American opera at the Metropolitan, 1910--1935: A contextual history and critical survey of selected works.
Item
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Title
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American opera at the Metropolitan, 1910--1935: A contextual history and critical survey of selected works.
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Identifier
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AAI3008833
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identifier
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3008833
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Creator
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Guzski, Carolyn.
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Contributor
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Adviser: John M. Graziano
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Date
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2001
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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 | American Studies
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Abstract
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This study examines the early twentieth-century efforts of New York's Metropolitan Opera to introduce works by American composers into its repertoire. The purpose is to realign long-held misperceptions concerning the Metropolitan's contribution to the advancement of an indigenous lyric drama in the United States.;Under the aegis of Giulio Gatti-Casazza, the theater's general manager, and Otto H. Kahn, the chairman of its board of directors, the Metropolitan produced fourteen American operas during the quarter century from 1910 to 1935 that encompass an impressive range of styles and reflect widely divergent points of view with respect to the development of opera composition in America. The initiative resulted from a unique confluence of historical trends and events. Among them were America's emerging world position, the expanding role played by the media and public opinion in national cultural developments, and a significant change in the management structure of the theater itself. This last factor was crucial in the ascendance of Kahn, a Wall Street banker and arts patron, to the position of chairman of the Metropolitan's newly created production company board, an influential post from which he acted as the prime catalyst of the new American events.;Chapters 1--3 investigate historical factors that influenced the initiative: the sporadic course of opera in English dating from early seventeenth-century London; opera's importation to America and the legacy of European hegemony in the genre that affected the early artistic course of the Metropolitan; and the implementation of a progressive new management at the theater during the first decade of the twentieth century. Chapters 4 and 5 summarize the first phase of the Metropolitan's American efforts from 1910--1920, during which nine operas by an eclectic group of composers were produced with varied results. Chapters 6--8 describe the emergence of a second, mature phase from 1927--1935, during which the concept of commissioning new operas was introduced. A detailed discussion is provided of the genesis, production, and reception of four major works that resulted from the new policy: Deems Taylor's The King's Henchman (1927) and Peter Ibbetson (1931); Louis Gruenberg's The Emperor Jones (1933); and Howard Hanson's Merry Mount (1934).;The concluding chapter summarizes the Metropolitan's accomplishments as well as its continuing efforts in the field, and addresses the continuing challenges to opera in contemporary America.
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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.
