 |
VH1
Lesson for Music Classes, Grades 7-12
200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons
VH1 Music Studio
Cable in the Classroom
Lesson 3 |
Objectives
- Students will discuss the style and characteristics of
the Classical era and the genre of opera.
- Students will compare and contrast modern day popular icons to
musical icons throughout history.
NOTE to teachers: In Lesson 1 of this series, musical time periods
are discussed in broad terms, giving the main points of each era and
an “icon” of
proportions comparable to modern day icons with which students are familiar.
Lessons 2-4 delve deeper into the chosen time periods, while taking a
closer look at present day “icons” that bring shared musical
ideals to each generation. Lesson 4 provides activities that summarize
the previous lessons.
National
Standards for Music Education
1. Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
2. Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire
of music.
4. Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines.
6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.
7. Evaluating music and music performances.
8. Understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines
outside the arts.
9. Understanding music in relation to history and culture.
Materials
- VHS VCR Player
- Television
- Audio playback equipment
- VH1’s 200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons
- Web-based lesson materials
- Pencils/pens and paper (students)
- Copies of Opera Project worksheets and Opera Timeline
(included with lesson) for students
- Students’ completed Musical Styles and Composer/Artist worksheets
from Lesson 1
- Teacher selected recordings of ABBA and W.A. Mozart
Prior Knowledge:
Students have experience discussing various musical styles.
Students have completed Lesson 1 of this portion of the series.
Procedures
1. Ask students to refer to the Musical Styles worksheet from the previous
lesson, specifically the section pertaining to classical music. Share
the following to begin the discussion:
The classical time period was a direct
reflection of the Baroque period before it. The music of the
Baroque period became
so decorated, society
longed to revive the ancient cultures of Greece and Rome, bringing
back the “classic,” simple textures of that time. That
is what inspired composers such as Mozart to compose music in a basic,
immaculate formula.
Play teacher selected recording of Mozart, such as a portion of his
Symphony No. 40. Have students describe the differences evident in
Mozart’s music that are obvious departures from the style of
the Baroque era.
2. Show VH1’s 200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons: ABBA, #168, Hour
1.
3. After watching, remind students, as quoted in the 200 Greatest
Pop Culture Icons segment, that Gene Simmons, lead singer from the rock
band Kiss, stated that ABBA is, “…as craftsman-like as
any grandmaster can be in pop song writing. This is as good as pop
songs can ever be written. Chordal structures, the way the keyboard
was played, very classical, very Mozart.” Play teacher selected
recording of 1970s pop group ABBA, such as “Dancing Queen.” Ask
students to comment on the correlation Simmons makes between ABBA’s
and Mozart’s music. Do they agree? Why might these similarities
exist? What are the obvious differences? Have students discuss why
Simmons might have chosen Mozart, despite these clear differences,
to make the comparison. Could Mozart be considered an “icon”,
or role model, for ABBA?
NOTE: The VH1 Fan Club: ABBA lesson series may be helpful in enhancing
this lesson. The lessons can be found at www.vh1musicstudio.com/specials.html.
4. Lead students in a discussion of the genre of opera. Distribute
Opera Timelines for students to gain a better understanding, and highlight
the following points:
Opera is a musical form that began during
the Baroque period in the hopes of recreating the Greek tragedy, “the perfect marriage
between words and music.” The libretto is the text written and
sung in the opera. There was usually little to no spoken dialogue in
the opera, with information of the plot conveyed through “recitative” and “aria.” During
a recitative, the vocalist sings with a shorter, spoken manner, with
broken accompaniment in the orchestra. The recitative sets up the aria,
or song, giving the audience a solid understanding of the story. There
are two main types of opera: opera seria (serious opera, usually resulting
in tragedy) and opera buffa (comic opera, much like a sit-com of the
present). Peri wrote the first opera, Dafne, in the late 1500s. As
opera began to evolve, Mozart’s technique of musical characterization – a
character's music reveals as much about him or her as his words – became
vital to the art form.
Excerpted from:
http://parallel.park.uga.edu/~awilliam/fs-opera/opera-history.html
5. Play teacher selected recording of the Overture from Mozart’s “Le
Nozze di Figaro.” Have students note the different character themes recurring
throughout the music, and ask them to describe what they think each character
is like, based on their musical theme.
6. Tell students that ABBA’s music has recently been turned into a musical
called “Mamma Mia!” It has received glowing reviews on Broadway in
New York as well as in London, where it debuted. The genre of the musical evolved
out of opera, with the primary difference being that musicals allow for spoken
dialogue between characters, versus the recitative style of opera. Obviously,
the style of vocal presentation also differs between musicals and opera. Ask
students to consider whether ABBA’s music could be made into a successful
opera. What characteristics of their music allow/do not allow for this type of
transition? Have students again tie in their comparison of ABBA’s music
and Mozart’s influence on opera.
Activity:
Divide students into groups, and tell them that they are going to create
their own libretto to an existing scene. The groups may decide on
a scene from a current movie, television show, musical, or book (teachers
may wish to have scenes ready, such as a scene from “Smallville” or “Buffy
the Vampire Slayer”, or perhaps combine the project with the
students’ English or literature classes by using scenes from
books or by authors being studied), but must write the libretto from
scratch. Students must complete the Opera Project worksheet below,
and perform their opera scene for the class.
