Social Studies Lesson Plan: Historical Settings for Opera

Transcription

1 Social Studies Lesson Plan: Historical Settings for Opera Students Will Read for information Research a civilization, landmarks, or literary work with which to set a story Write a brief setting and story as the basis for an opera Copies for Each Student Our Composer, Alfredo Catalani Our Librettist, Luigi Illica Social Studies Activity Worksheet Copy for Teacher Social Studies Activity Worksheet Answer Key Getting Ready Prepare internet access for possible research for guided practice or group work. Gather pens, pencils and additional writing paper as needed for your group. Introduction Have your students read Our Composer, Alfredo Catalani and Our Librettist, Luigi Illica. Give each student a copy of the Social Studies Activity Worksheet or display it on a screen. Give an overview of the assignment, and point out the information your students are expected to research and write about. To align with Texas TEKS, it is recommended that research topics be tailored according to grade level: Grade 6: Societies of the contemporary world. Grade 7: Texas history, from natural Texas to present. Grade 8: United States history from the early colonial period through Reconstruction. U.S. History Studies since 1877: U.S. History from Reconstruction to the present day. World History Studies: Societies of ancient Greece, Rome, India, Persia, China, and Medieval to Renaissance Europe Educational Programs page 1 of 11

2 Guided/Independent Practice Depending on your grade level, the ability of your students, and time constraints, you may choose to have students work as a whole class, in small groups, with a partner, or individually. Read the directions on the Activity Worksheet. Have students select topics and begin research. This can be done in class or as an outside assignment. Have students fill in their research information, characters, and write a short summary of their dramatic plot. Have students share their answers individually or by groups and tell why they chose their settings and story elements. Evaluation Have students present their ideas to the class for discussion and evaluation. The teacher may want to guide the discussion. For Further Study Students may want to do additional research on civilizations and landmarks in which to stage a drama or other related topics online or in their school library. Their findings can be shared with the class at the beginning of a later lesson Educational Programs page 2 of 11

3 TEKS: Social Studies Grade 6 (16) Culture. The student understands that all societies have basic institutions in common even though the characteristics of these institutions may differ. (A) (21) Social studies skills. The student applies critical-thinking skills to organize and use information acquired through established research methodologies from a variety of valid sources, including electronic technology. (A) Grade 7 (21) Social studies skills. The student applies critical-thinking skills to organize and use information acquired through established research methodologies from a variety of valid sources, including electronic technology. (A) Grade 8 (23) Culture. The student understands the relationships between and among people from various groups, including racial, ethnic, and religious groups, during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. (C) (29) Social studies skills. The student applies critical-thinking skills to organize and use information acquired through established research methodologies from a variety of valid sources, including electronic technology. (A) United States History Studies Since 1877 (26) Culture. The student understands how people from various groups contribute to our national identity. (C) United States History Studies Since 1877, continued (29) Social studies skills. The student applies critical-thinking skills to organize and use information acquired from a variety of valid sources, including electronic technology. World History Studies (25) Culture. The student understands how the development of ideas has influenced institutions and societies. (A and B) (29) Social studies skills. The student applies critical-thinking skills to organize and use information acquired from a variety of valid sources, including electronic technology. (F) Educational Programs page 3 of 11

4 TEKS: Language Arts Grade 6 (12) Analyze characters, including their traits, motivations, conflicts, and relationships. (F). Grade 7 (12) Analyze characters, including their traits, motivations, conflicts and relationships. (F) Grade 8 (12) Analyze characters, including their traits, motivations, conflicts and relationships. (F) English Language Arts and Reading, English I (5) Analyze how authors develop complex yet believable characters in works of fiction through a range of literary devices, including character foils. (B) English Language Arts and Reading, English II (5) Analyze differences in the characters moral dilemmas in works of fiction across different countries or cultures. (B) English Language Arts and Reading, English III (5) Analyze the internal and external development of characters through a range of literary devices. (B) English Language Arts and Reading, English III (5) Analyze the internal and external development of characters through a range of literary devices. (B) English Language Arts and Reading, English IV (5) Analyze the moral dilemmas and quandaries presented in works of fiction as revealed by the underlying motivations and behaviors of the characters. (B) Correlates: Language Arts, Drama Gardner s Intelligences: Verbal-Linguistic, Logical/Mathematical Bloom s Taxonomy: Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Synthesis, Evaluation Bibliography Warrack, John and West, Ewan, The Oxford Dictionary of Opera, Oxford University Press, Freeman, John W., Stories of the Great Operas, W. W. Norton & Company, Goulding, Phil G., Ticket to the Opera, Fawcett Columbine, Stevenson, Joseph. [About] Alfredo Catalani. Classical Archives. April 1, Accessed April 1, Sadie, Stanley, ed. The Dictionary, Volume One. In The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. Vol. 1,A-d, New York: Grove, 1992 San Francisco Opera Education. arena.it, wikipedia.com, ricordi.it, casaillica.com Educational Programs page 4 of 11

