A Summer of Opera in Italy
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Edward Eanes |
By Jarmea L. Boone
This summer, students will have the opportunity to learn about and experience opera in a country that was central to its development. Edward Eanes, assistant professor of music history and violin at Kennesaw State University, is teaching the history of opera class as part of the 2008 Montepulciano, Italy study abroad program, presented by the University System of Georgia. Currently a member of the Atlanta Opera Orchestra, Eanes said, “The greatest thrill for me is experiencing the actual countries, cities, cathedrals, homes and opera houses that were integral to the development of music history. Teaching the history of opera in the culture that created it is just perfect.”
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Eanes’ summer session runs June 27 through Aug. 4. Students
will attend class and complete assignments much like they would with any other academic course. But a star component of Eanes’ class, besides the location, is the daylong, learning field trips. “On their MP3 players, students have assigned playlists to listen to while riding the bus to the Italian landmarks. At the Sistine Chapel, for example, students listen to two Renaissance works by Palestrina and Allegri, composed specifically for chapel,” said Eanes. “Students gain not only a familiarity with the visual arts and its impact on music, but also an understanding of how music relates to its native culture.”
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Students visit notable Italian cities including Rome, Pisa, Assisi, Siena and Arezzo, and give oral reports of the various sites. Most importantly to Eanes, students will attend concerts at the Cantiere Internazionale d’Arte, an arts festival directed by the composer Hans Werner Henze. “The performances include opera, chamber and symphonic concerts in the Montepulciano Opera House,” Eanes said. The opera history class also will attend an outdoor performance of the Florentine Opera at the Pitti Palace in Florence. “The students report an intense connection to each landmark,” Eanes stated.
KSU student Meg Hartmann had a memorable time while taking the class with Eanes in summer 2006. “The opera we went to see in Rome, ‘Turandot’ by Puccini, has been my most honored memory of my entire study abroad in Italy,” she said. Georgia State University student Sarah Brandenburg agreed. “What an incredible thing to see an opera in the country that created it. The show was held outside in old Roman baths, and I felt like I could have been watching the opera 100 years ago. It was amazing.”
Eanes notes that a remarkable transformation occurs in most students during the course of the summer. “In my course, students emerge with a deeper understanding of the development of Western classical music, especially Italian opera, the Italian Renaissance and the Baroque periods.”
“This is the culture that created and nurtured Western art music. There is a long tradition of appreciating art music in Western Europe that is hard to find in the U.S. Visiting the sites where this music originated and flourished is tremendously rewarding for both music majors and non-majors.”