Donizetti and His Operas

Donizetti and His Operas
Author: William Ashbrook
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 766
Release: 1982
Genre: Music
ISBN: 9780521276634

The series will include both new and recent titles drawn from the whole range of the Press's very substantial publishing programs.

Opera for the People

Opera for the People
Author: Katherine K. Preston
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 649
Release: 2017-10-11
Genre: Music
ISBN: 0199371660

Opera for the People is an in-depth examination of a forgotten chapter in American social and cultural history: the love affair that middle-class Americans had with continental opera (translated into English) in the 1870s, 1880s, and 1890s. Author Katherine Preston reveals how-contrary to the existing historiography on the American musical culture of this period-English-language opera not only flourished in the United States during this time, but found its success significantly bolstered by the support of women impresarios, prima-donnas, managers, and philanthropists who provided financial backing to opera companies. This rich and compelling study details the lives and professional activities of several important players in American postbellum opera, including manager Effie Ober, philanthropist Jeannette Thurber, and performers/artistic directors Caroline Richings, Euphrosyne Parepa-Rosa, Clara Louise Kellogg, and "the people's prima donna" Emma Abbott. Drawing from an impressive range of primary sources, including contemporaneous music and theater periodicals, playbills, memoirs, librettos, scores, and reviews and commentary on the performances in digitized newspapers, Preston tells the story of how these and other women influenced the activities of some of the more than one hundred opera companies touring the United States during the second half of the 19th century, performing opera in English for a diverse range of audiences. Countering a pervasive and misguided historical understanding of opera reception in the United States-unduly influenced by modern attitudes about the genre as elite, exclusive, expensive, and of interest only to a niche market-Opera for the People demonstrates the important (and hitherto unsuspected) place of opera in the rich cornucopia of late-century American musical theatre, which would eventually lead to the emergence of American musical comedy.

Touring the Antebellum South with an English Opera Company

Touring the Antebellum South with an English Opera Company
Author: Michael Burden
Publisher: LSU Press
Total Pages: 214
Release: 2020-10-21
Genre: History
ISBN: 0807174459

The diary of Anton Reiff Jr. (c. 1830–1916) is one of only a handful of primary sources to offer a firsthand account of antebellum riverboat travel in the American South. The Pyne and Harrison Opera Troupe, a company run by English sisters Susan and Louisa Pyne and their business partner, tenor William Harrison, hired Reiff, then freelancing in New York, to serve as musical director and conductor for the company’s American itinerary. The grueling tour began in November 1855 in Boston and then proceeded to New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati, where, after a three-week engagement, the company boarded a paddle steamer bound for New Orleans. It was at that point that Reiff started to keep his diary. Diligently transcribed and annotated by Michael Burden, Reiff’s diary presents an extraordinarily rare view of life with a foreign opera company as it traveled the country by river and rail. Surprisingly, Reiff comments little on the Pyne-Harrison performances themselves, although he does visit the theaters in the river towns, including New Orleans, where he spends evenings both at the French Opera and at the Gaiety. Instead, Reiff focuses his attention on other passengers, on the mechanics of the journey, on the landscape, and on events he encounters, including the 1856 Mardi Gras and the unveiling of the statue of Andrew Jackson in New Orleans's Jackson Square. Reiff is clearly captivated by the river towns and their residents, including the enslaved, whom he encountered whenever the boat tied up. Running throughout the journal is a thread of anxiety, for, apart from the typical dangers of a river trip, the winter of 1855–1856 was one of the coldest of the century, and the steamer had difficulties with river ice. Historians have used Reiff’s journal as source material, but until now the entire text, which is archived in Louisiana State University’s Special Collections in Hill Memorial Library, has only been available in its original state. As a primary source, the published journal will have broad appeal to historians and other readers interested in antebellum riverboat travel, highbrow entertainment, and the people and places of the South.

The London Stage 1920-1929

The London Stage 1920-1929
Author: J. P. Wearing
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 1033
Release: 2014-03-27
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 0810893029

Theatre in London has celebrated a rich and influential history, and in 1976 the first volume of J. P. Wearing’s reference series provided researchers with an indispensable resource of these productions. In the decades since the original calendars were produced, several research aids have become available, notably various reference works and the digitization of important newspapers and relevant periodicals. The second edition of The London Stage 1920–1929: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel provides a chronological calendar of London shows from January 1920 through December 1929. The volume chronicles more than 4,000 productions at 51 major central London theatres during this period. For each entry the following information is provided: Title Author Theatre Performers Personnel Opening and Closing Dates Number of Performances Other details include genre of the production, number of acts, and a list of reviews. A comment section includes other interesting information, such as plot description, first-night reception by the audience, noteworthy performances, staging elements, and details of performances in New York either prior to or after the London production. Among the plays staged in London during this decade were Bulldog Drummond, The Emperor Jones, The Enchanted Cottage, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Hay Fever, Saint Joan, and Six Characters in Search of an Author, as well as numerous musical comedies (British and American), foreign works, operas, and ballets, revivals of English classics. A definitive resource, this edition revises, corrects, and expands the original calendar. In addition, approximately 20 percent of the material—in particular, information of adaptations and translations, plot sources, and comment information—is new. Arranged chronologically, the shows are fully indexed by title, genre, and theatre. A general index includes numerous subject entries on such topics as acting, audiences, censorship, costumes, managers, performers, prompters, staging, and ticket prices. The London Stage 1920-1929 will be of value to scholars, theatrical personnel, librarians, writers, journalists, and historians.

