Senior Project, Blog Post 2: Report on Progress
For my senior project, Opera Outreach, I have finished the first part of the schedule (12/8-1/5) of reaching out to potential interviewees for the episodes. I mostly had reached out to teachers at Capital, to make it easier for me and them to schedule time to do the recordings, and because I have such a small window to record (until the project is due), that if I were to reach out to professionals outside of Capital, I may not have gotten as quick of a response, and then would not have anyone to interview. In addition, each of the topics I have chosen for these five episodes, there was at least one teacher at Capital who had ample enough background for the topic.
The podcast episode topics have also been determined and are listed below:
Episode Specifics:
Episode Flow:
3 min intro + hook 20 min interview
5 minute listener takeaway (What to listen for next time)
2 minute outro
Behind the Curtain: How an Opera Is Made
Rehearsal timeline
Who does what
how many people does it actually take to create a production
opera as teamwork— no longer in the era of “divas”
How to handle the different languages that are sung
Storytelling
Modern productions (staging, different styles of singing, acting, etc.)
First-Time Opera Guide: What to Expect
What even is opera (and what is it not)
Why people think it is elitist
How opera compares to film, broadway, and pop storytelling
What to wear (depending on location)
When to clap (and when not to)
Length and intermission
Mention nearby opera opportunities
What is it Like to Sing Opera?
Musical style of OPera
Opera vs. Musical Theater
Vocal technique differences
Career paths
Opera in English vs. Foreign Language (why is it sung in different languages, and how do audiences understand the story anyways? Touching on supertitles and acting/ emotional communication)
Opera as Storytelling: Why These Stories Still Matter
Live opera vs. recordings
Modern opera, new operas being written today (topics like politics, identity, and technology)
How opera evolves
Acting
How Music Tells the Story in Opera
How music functions as a storytelling tool in opera
The difference between recitative, aria, and ensemble and their dramatic purposes
How composers use melody to shape character identity and emotion
Harmony and dissonance as tools for creating tension and release
The role of key areas and modulation in reflecting emotional or marrative change
Motivic writing and recurring musical ideas associated with characters or concepts
How rhythm and tempo control pacing, urgency, and dramatic flow
The role of the orchestra in revealing subtext beyond the sung text
Musical techniques used to portray conflict, intimacy, and transformation
How musical structure supports dramatic climaxes and resolutions
Why audiences can understand emotional meaning even without reading music
When coming up with topics, I did utilize ChatGPT to help me come up with the topics based on ideas and questions I had already come up with. Some questions have been ChatGPT generated, if I ended up liking the question.
In addition to reaching out and coming up with episode topics, I have completed my first interview with Dr. Bergan on “What is it like to Sing Opera.” Similarly to creating the episode topics, I also used ChatGPT to come up with an outline for the podcast, however during the podcast it was more conversational and the questions were created through conversation.
Here is the first outline:
