OPERATIC REDUCTIONS AND THEIR PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS FOR USE IN LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY LEVEL OPERA SCENES PERFORMANCES

Abstract

Providing enrichment and further learning opportunities within the opera scenes program at the collegiate level is paramount to this project. Generally, opera scenes programs are performed with a vocal score and piano reduction accompaniment. Students at smaller university settings, such as liberal arts or community colleges, may never have the chance to perform complete mainstage operatic works due to lack of resources. Since opera scenes are likely the only exposure to opera performance at these levels, providing something more than piano accompaniment opens a realm of possibilities for learning and performing. Within this document, I share reductions for scores of three commonly performed operas within the repertory that span the Baroque Era, Classical Era, and Contemporary Era. I have reduced scenes from Dido and Aeneas, Le nozze di Figaro, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream from full score orchestral writing to four-six piece chamber ensemble. I considered the limited resources that may be present at smaller collegiate settings and restricted my instrument choices to those found in most bands, as many smaller settings do not have a string program. Scenes from these operas were chosen based on criteria such as the demands on the singer, specific voice types, eras of musical history, and orchestration. This document investigates the pedagogical aspects of programming these scenes in the repertoire as well as the difficulty level for the singers and instrumentalists. Finally, within each chapter I outline aspects which contribute to the difficulty rating of beginner, intermediate, or advanced, such as singer’s range, level of difficulty in musicianship, language, available voice types. I also outline various choices I made for creating the reductions themselves. I hope that these reductions will begin a body of repertory for scenes performance that foster collaboration between singers and instrumentalists and provides additional learning experience, which will in turn aid in overall professional development of these young musicians.