e Verdi", «Studi verdiani», 27, 2017, pp. 143-160.
ANDREAS GIGER, "Shakespeare Criticism, Shakespeare Performance, and the Power of the Witches in Verdi’s “Macbeth”", «Studi verdiani», 29, 2019-2020, pp. 89-120.
MICHELE GIRARDI, "Voluttà del soglio", «Festival Verdi Journal», 1, 2018, pp. 23-31.
JEONGWON JOE, "Opera in Woody Allen’s “Match Point”", in Opera as Soundtrack, Farnham, Ashgate, 2013, pp. 73-100.
CANDIDA BILLIE MANTICA, "Verso l’edizione critica di “Macbeth” (1865) in lingua francese: traduzione, autorialità collettiva e riavvicinamento al modello", in "Tra ragione e pazzia. Saggi di esegesi, storiografia e drammaturgia musicale in onore di Fabrizio Della Seta", a cura di F. Rovelli, C. Vellutini e C. Panti, Pisa, ETS, 2021, pp. 557-598.
GUIDO PADUANO, "Shakespeare e la parola scenica", in Id., Il giro di vite. Percorsi dell’opera lirica, Firenze, La nuova Italia, 1992, pp. 115-166.
GLORIA STAFFIERI, "Da “Robert le Diable” a “Macbeth”. Influssi di Meyerbeer sulla produzione verdiana degli anni Quaranta", «Studi verdiani», 13, 1998, pp. 13-44.
GLORIA STAFFIERI, "Componendo “Macbeth”: Verdi tra Shakespeare e il grand opéra", in "Shakespeare e Verdi", a cura di G. Silvani e C. Gallico, Parma, Università degli Studi di Parma, 2000, pp. 81-97.
GLORIA STAFFIERI, "Il “Macbeth” verdiano nella regia di Luchino Visconti (Spoleto 1958): Materiali per la ricostruzione dello spettacolo", in Giuseppe Verdi: dalla musica alla messinscena. In ricordo di Pierluigi Petrobelli, «Quaderni dell’Istituto Nazionale di Studi Verdiani», 8, Istituto Nazionale di Studi Verdiani - Università di Roma, Parma - Roma, pp. 45-72.
Detailed bibliographical guidance will be provided during the course.
For the score and for a historical contextualisation of the opera, reference should be made to the critical edition:
GIUSEPPE VERDI, "Macbeth", critical edition edited by David Lawton, The Works of Giuseppe Verdi, I/10, The University of Chicago Press – Ricordi, Chicago – Milan, 2005.
For a collection of essays and documents of various kinds relating to "Macbeth" (reviews, letters, reproduction of the 1847 libretto, etc.), reference may be made to:
DAVID ROSEN, ANDREW PORTER (eds), "Verdi’s Macbeth: A Sourcebook", New York, W. W. Norton, 1984.
a) For attending students, the oral examination will focus on the material covered in class and on the readings indicated by the lecturer during the course.
b) Non-attending students must study one of the following volumes (provided it has not already been studied for the courses in Musical Dramaturgy 1 and/or 2):
LORENZO BIANCONI (ed.), "La drammaturgia musicale", Bologna, Il Mulino, 1986.
CARL DAHLHAUS, "Drammaturgia dell’opera italiana", Turin, EDT, 2005.
FABRIZIO DELLA SETA, "“non senza pazzia.”. Prospettive sul teatro musicale", Rome, Carocci, 2008.
ANSELM GERHARD, "The Urbanization of Opera: Music Theater in Paris in the Nineteenth Century", Chicago–London, University of Chicago Press, 1998.
They must also study four essays of their choice from the following:
MARCO CAPRA, "Aspetti della ricezione del “Macbeth” di Verdi", in Shakespeare e Verdi, a cura di G. Silvani e C. Gallico, Parma, Università degli Studi di Parma, 2000, pp. 7-24.
ANDREA CHEGAI, "Seduzione scenica e ragione drammatica: Verdi ed il “Macbeth” fiorentino del 1847", «Studi verdiani», 11, 1996, pp. 40-74.
MARCELLO CONATI, "Aspetti della messinscena del “Macbeth” di Verdi", «Nuova rivista musicale italiana», XV, 3, 1981, pp. 374-404.
FABRIZIO DELLA SETA, "Shakespeare alla luce di Verdi", «Festival Verdi Journal», 1, 2018, pp. 11-21.
MARKUS ENGELHARDT, "“Macbeth”: Chélard (1827/28) – Verdi (1847/65) – Taubert (1857)", in Verdi-Studien. Pierluigi Petrobelli zum 60. Geburstag, a cura di S. Döhring e W. Osthoff, München, G. Ricordi & Co., 2000, pp. 107-128.
PAOLO GALLARATI, "Il sonnambulismo di Lady Macbeth fra Shakespeare e Verdi", «Studi verdiani», 27, 2017, pp. 143-160.
ANDREAS GIGER, "Shakespeare Criticism, Shakespeare Performance, and the Power of the Witches in Verdi’s “Macbeth”", «Studi verdiani», 29, 2019-2020, pp. 89-120.
