American History of Opera
Opera is outrageous theirs nothing tame or timid about stupendously talented artists performing spellbinding stories in glorious costumes and settings. Opera is the fastest growing of all the performing arts, attracting audiences of all ages who are enthralled by the gorgeous music, vivid drama, and maginificant production values. In the years since 1945, opera in English has slowly entered the standard repertory. Many of these works were by Britten, yet a good deal more were by composers in the United States. While English will probably never challenge the Italian-German-French linguistic hegemony, it has gained a secure place in the second tier of operatic languages alongside Russian and Czech. A significant factor in the evolution of American opera, as in every aspect of American life was immigration. As a nation that has received shiploads of new citizens from throughout the world for centuries, the united States is distinctive in that its national operatic style is a blend of the many foreign elements that arrived on American shores and the uniquely American values that are a product of the nation’s landscape, political philosophy, and particular energy. The earliest opera performance on the American continent is thought to have been flora by the English composer John Hippesley, first seen in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1735.
2007-04-04
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