5 La Wally Synopsis ACT IV In a remote village in the Austrian Alps, the free-spirited Wally is in love with the son of her father s arch-enemy. Jealousies, unrequited love and emotional manipulation ultimately lead to a crisis, in which a rival casts Wally s beloved into a mountain ravine. The now-contrite Wally races to the spot and climbs down to rescue Hagenbach herself. As Act IV begins, Wally rejects the entreaties of a friend to return to the safety of the village. Hagenbach regains consciousness and the two declare their love for each other. However, when seeking a safe route of return, the man is carried away by an avalanche Educational Programs page 5 of 11

6 La Wally Our Composer, Alfredo Catalani Alfredi Catalani created richly romantic operas intended to create a synthesis of Wagnerian opera and Italian operatic tradition. His operas were among the most important of those in the period immediately preceding the rise of the trend of realism in opera. Lucca, Italy was home to two established musical families, the Puccinis and the Catalanis. Alfredo was born four years ahead of Giacomo Puccini on June 19, He and young Puccini both studied music, as boys, with Fortunato Magi, Puccini's uncle. Catalani's progress was rapid, and he was sent to Paris where he studied with Bazin, though he did not enroll at the Paris Conservatory. He returned to Lucca in 1873 to report for military service, but was rejected due to tuberculosis. He went to Naples to study with Antonio Bazzini. Bazzini introduced him to the salon of Clara Maffei, which was frequented by young artists, musicians, and literary figures of the time. They introduced him to Wagner's music, which made a large impression on him. Ignoring the developing trend of operas based on more realistic stories, Catalani emulated Wagner in choosing, often, tales of the fantastic, with dramatic action. He received a commission from publisher Giovannina Lucca. The result, Elda, was based on the Lorelei legend and published in 1876 and performed in Turin with lukewarm results. Dejanice, the next opera, premiered in 1883 and did poorly. Catalani was already in declining health due to his tuberculosis, and suffering from guilt over having an affair with his best friend's wife. He roused himself from depression to write a symphonic poem, Hero and Leander. Its success in 1885 gave him new confidence. He wrote a successful opera, Edmea, which premiered at La Scala in The same year he was appointed professor of composition at the Milan Conservatory to succeed Ponchielli. Giovannina Lucca's publishing firm had been promoting his career, but it merged with the more powerful Ricordi firm. Ricordi was promoting Giacomo Puccini's career, and neglected Catalani, seriously damaging his prospects. He hired the composer Zanardi to carry out his planned revisions to Elda. Catalani got no support from Ricordi, and had to arrange for a performance himself. Retitled Loreley, the opera was given on February 16, 1890, in Turin, and was a success. During this time, Catalani had been devoting his dwindling strength to writing a new opera, La Wally, based on a German romance. The conductor, Mascheroni, realized that the success of Loreley might make Ricordi more receptive to this new opera. Though Catalani was embittered by his treatment by the firm, Mascheroni brought about a reconciliation. Ricordi accepted the work and promoted it, securing a La Scala premiere on January 20, It was a huge success, particularly after it was adopted by Arturo Toscanini, who conducted it widely and even named his daughter Wally. Catalini is remembered almost entirely for La Wally. He began working on another opera, based on a Tolstoy text, but died soon after on August 7, Educational Programs page 6 of 11

