Emma Affleck

Profile

I am a postgraduate research student working within the School of Music at the University of Leeds. My doctoral research is on the portrayal of masculinity in Mozart's operas, specifically in relation to class hierarchies. I am co-supervised by Dr Bryan White and Dr Edward Venn.

I began my doctoral research after achieving a Distinction in my Masters of Critical and Applied Musicology. My Masters thesis focussed specifically on the portrayal of violent masculinity and representations of class in Mozart's 'Don Giovanni', and it is from this that my broader interest in masculinity and its relationship to class across Mozart's operas developed.

Research interests

• Masculinity in opera
• The relationship between class and masculinity in opera, and in musical culture more broadly
• The cultural and political context of Mozart's operas
• The staging, performance practices, and alternate endings of Mozart's 'Don Giovanni'
• Feminist musicology in opera
• Verdi's heroines and the role of self-sacrifice in his work
• Mahler's symphonies and their relationship with nationalism and irony

Qualifications

• MMus
• BMus