The Opera Lover's Companion

The Opera Lover's Companion
Author: Charles Osborne
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 648
Release: 2007-01-01
Genre: Music
ISBN: 9780300123739

Written by a well-known authority, this book consists of 175 entries that set some of the most popular operas within the context of their composer's career, outline the plot, discuss the music, and more.

The London Stage 1890-1899

The London Stage 1890-1899
Author: J. P. Wearing
Publisher: Scarecrow Press
Total Pages: 630
Release: 2013-11-21
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 0810892820

Theatre in London has celebrated a rich and influential history, and in 1976 the first volume of J. P. Wearing’s reference series provided researchers with an indispensable resource of these productions. In the decades since the original calendars were produced, several research aids have become available, notably various reference works and the digitization of important newspapers and relevant periodicals. The second edition of The London Stage 1890–1899: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel provides a chronological calendar of London shows from the first of January, 1890, through the 31st of December, 1899. The volume chronicles more than 3,000 productions at 31 major central London theatres during this period. For each entry the following information is provided: Title Author Theatre Performers Personnel Opening and Closing Dates Number of Performances Other details include genre of the production, number of acts, and a list of reviews. A comment section includes other interesting information, such as plot description, first-night reception by the audience, noteworthy performances, staging elements, and details of performances in New York either prior to or after the London production. Among the plays staged in London during this decade were Alice in Wonderland, Arms and the Man, Cyrano de Bergerac, An Ideal Husband, The Prisoner of Zenda, and The Second Mrs. Tanqueray, as well as numerous musical comedies (British and American), foreign works, operas, and revivals of English classics. A definitive resource, this edition revises, corrects, and expands the original calendar. In addition, approximately 20 percent of the material—in particular, information of adaptations and translations, plot sources, and comment information—is new. Arranged chronologically, the shows are fully indexed by title, genre, and theatre. A general index includes numerous subject entries on such topics as acting, audiences, censorship, costumes, managers, performers, prompters, staging, and ticket prices. The London Stage 1890–1899 will be of value to scholars, theatrical personnel, librarians, writers, journalists, and historians.

The London Stage 1930-1939

The London Stage 1930-1939
Author: J. P. Wearing
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 1133
Release: 2014-05-15
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 0810893045

Theatre in London has celebrated a rich and influential history, and in 1976 the first volume of J. P. Wearing’s reference series provided researchers with an indispensable resource of these productions. In the decades since the original calendars were produced, several research aids have become available, notably various reference works and the digitization of important newspapers and relevant periodicals. The second edition of The London Stage 1930–1939: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel provides a chronological calendar of London shows from January 1930 through December 1939. The volume chronicles more than 4,250 productions at 61 major central London theatres during this period. For each production the following information is provided: Title Author Theatre Performers Personnel Opening and Closing Dates Number of Performances Other details include genre of the production, number of acts, and a list of reviews. A comment section includes other interesting information, such as plot description, first-night reception by the audience, noteworthy performances, staging elements, and details of performances in New York either prior to or after the London production. Among the plays staged in London during this decade were The Barretts of Wimpole Street, French without Tears, George and Margaret, The Greeks Had a Word for It, Laburnum Grove, Lady Precious Stream, The Late Christopher Bean, Love on the Dole, Me and My Girl, Private Lives, and 1066 and All That, as well as numerous musical comedies (British and American), foreign works, operas, ballets, and revivals of English classics. A definitive resource, this edition revises, corrects, and expands the original calendar. In addition, approximately 20 percent of the material—in particular, information of adaptations and translations, plot sources, and comment information—is new. Arranged chronologically, the shows are fully indexed by title, genre, and theatre. A general index includes numerous subject entries on such topics as acting, audiences, censorship, costumes, managers, performers, prompters, staging, and ticket prices. The London Stage 1930-1939 will be of value to scholars, theatrical personnel, librarians, writers, journalists, and historians.

The London Stage 1910-1919

The London Stage 1910-1919
Author: J. P. Wearing
Publisher: Scarecrow Press
Total Pages: 797
Release: 2013-12-19
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 0810893002

Theatre in London has celebrated a rich and influential history, and in 1976 the first volume of J. P. Wearing’s reference series provided researchers with an indispensable resource of these productions. In the decades since the original calendars were produced, several research aids have become available, notably various reference works and the digitization of relevant newspapers and periodicals. This second edition of The London Stage 1910–1919: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel provides a chronological calendar of London shows from January 1910 through December 1919. The volume chronicles more than 3,000 productions at 35 major central London theatres during this period. For each entry the following information is provided: Title Author Theatre Performers Personnel Opening and closing dates Number of performances Other details include genre of the production, number of acts, and a list of reviews. A comment section includes other interesting information, such as a plot description, first-night audience reception, noteworthy performances, staging elements, and details of performances in New York either prior to or after the London production. Among the plays staged in London during this decade were Chu Chin Chow, The Gaol Gate, Hindle Wakes, Justice, Kismet, Pygmalion, and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, as well as numerous musical comedies (British and American), foreign works, operas, and revivals of English classics. A definitive resource, this edition revises, corrects, and expands the original calendar. In addition, approximately 20 percent of the material—in particular, information on adaptations and translations, plot sources, and comments—is new. Arranged chronologically, the shows are fully indexed by title, genre, and theatre. A general index includes numerous subject entries on such topics as acting, audiences, censorship, costumes, managers, performers, prompters, staging, and ticket prices. The London Stage 1910–1919 will be of value to scholars, theatrical personnel, librarians, writers, journalists, and historians.