Module manager: Professor Edward Venn
Email: e.j.venn@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2025/26
| MUS2331 | Opera North: Opera in Practice |
This module is approved as a discovery module
This module is taught in partnership with Opera North, England’s national opera company of the north, based in Leeds. Students will have the opportunity to observe the operatic production process and to study opera in practice through a number of critical perspectives. Opera North will be introduced as a company in its artistic, regional and historical contexts. Under the guidance of tutors, students will observe, where possible, the production process from model showings to rehearsals through to final performances at Opera North and the Grand Theatre in Leeds. There is a broad choice of critical angles and perspectives in studying these operas, which will also be introduced in seminars and lectures. These typically include musicological, ethnomusicological, dramaturgical, contextual, historiographical, cultural, conceptual and semiotic approaches, as well as work with literary, dramatic, musical and cultural policy (re)sources. The University’s Opera North archive (held in the Special Collections) will also support students’ investigations of operatic practice. Please note this is an optional module and runs subject to enrolments. If a low number of students choose this module, then the module may not run and you may be asked to choose another module.
This module aims to introduce students to specific topics within the field of opera studies, engaging with the professional opera company, Opera North, based in Leeds, as a practical exemplar for investigation. Students will be involved in the development of project work that engages with the multi-modal and interdisciplinary practice of opera. Students will combine theoretical approaches to opera studies with practical observations of Opera North; they will gain ‘insider’ knowledge of Opera North and consider the relationship between theory and practice as it concerns historical and modern operatic production and performance.
On successful completion of the module, you will have demonstrated the following learning outcomes relevant to the subject:
1. demonstrate their advanced understanding of the multi-and/or interdisciplinary aspects of opera in practice
2. apply appropriate historical, analytical and critical methodologies to the study of opera practice;
3.demonstrate critical synthesis of observation skills and academic scholarship in relation to operatic production and performance;
4. demonstrate a sophisticated awareness of contextual approaches to operatic production and performance
Skills Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module, you will have demonstrated the following skills learning outcomes:
5. Demonstrate the ability to creatively combine practical observation with theoretical study
6. Apply appropriate methods of documenting and presenting material to an area of opera practice.
An indicative syllabus for the module includes lectures on the operas performed by Opera North, lectures and seminars focused on specific practices in opera (for example, translation, dramaturgy, costuming, lighting, choreography, artistic direction, etc.), attendance at rehearsals and performances at Opera North, and group tutorials based around specialised interests in opera practice.
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supervision | 5 | 0.5 | 2.5 |
| Lecture | 8 | 1 | 8 |
| Seminar | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| Private study hours | 179.5 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 20.5 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
Students will receive group tutorial supervision based upon their intersecting areas of interest and academic/professional expertise as identified in their final project learning contracts as well as discussion and feedback support in weekly seminars.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | Presentation | 100 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
Students will be required to submit a mid-point learning contract at the end of Semester 1 indicating what they want to do for their final project situated within a theoretical and practical context. L3 students will have an additional section in their learning contract to devise and agree a plan of self-directed research and exploration of practice.
The reading list is available from the Library website
Last updated: 07/04/2025
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