Bad Boys (of Opera) is a sequel to the earlier course Bad Girls (of Opera). For the most part the Bad Girls were bad in the sense that they had chosen to assert themselves in a way that transcended the prevailing views of what a woman’s place in society should be. In contrast, most of the Bad Boys are truly reprehensible.
In Puccini’s Tosca Baron Scarpia is the evil chief of police installed in Rome by the conquering Napoleonic army. Verdi’s Attila is about the infamous King of the Huns as he plans to sack Rome. In Rigoletto, another Verdi opera the Duke of Mantua rapes the wives and daughters of his courtiers while his court jester Rigoletto mercilessly mocks his victims.
Some other Bad Boys are arrogant cads. In Mascagnani’s Cavalleria Rusticana. Turiddu abandons one woman he has gotten pregnant to carry on an affair with a married woman. Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin leads on a peasant girl and rejects her; then flirts with his best friend’s fiancee, leading to a duel in which the friend is killed.
There will be one additional opera once I decide on which of several promising candidates to use.
We will watch full-length videos of each of these operas along with some additional videos and lecture material. As each class approaches I will post cast lists and information on the performances.
