Theses and Dissertations
This collection includes both ASU Theses and Dissertations, submitted by graduate students, and the Barrett, Honors College theses submitted by undergraduate students.
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- Creators: Dreyfoos, Dale
- Creators: Norton, Kay
Description
This research paper recounts the work done in founding an opera company and putting on its inaugural show. It also provides some of the insights acquired during the process, which may be helpful for other future opera producers in creating a framework and guideposts for starting their own companies. The paper consists of two main sections followed by several short appendices.
The first section methodically reconstructs the process by which Windy City Opera's La Bohème was brought to the stage. It covers the background experiences that prompted the author to found her own company, the research and decisions involved, and the interplay between the company's overall goals and the resources available for a first production. The business, casting, rehearsing, and marketing aspects are reviewed in detail, as well as several mistakes that were made during the process that afforded valuable learning opportunities.
The second section follows up on these and other opportunities by sketching an ideal plan that opera startups might follow; the principal topics are timeline, budgeting, fundraising, venue selection, personnel selection, and marketing.
The appendices consist of worksheets and materials meant to illustrate and supplement this written how-to guide, as well as a video of the Windy City Opera production of La Bohème.
The first section methodically reconstructs the process by which Windy City Opera's La Bohème was brought to the stage. It covers the background experiences that prompted the author to found her own company, the research and decisions involved, and the interplay between the company's overall goals and the resources available for a first production. The business, casting, rehearsing, and marketing aspects are reviewed in detail, as well as several mistakes that were made during the process that afforded valuable learning opportunities.
The second section follows up on these and other opportunities by sketching an ideal plan that opera startups might follow; the principal topics are timeline, budgeting, fundraising, venue selection, personnel selection, and marketing.
The appendices consist of worksheets and materials meant to illustrate and supplement this written how-to guide, as well as a video of the Windy City Opera production of La Bohème.
ContributorsO'Shaughnessy, Catherine (Author) / Dreyfoos, Dale (Thesis advisor) / Schildkret, David (Thesis advisor) / Oldani, Robert (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
In the early-twentieth-century United States, Jewish and European immigrant scholars, musicians, and composers dominated the academic, orchestral, film and popular music scenes. While some of these musicians immigrated voluntarily, others, having fled the genocide of the Holocaust, were forced into exile due to religious and political persecution. Musicians were often targeted by the Nazi regime for performing and advancing banned music, composing modernist works, or for their religious or political beliefs. The United States upheld strict, pre-World War Two immigration quotas and laws that limited relocation. Specialized rescue agencies arose to help these exiles settle in the United States.
Meanwhile in 1924, American composer Mark Brunswick (1902-1971) moved to Europe and later studied with Nadia Boulanger. He found his niche among members of the Second Viennese School. Brunswick returned to the United States in 1938 and founded the National Committee for Refugee Musicians (NCRM), originally called the Placement Committee for German and Austrian Musicians, to aid in the relocation and job placement of at-risk musicians and their families during World War Two.
This thesis briefly explores Brunswick’s life, and then more closely addresses the formation of the NCRM, its members, those who received aid, and partnering organizations. Finally, cases in point illustrate the varied ways in which the NCRM helped musicians in exile. Brunswick and the Committee played a major role in American musical history, yet no major studies have focused on them. With the NCRM’s assistance, many refugees thrived in and contributed to America’s musical landscape. By exploring letters, memoranda, and other unpublished archival documents, I will show how Brunswick and the NCRM affected U.S. musical life beginning in the 1930s. The positive effects of this germinal group endure today.
Meanwhile in 1924, American composer Mark Brunswick (1902-1971) moved to Europe and later studied with Nadia Boulanger. He found his niche among members of the Second Viennese School. Brunswick returned to the United States in 1938 and founded the National Committee for Refugee Musicians (NCRM), originally called the Placement Committee for German and Austrian Musicians, to aid in the relocation and job placement of at-risk musicians and their families during World War Two.
This thesis briefly explores Brunswick’s life, and then more closely addresses the formation of the NCRM, its members, those who received aid, and partnering organizations. Finally, cases in point illustrate the varied ways in which the NCRM helped musicians in exile. Brunswick and the Committee played a major role in American musical history, yet no major studies have focused on them. With the NCRM’s assistance, many refugees thrived in and contributed to America’s musical landscape. By exploring letters, memoranda, and other unpublished archival documents, I will show how Brunswick and the NCRM affected U.S. musical life beginning in the 1930s. The positive effects of this germinal group endure today.
ContributorsKurland, Jayme Michael (Author) / Norton, Kay (Thesis advisor) / Feisst, Sabine (Committee member) / Oldani, Robert (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
From the time it was written, the aria "Largo al factotum" from Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia has been performed and ornamented in many different ways. The present study is an inventory and analysis of ornaments sung in 33 recordings from 1900 to 2011 and the major differences that they exhibit one from another. The singers in this study are baritones with international careers, who have performed the role of Figaro either at the Metropolitan Opera (New York) or at La Scala (Milan). The study identifies and tracks some of the changes in the ornamentation of the aria by noting common traits and new approaches across the one hundred eleven years of practice illustrated by the recordings.
ContributorsBriggs, Andrew Nathan (Author) / Mills, Robert (Committee member) / Oldani, Robert (Committee member) / Dreyfoos, Dale (Committee member) / FitzPatrick, Carole (Committee member) / Ryan, Russell (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
In the triumvirate of composer-performer-listener, while the listener always wins, the performer is the interpreter through which the listener experiences the writings of the composer. When the composer and performer are combined, however, a unique situation arises: the link from the composer to the listener becomes a direct line and the composer becomes his/her own interpreter. Such is the case with Benjamin Britten. Britten conducted almost his entire repertoire in recordings for Decca (the exceptions being Paul Bunyan, Owen Wingrave, and Death in Venice). A comparative analysis of the recordings of four of Britten's works, the Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings, Op. 31; Albert Herring, Op. 39; Spring Symphony, Op. 44; and the Nocturne, Op. 60, shows that despite his complaints about performers not following his tempo markings, Britten often deviated from them himself, tending slower. Britten also occasionally added additional rubato, ritardandi, and accelerandi to his works. Additionally, a discrepancy regarding a pitch in the "Prelude" of the Serenade comes to light. Video of Britten conducting the Nocturne in rehearsal with the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) Vancouver provides additional insight into his methodology. Benjamin Britten succeeded as a composer-conductor, and his catalogue of recordings provides essential primary reference material when studying his works.
ContributorsSterneman, Walter (Author) / Reber, William (Thesis advisor) / Russell, Timothy (Committee member) / Dreyfoos, Dale (Committee member) / Oldani, Robert (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014