DHUM 27A59 - Opera and Politics in the United States

This course proposes to examine the relation between music and American politics in that most refined of art forms: Opera. It will introduce students to the history of American opera focusing on 20th and 21st century works, composers and performers. The course will explore the way politics inspired American composers to highlight the circulation of ideas and the political roles of art and artists. Following different types of documents (video excerpts, scholarly and press articles, book chapters, photographs and reports), we will closely examine several topics: the political resonances in the works of American composers especially John Adams, Jake Heggie, Philip Glass; the ways in which the democratization of opera and ongoing civil rights struggles (including movements such as Black Lives Matter) have influenced and contributed to the evolution of the operatic landscape; and the transatlantic influence of American opera, as part of the broader context of American cultural soft power particularly in comparison with French opera. thus renewing and opening up to new audiences.