This is for my music appreciation course! (1800)

Instructions: Listed below are the two choices for this assignment. Please choose only ONE to complete your work. My intention with each of your three assignments in this course is to focus your studies on one particular and important genre of Western Music. In this case it is the Opera. By analyzing the structure of each genre you can better appreciate the art form itself. The composer's name is in bold print and the opera they composed is in italics directly beneath.

Choice ONE:

Claudio Monteverdi

L' Orfeo

I chose Choice TWO:

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Don Giovanni

Please respond to the 5 questions asking in the following:

1. Please list the year in which your chosen composer was born and the year in which they died. Also, please list the country of their birth.
2. Define the term Opera. What is an opera? What important characteristics and specifications are needed to call a piece of music an opera?
3. Discuss the story upon which your particular opera was based. Strive to summarize the plot and include the number of acts it contains. Please include details about the main characters and their role in the story as well. Only a few short paragraphs are necessary. This is a writing assignment and therefore should be in your own words. Do not copy and paste answers.
4. Additionally, your sources should be cited in proper bibliographic form.
5. Finally, define the term Libretto as it pertains to an opera. Then name the person who was the Librettist for your chosen opera. This term, and the person who represents this term, are extremely important to all operas.