7 La Wally Our Librettist, Luigi Illica Luigi Illica (May 9, 1857 December 16, 1919) was born May 9, 1857 in Castell'Arquato, near Piacenza, Italy. He was an Italian librettist who wrote for Giacomo Puccini, usually alongside Giuseppe Giacosa, Alfredo Catalani, Umberto Giordano and other important Italian composers. His most famous opera librettos are those he created for La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly and Andrea Chénier. Illica was part of the Scapigliatura (Bohemian movement) in Milan, and perhaps as a result of being influenced by his father (a solicitor of radical-republican orientation), demonstrated a rather lively and rebellious temperament as a boy. He went to secondary school in Piacenza, but achieved poor results. The time he spent in college in Cremona (Italy) did not turn out to be very worthwhile either. Illica made his debut at the Teatro Filodrammatico, in his hometown, with the one-act play Hassan (1875). Then, around the age of twenty, Illica left to go sailing. After sailing for four years, during which he participated in the Battle of Plevna against the Turks, he took up residence in Milan in Initially he found work there with a literary newspaper, which was run by his cousin Carlo Mascaretti. Shortly after, Illica moved to Bologna, where with Luigi Lodi and Giuseppe Barbanti-Brodano he founded Don Chisciotte, an extremely radical newspaper inspired by Giosuè Carducci (noted Italian teacher and poet, often described as one of Italy's greatest). This newspaper was suspended when Illica and Lodi had to appear before a correctional court in Bologna as a result of their participation in anti-french demonstrations. In 1882, once he had returned to Milan, Illica began to publish his works (prose, drafts and satirical verses) under the pseudonym of Luigi della Scorziana. In the following years he obtained his first successes as author of theatrical texts. In 1886 his fame as a playwright became even more established, climaxing in 1891, with the staging of L'Eredità del Felis. This piece is considered to be his masterpiece. During the 1890s Illica worked both as a playwright and as an opera librettist. The latter occupation, which was new to him, led to a very intense period of work in his life. His growing success peaked when he began to work with Casa Ricordi (a musical copy shop that supported various theatres of the city and grew to become the main Italian music publisher). Over the following two decades Illica wrote approximately thirty libretti for the best musicians of the era. Among these libretti he wrote: (in collaboration with Giuseppe Giacosa) Manon Lescaut (1892), La Bohème (1896), Tosca (1900), and Madama Butterfly (1904) for Giacomo Puccini. He also wrote: Germania (1902), Siberia (1903) for Giordano, and for Mascagni, Iris (1898) and Isabeau (1911). When silent films based on Illica's operas were produced, his name appeared in large letters on advertisements because distributors could only guarantee that his stories would be used, and not that they would be accompanied by the music of the appropriate composer Educational Programs page 7 of 11

8 The First World War revived Illica s patriotic enthusiasm, and in 1915, at the age of fifty-eight, he left for the front and enrolled in the army as a volunteer. The following year a terrible fall from a horse obliged him to return to Colombarone (a family property in the countryside near Castell Arquato) permanently. He died there on December 16, Illica's personal life sometimes seemed to emulate his libretti. The reason he is always photographed with his head slightly turned is because he lost his right ear in a duel over a woman. Biography Courtesy of: San Francisco Opera Educational Programs page 8 of 11

9 La Wally Social Studies Activity The creative genius of Alfredo Catalani and Luigi Illica created La Wally based on a story by Wilhelmine von Hilern. The characters and main plot could possibly be set in any time period in any society on earth. A passionate and defiant young woman, a jealous suitor, and a charming huntsman consumed by a series of misunderstandings and unfortunate events all could be reinterpreted to other settings and eras you have studied. Or maybe a different story is in order. After all, the human animal is the same in all cultures and all times in history. You will plan a new opera of your own. Select a time period, society, or culture that you may have previously read about in social studies. You may plan your characters and their story. You might also select a famous work of literature to present. Be sure to select a place for the action to happen. It may be a real place, like the acropolis in Athens, the Forbidden City of China, Machu Picchu in Peru, the Alamo, or even the civil War South. You will need to do a little research on your topics, obtain information and possibly images, write out your idea, and present your plan to the class. Your Plan Your plan for a new dramatic opera should contain the following: 1. What era, civilization, or society would be the basis for your opera? 2. What characters would you use? Names are not necessary, but tell us who these people are. 3. What place would be the setting? Would you use a landmark that still exists, or something generic, like a Native American village in Texas? 4. Briefly tell the story you would like to portray. What is the main conflict or problem of the story? 5. Tell why you chose the time and place that you selected, and share your research on the topic, either from the library or web. All of this information can be as brief or as detailed as your teacher requests. The basic facts would probably fit on a single sheet of notebook paper. You may use the planning form below. Your research may yield much more information Educational Programs page 9 of 11

10 Name Date La Wally Social Studies: Planning Your Opera Activity Worksheet 1. What era, civilization, or society would be the basis for your opera? 2. Briefly tell about two or three main characters in your opera. 3. What place would be the setting? 4. What is the main conflict or problem of the story? 5. Tell why you chose the time and place that you selected, and share your research on the topic, either from the library or web Educational Programs page 10 of 11

11 ANSWER KEY La Wally Social Studies: Planning Your Opera Activity Worksheet 1. What era, civilization, or society would be the basis for your opera? _All_answers_will_be_unique_and_individual. 2. Briefly tell about two or three main characters in your opera. _ All_answers_will_be_unique_and_individual 3. What place would be the setting? _ All answers will be unique and individual. 4. What is the main conflict or problem of the story? All answers will be unique and individual 5. Tell why you chose the time and place that you selected, and share your research on the topic, either from the library or web. _ All_answers_will_be_unique_and_individual Educational Programs page 11 of 11