American Opera

by Elise K. Kirk

Book Overview

Tired of Tannh user? Bored with Boh me? Open your imagination to boundless creativity and wide-ranging repertory of American opera. Elise K. Kirk provides a treasure trove of information that fills in the long-neglected history of opera in the United States. Looking at more than 100 works, Kirk sketches the musical traits, provides plot summaries, describes sets and stagings, and offers in-depth profiles of performers, composers, and librettists...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0252026233
• ISBN13: 9780252026232
• Release Date: April 2001
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press
• Length: 459 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Kirk's book is THE definitive source on American Opera

If you want to know about how opera developed in the United States - this is the book. If you want to know about American operas and their composers (even the early obscure ones)- this is the book. Very thorough, well-researched, and not a bad read either. Kirk has really given us a treasure.

Beautiful Work

I found this book to be a fascinating history not only of the various operatic forms, but also of the way Americans have combined words and music, or, more precisely, drama and music. The author illustrates this theme by taking us through early comic opera, melodrama, grand opera, Wagnerian influences, cinema scores and verismo styles giving the reader a fine overview of American creativity within the world of opera. I especially enjoyed the way the author illustrates her points further by discussing scenes from individual operas in an informative, yet reader-friendly, way. As a teacher, I found the book a valuable cultural-social study, as well. It is a work of many dimensions and I highly recommend it.

An objective look at a complex subject

Elise K. Kirk takes on a monumental job in her (University of Illinois Press). Starting in the Colonial times and ending just about at the publication date, this book traces the checkered career of its subject with a richness of detail that makes the 434 pages (plus appendices and index) very interesting reading indeed. It would have been even more interesting if the author had been a little more forthcoming about her own thoughts concerning the more contemporary works that call themselves "operas" by virtue of their being through-composed; but she certainly seems to have all the facts laid out objectively and in good order. The 18 chapters that lie between the Introduction and Epilogue are divided into three sections: (1) "The Voyage, 1730 to 1915"; (2) "The Signposts, 1880 to 1960"; and (3) "The Discoveries, 1945 to the Turn of the Century." Each section in turn is divided into 6 topics with such titles as "The Earliest American Operas," "The Impact of Mass Media," and "Dreamers of Decadence," to give one from each part. Ms. Kirk is very good in pointing out the novel aspects of works like "Einstein on the Beach" and "Miss Julie." However, since very few of the works she seems to praise (albeit implicitly rather than explicitly) enjoy frequent (if any) revivals, I strongly feel that she should have examined the reasons why most of them never gained any popularity with the general public. For example, the first night audiences seemed most enthusiastic about Previn's "Streetcar Named Desire," but in view of what the music critics had to say, one suspects they were applauding the production and the cast rather than the work. But our author remains silent on this aspect of American Opera. Still in all, I will be using this book as a valuable research tool for my seminars, especially the earlier sections when she does mention negative audience reactions to the Italian school of singing and other features of the granddaddies of "The Ballad of Baby Doe" and "Susannah."