Opera Project (new page)
The definition of opera is actually quite unique when one thinks about it. According to the Webster's Dictionary, opera is defined as:
"A drama set to music and made up of vocal pieces with orchestral accompaniment and orchestral overtures and interludes."
Opera comes from Latin meaning "work." The two main ingredients for an opera are music and a plot. Both must be present for a piece of music to be defined as an opera.
During the course of the Opera Unit, we will look at musical selections from six (6) operas. These operas span the Music Periods from the Classical to the Twentieth Century. Each opera is unique according to the plot and music of that opera. The six operas are as follows:
| Don Giovanni | I Pagliacci | Madama Butterfly |
| Tannhauser | Amahl and the Night Visitors | Carmen |
During the course of the unit we will also hear excerpts for the one day from a modern "rock opera." This opera is "Tommy" which was written and performed by The Who. This was considered the first modern "rock opera."
This unit is the largest unit in the eighth grade music class. This unit involves working in cooperative learning groups, designing and presenting a scene from an opera, preparing an opera crossword puzzle, watching a video on the writing of an opera, daily activities and daily journal entries. While opera may not be your most favorite type of music, it is very important both from an historical and musical perspective. Instead of a major test at the end of the unit, I plan to give several small quizzes throughout the unit. I hope that when you have completed the unit, you will gain a better appreciation for opera and understand opera both from the composer's and performer's views.
There are a variety of terms that each student needs to know when studying opera.
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Each group will have a daily activity to complete during the class period. This activity will be collected and assessed each day.
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Activities Rubric (same as journal) |
Each group will submit an Opera Crossword Puzzle to be assessed. Within the first couple of days, each group will be given the list of words that they are to include in the Crossword Puzzle. Each group will turn in a rough draft of the Crossword Puzzle (which will be returned to them) and then they will turn in a final draft of the Crossword Puzzle.
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Because this unit is so big, there are many different assessments linked to this unit. Students will have rubrics for each of the assessments and then the group will also be able to see how the group is doing with the assessment based on the total unit.
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08/29/2004