The performance featured the classic 1980s Franco Zeffirelli production, one of the most iconic in the Met’s repertoire. Students in this class are learning about the history, structure, and musical elements of opera by watching musical performances online and in person. Turandot was the first time these students had heard an opera live in performance, and the experience was unforgettable.

Keeping Score: Opera and Film Music explores the music in opera and film through composition and historical analysis. This first semester consists of an immersion in opera with a primary focus on how the musical score, along with the characterization of singers through roles/voice types, furthers drama and lends meaning to narrative. The class aims to give students a working knowledge of the musical tools of opera — the structure of acts and scenes, recitative, and arias, and the mechanics of the orchestra.