Intersections: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Opera
27 June 2023, University of Cambridge, Faculty of Music, Orr Recital Room, 8:45–17:00
The specificity of contemporary research trends is leading to a necessary yet dangerous compartmentalisation of knowledge. Whereas discussing particular topics in specialised forums is nowadays more accessible and open than ever, fewer opportunities for interdisciplinary debate seem to be coming to light. However, opera – a genre in which music, words, theatre, dance, costumes, and technology have intersected since its origins – requires interdisciplinary approaches in order for it to be more fully understood.
Our study day aims to contribute to this necessary dialogue by bringing together scholars from various disciplines to discuss opera not only in terms of its various components and diachronic developments, but also, and more importantly, through the combination of historical, analytical, textual, performative, object-related, and computer-based approaches.
If you are planning to attend the event in person, please fill in this form. Those interested in receiving the Zoom link to join online, please send an email to allorens@ucm.es.
Programme
08:45–9:00 Registration and welcome
09:00–10:50 Session 1. Wagnerisms. Moderator: Dr Ana Llorens
- 09:00–10:00 Keynote 1: David Trippett. Siegfried’s polychronics: Towards a musical application of animal listening
- 10:00–10:20 Tristan Harcom. Wagner’s traumatic undoing: Interdisciplinarity through the lens of Wagner’s motifs
- 10:20–10:40 David Ferreiro. An intersection between neo-Riemannian analysis and topic theory: Wagnerian mystery in Conrado del Campo’s El final de don Álvaro (1910–1911)
- 10:40–10:50 Discussion
10:50–11:05 Coffee break
11:05–11:55 Session 2. Opera and other genres. Moderator: Prof. Iain Fenlon
- 11:05–11:25 Lidia López. Carmen in silent film music. Uses and abuses of Bizet’s opera as a representation of Spanish identity during Hollywood’s Golden Age (Online)
- 11:25–11:45 Carlo Bosi. From ‘vizio privato’ to ‘pubblica virtù’: Parallels between the novelle and the drammi per musica by Maiolino Bisaccioni (Online)
- 11:45–11:55 Discussion
11:55–13:05 Session 3. Embodiments. Moderator: Prof. Álvaro Torrente
- 11:55–12:15 João Pedro Cachopo. The diva is present: Some thoughts on Marina Abramović’s 7 Deaths of Maria Callas(2020)
- 12:15–12:35 Jessica Tsun Lem Hui. Virtuosic without organs? Singing voice synthesis and virtuality in Shibuya Keīchirō’s The End (2012)
- 12:35–12:55 Jack Adler-McKean. The serpent, the bombardon, and the tuba: nineteenth-century low brass opera orchestra instrumentation and performance practice then and now (Online)
- 12:55–13:05 Discussion
13:05–14:00 Lunch break
14:00–16:00 Session 4. Digital encounters. Moderator: Prof. David Trippett
- 14:00–15:00 Keynote 2: Álvaro Torrente & Ana Llorens. The DIDONE project: Between musicology, music theory, and data science
- 15:00–15:20 Lea Luka Sikau. Rehearsing ecosystem: Becoming plastic tree (Online)
- 15:20–15:40 Nicolò Palazzetti. Opera lovers as fans: Analysing fan communities in the digital age (Online)
- 14:40–14:50 Discussion
15:50–16:00 Short break
16:00–17:00 Response: Stefano Castelvecchi. Against interdisciplinarity
Convenor: Dr Ana Llorens, Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Advisory Committee: Dr Stefano Castelvecchi, Prof David Trippett, Dr Nicola Usula, Dr Emilia Parada-Cabaleiro, Dr Ana Llorens
Sponsors: Instituto Complutense de Ciencias Musicales, Institute of Musical Research, University of Cambridge, European Research Council, ‘DIDONE’ project
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