MICHELE GIRARDI, "Voluttà del soglio", «Festival Verdi Journal», 1, 2018, pp. 23-31.
JEONGWON JOE, "Opera in Woody Allen’s “Match Point”", in Opera as Soundtrack, Farnham, Ashgate, 2013, pp. 73-100.
CANDIDA BILLIE MANTICA, "Verso l’edizione critica di “Macbeth” (1865) in lingua francese: traduzione, autorialità collettiva e riavvicinamento al modello", in "Tra ragione e pazzia. Saggi di esegesi, storiografia e drammaturgia musicale in onore di Fabrizio Della Seta", a cura di F. Rovelli, C. Vellutini e C. Panti, Pisa, ETS, 2021, pp. 557-598.
GUIDO PADUANO, "Shakespeare e la parola scenica", in Id., Il giro di vite. Percorsi dell’opera lirica, Firenze, La nuova Italia, 1992, pp. 115-166.
GLORIA STAFFIERI, "Da “Robert le Diable” a “Macbeth”. Influssi di Meyerbeer sulla produzione verdiana degli anni Quaranta", «Studi verdiani», 13, 1998, pp. 13-44.
GLORIA STAFFIERI, "Componendo “Macbeth”: Verdi tra Shakespeare e il grand opéra", in "Shakespeare e Verdi", a cura di G. Silvani e C. Gallico, Parma, Università degli Studi di Parma, 2000, pp. 81-97.
GLORIA STAFFIERI, "Il “Macbeth” verdiano nella regia di Luchino Visconti (Spoleto 1958): Materiali per la ricostruzione dello spettacolo", in Giuseppe Verdi: dalla musica alla messinscena. In ricordo di Pierluigi Petrobelli, «Quaderni dell’Istituto Nazionale di Studi Verdiani», 8, Istituto Nazionale di Studi Verdiani - Università di Roma, Parma - Roma, pp. 45-72.
Detailed bibliographical guidance will be provided during the course.
Contents
Composed for the Teatro della Pergola in Florence, where it premiered in 1847, "Macbeth" is the first of Verdi’s three operas inspired by Shakespearean subjects. Nearly two decades after its first performance, Verdi significantly revised the score in preparation for a revival at the Théâtre-Lyrique in Paris, which took place in 1865. Centred on the catastrophic consequences of the ruthless pursuit of power and the guilt that follows, Shakespeare’s tragedy (1623) has, over the centuries, prompted numerous reinterpretations across a wide range of Western artistic forms. In addition to Verdi’s masterpiece, the figure of Macbeth has inspired other musical compositions – both operatic (H. Chelard, 1827; W. Taubert, 1857; E. Bloch, 1910; S. Sciarrino, 2002) and non-operatic (R. Strauss, 1890) – as well as various film adaptations, among which those by O. Welles (1948), A. Kurosawa (1957), L. Visconti (1969), R. Polanski (1971), and, more recently, J. Coen (2021) are particularly noteworthy.
The course will begin with an analysis of the dramaturgy of Verdi’s opera, comparing the libretto by F. M. Piave and A. Maffei both with Shakespeare’s tragedy and with its intermediary literary sources (M. Leoni, 1820; C. Rusconi, 1838), and identifying points of continuity and rupture with contemporary musical theatre. The two versions of the opera – of which the second exists in both Italian and French (libretto by C. Nuitter and A. Beaume) – will then be discussed in relation to the theatrical systems for which they were conceived. Alongside a comparative examination of the principal theatrical, musical, and cinematic works based on the same subject, particular attention will be devoted to contemporary stagings of both versions of the opera, to film-opera adaptations (C. D’Anna, 1986; D. Campea, 2016), and to the use of excerpts from Macbeth in the soundtracks of auteur films (B. Bertolucci, "Prima della rivoluzione", 1962; M. Bellocchio, "La Cina è vicina", 1967; C. D’Anna, "Le cercle des passions", 1983; D. Argento, "Opera", 1987; W. Allen, "Match Point", 2005).
The course will begin with an analysis of the dramaturgy of Verdi’s opera, comparing the libretto by F. M. Piave and A. Maffei both with Shakespeare’s tragedy and with its intermediary literary sources (M. Leoni, 1820; C. Rusconi, 1838), and identifying points of continuity and rupture with contemporary musical theatre. The two versions of the opera – of which the second exists in both Italian and French (libretto by C. Nuitter and A. Beaume) – will then be discussed in relation to the theatrical systems for which they were conceived. Alongside a comparative examination of the principal theatrical, musical, and cinematic works based on the same subject, particular attention will be devoted to contemporary stagings of both versions of the opera, to film-opera adaptations (C. D’Anna, 1986; D. Campea, 2016), and to the use of excerpts from Macbeth in the soundtracks of auteur films (B. Bertolucci, "Prima della rivoluzione", 1962; M. Bellocchio, "La Cina è vicina", 1967; C. D’Anna, "Le cercle des passions", 1983; D. Argento, "Opera", 1987; W. Allen, "Match Point", 2005).
Course Language
Italian
Degrees
Degrees (2)
MUSICOLOGY
Master’s Degree
2 years
MUSICOLOGY
Master’s Degree
2 years
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