Opera Project Worksheet
1. The scene:
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
2. The characters:
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
3. The libretto:
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
4. The opera is seria/buffa. (CIRCLE ONE) This means:
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
| Opera Timeline (found at http://parallel.park.uga.edu/~awilliam/fs-opera/opera-history.html) |
| I -- Late 1500's Florentine "Camerata," a
group of intellectuals, seek to recreate what they believed was
the ideal performance of ancient Greek tragedy, a perfect marriage
of words and music. Peri's Dafne is the first opera. Montiverdi
becomes the first important opera composer with Orfeo and The
Coronation of Poppea. |
| II -- Seventeenth Century (1600's) Baroque operas,
such as Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, Rameau and Lully in France.
Early operas tend to be about historical or mythological subjects,
and tend to concern heroes, aristocrats, gods and goddesses. |
| III -- Early eighteenth century–"Opera
seria". (Serious opera) Handel is the great composer during
this period. Same subjects; narratives tend to be episodic, showcases
for voices. The age of the castrato (male soprano). Opera stars
become cultural icons. (Rent the video Farinelli, about one of
the greatest of the castrati, who enjoyed the cultural position
of the rock star today.) |
| IV -- Gluck initiates his reform movement (1760's).
He wants to have a more intimate relationship between words and
music, and wants the music to express the meanings and emotions
of the words. His Orpheus and Eurydice is his greatest composition. |
| V -- Last two decades of the 18th century: Mozart.
Develops the technique of musical characterization–a character's
music reveals as much about him or her as his words. The Marriage
of Figaro portrays not only aristocrats, but servants as well.
Don Giovanni and The Magic Flute, as well as Figaro, are among
the greatest operas in the repertoire. |
| VI -- Early nineteenth century. The Golden Age
of bel canto ("beautiful singing"). Much emphasis on
technique and vocal agility. Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor,
Bellini's Norma, and several works by Rossini (e.g. Il
Barbiere di Sevilla) remain in the standard repertoire. |
VII -- Later nineteenth century: two distinct
traditions develop, one in Italy, one in Germany. In Italy throughout
Verdi's long career he moves away from “bel canto” toward
a more realistic mode. Rigoletto, Traviata, Aida, Otello, and
Falstaff are among his masterpieces. In Germany Wagner develops
his theory of music drama (Gesamtkuntzwerk) and again argues
for the marriage of words and music. The Wagnerian orchestra
(which is enormous) becomes an equal partner in the performance,
and a special type of singer capable of great stamina and strength
becomes necessary. Wagner also develops the technique of the
leitmotif, a musical theme associated with a particular character
or idea that is interwoven into the orchestral "text." Wagner's
masterpieces include the 4-opera Ring cycle (Das Reingold,
Die Walkurie, Siegfired, and Gotterdamerung) and Tristan
und Isolde whose harmonic innovations are a precursor for the abandonment
of tonality in much 20th-century music. Wagner also created a
theater at Bayreuth, where his operas are performed every summer.
It was he who declared that the theater should be darkened during
performances, and the orchestra invisible.
In France, "grand opera" is fashionable (extremely lavish productions
with extravagant staging; French audiences also demanded a ballet in every opera).
Gounod's Faust will be the opera most performed at New York's Metropolitan Opera.
Massenet's 27 operas and Bizet's Carmen creates a scandal when it is first performed
at the Opera Comique. Not only does it have a tragic ending; it also portrays
a cigarette girl as the femme fatale and includes thieves, gypsies, and other
low-life characters. |
| VIII -- In late-nineteenth-century Italy, verismo ("realism," "slice of life") develops. These
very melodramatic stories of lust, murder, betrayal concern ordinary
people for the most part. Some good examples include Leoncavallo's
I Pagliacci and Mascagni's Cavalieria Rusticana, and most of
Puccini (La Bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly). |
| IV -- Twentieth century. Richard Strauss composes
a series of operas. His collaboration with the poet Hugo von
Hoffmanstal is one of the great relationships between composer
and librettist in opera history. Salomé (based on the
play by Oscar Wilde) is a sucés de scandale when it is
premiered in 1912; Der Rosenkavalier enters the standard repertory.
Pucinni dies before his last opera, Turandot, is complete. (His
student completes the last act.) In the 20's and 30's, composers
experiment with atonal operas. Alban Berg composes the violent
and musically daring Wozzeck and Lulu. In the 40's, Benjamin
Britten, called the greatest English composer since Purcell,
composes Peter Grimes. He later writes Billy Budd and
Death in Venice. In the 50's Stravinsky composes The Rake's
Progress (an
eighteenth-century pastische with libretto by W.H. Auden). In
the 70's and 80's, American composers of the "minimalist" school
write operas. John Adams' Nixon in China is greeted with critical
enthusiasm and Philip Glass has considerable success with Einstein
on the Beach and The Voyage. |
Supplemental resources:
Definitions, biographical, and historical information for the 200
Greatest Pop Culture Icons lesson series has been excerpted primarily from
the following sources:
National
Standards for Music Education
1. Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
2. Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire
of music.
3. Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments.
4. Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines.
5. Reading and notating music.
6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.
7. Evaluating music and music performances.
8. Understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines
outside the arts.
9. Understanding music in relation to history and culture.
These standards-based materials are provided through
a partnership with MENC: The National Association for Music Education.
This lesson plan was created by MENC member Amy Rosenthal, Vocal
Music, Cayuga Elementary, Lake Grove, NY.
|
