"Sparring with fate": Miriam Gideon's 1958 opera "Fortunato"
Item
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Title
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"Sparring with fate": Miriam Gideon's 1958 opera "Fortunato"
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Identifier
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AAI3303790
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identifier
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3303790
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Creator
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Jensen-Moulton, Stephanie.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Joseph N. Straus
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Date
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2008
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Music | Women's Studies
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Abstract
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In 1958, American composer Miriam Gideon (1906-1996) completed her only opera, Fortunato: An Opera in Three Scenes. Although the opera has never received a performance, it may be regarded as a central work within Gideon's style and oeuvre. Gideon fashioned her own libretto for Fortunato from Serafin and Joaquin Alvarez Quintero's 1912 farce of the same name, creating a uniquely personal work with distinct connections between music and biography. This study examines significant changes Gideon made when transforming the play to the libretto, and interprets these changes through the lens of Gideon's personal writings and correspondence during the period of the opera's composition. After outlining the musical language of the opera, I perform close analytical readings of significant passages and arias, drawing insights from the fields of musicology, post-tonal analysis, feminist theory, and disability studies. Judith Butler's concept of "utterance" informs an embodied exploration of Fortunato from the perspective of the singer. Attitudes towards women, sexuality, and feminism during the American 1950s provide a context for the study, which also delves into reception of Gideon's other works during the postwar era.;In addition to providing a detailed biographical sketch and a comprehensive discography, this dissertation includes two transcriptions: Gideon's "1939 Paris" diary, and my edited version of Fortunato in piano-vocal score. Until now, the opera has only been available in a marginally legible handwritten copy. The provision of an edited score is central to the study's primary goal: to illuminate a valuable yet unsung American operatic work through an examination of the rich biographical material now available about its composer.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
