American Opera (Music in American Life)
by Elise K. Kirk

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Book Reviews of American Opera (Music in American Life)

Book Review: An objective look at a complex subject
Summary: 5 Stars

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."

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