American Opera (review)

American Opera. By Elise K. Kirk. (Music in American Life.) Urbana: University of Illinois, 2001. [xii, 459 p. ISBN 0-252-02623-3. $34.95].

A number of fine studies in the field of American music history have appeared in recent years and American Opera continues this trend. A broad treatment of opera in the United States has been lacking since the appearance of Edward Hipsher's American Opera and Its Composers (Philadelphia: Theodore Presser, 1927; rev. ed., 1934). While Hipsher attempted to be as comprehensive and objective as possible, Kirk's treatment is selective and subjective. The current study distinguishes the many inherent influences on American opera and identifies the broad traditions that have emerged over the past three centuries. From James Ralph's ballad opera The Fashionable Lady of 1730 to Carlisle Floyd's recent Cold Sassy Tree, which premiered in April of 2000, Kirk proposes a historical progression in light of the European-derived operatic trends adopted and massaged by American opera composers, and the socio-cultural history of the United States.

Despite the domination of the European repertory in American opera houses, a rich and abundant store of native-composed works has been produced since the early eighteenth century. Kirk has sifted through countless numbers and chosen representative examples to illustrate both the wide diversity of styles and the common underlying features of American opera. Her selection is based on qualitative and cultural factors as well as the accessibility of scores, librettos, and recordings. Her study deals with foreign opera only as it affects the composition and performance of native opera. John Dizikes's Opera in America: A Cultural History (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1993) examines the place of European opera in American society, and complements Kirk's study nicely.

American Opera is arranged in three parts, each covering a different historical period. The first explores American opera in its infancy and youth, spanning the years 1730 to 1915. The second covers 1880 to 1960 and details the emergence of an American operatic tradition on the national and international scenes, and the influences of jazz, technology, and media on opera. The third part describes modernist, post-modernist, and the eclectic styles currently being developed as American opera assumes a leadership role on the world stage. The arrangement of this study is clear and logical, and it illustrates the three major historical phenomena not only of opera in this country, but of American music in general: infancy and early development; the establishment of national trends and parity with Europe; and the assumption of a level of creative superiority in the musical world.

The earliest works were influenced by British models and took the form of the ballad opera. Harlequinade, melodrama, dance, song, and mime are elements that characterize these works, and Kirk treats them as strands branching into different opera types in the future. For example, melodrama is seen later in the film-inspired operas as well as grand opera. By the late nineteenth century, American opera was beginning to achieve a degree of creative independence, and by the early twentieth century, American composers were challenging the definition of opera. Kirk examines several trends including the Indianist operas, the role of women and African Americans as composers and performers, the promotion of American works at the Metropolitan Opera by the Italian impresario Giulio Gatti-Casazza, the influence of popular styles, and the advent of the motion picture and its influence on opera. Especially notable is Kirk's insightful treatment of works written by women and African Americans. In addition to presenting material on some fine but little-known operas, she uncovers many interesting details of character portrayal and drama that reflect the social prejudices of the nation.

The most recent division identified by Kirk, from the end of World War II to the present, has witnessed works that are unique and innovative but continue to draw on the basic features of the earliest examples. From experimentalism to the post-modernist styles, American opera composers continue to look to the traditions...