MUSI 2020

Really easy, enjoyable class. I have had music training my whole life which helped me, though I still went in knowing next to nothing about opera (while the class does emphasize music, a big component of opera is the storyline and characters). Enjoyed learning about Wagner, Verdi, and Handel. Loved studying "Carmen," and my paper on Mozart's "Don Giovanni" was definitely one of the more painless and fun papers I have written at UVA. Exams are really not hard- just go to class and take notes and you'll be fine!

Easy material but somewhat ridiculous grading on the essay by the TA. Lectures are boring, considering I took the class thinking that they would be interesting and that I'd learn more about the actual history of opera rather than interpretations of characters. Considering that it should be a fluff class, it's unnecessarily difficult and I would not recommend it.

If you have any interest in opera (most people don't), this course will be very rewarding. There is a fair amount of homework for this class, and the midterm, paper, and final are not trivial. But it is not hard to do extremely well if you put in the work, which is rare.

Great intro to opera.

good class