Composing the Literary Canon: Opera and Musical Theater Adaptations from 1607 to Today

This course explores 400 years of theatrical adaptation, focusing on the changing contexts and conditions of musical settings from the earliest operas to the recent musical sensation Hadestown (2016). We will explore retellings that span from Ovid and Virgil to Shakespeare and the 19th century novel, using the adaptations they have provoked to question the role of recurring stories in musical (and human) life. What about certain texts inspires adaptation? What makes a strong adaptation? And, of special interest: how might you go about creating your own? Aspiring scholars, dramaturges, writers, composers, and directors, unite! Here is your opportunity to shamelessly rewrite the texts you read in HUM. The course is open to majors and non-majors. The ability to read music is not a prerequisite.