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Description
Emmerich Kálmán (1882-1953) was a leading composer during the Silver Age of Viennese operetta. His final work, Arizona Lady (1954), premiered posthumously, on Bavarian Radio, January 1, 1954. The stage premiere followed on February 14, 1954, at the Stadttheater in Bern, Switzerland. It is his only operetta that is set

Emmerich Kálmán (1882-1953) was a leading composer during the Silver Age of Viennese operetta. His final work, Arizona Lady (1954), premiered posthumously, on Bavarian Radio, January 1, 1954. The stage premiere followed on February 14, 1954, at the Stadttheater in Bern, Switzerland. It is his only operetta that is set entirely in the United States, in Tucson, Arizona. Arizona Opera commissioned and produced a new adaptation of Arizona Lady, which was performed in October 2015, in both Tucson, Arizona, and Phoenix, Arizona. The libretto was heavily revised, as well as translated, primarily into English with some sections in Spanish and German.

Through comparison of the original and adaptation, this study examines the artistic decisions regarding which materials, both musical and dramatic, were kept, removed, or added, as well as the rationale behind those decisions. The changes reflect differences between an Arizonan audience in 2015 and the European audience of the early 1950s. These differences include ideas of geographical identity from a native versus a foreign perspective; tolerance for nationalistic or racial stereotypes; cultural norms for gender and multiculturalism; and cultural or political agendas. Comparisons are made using the published piano/vocal score for the original version, the unpublished piano/vocal score for the adaptation, archival performance video of the Arizona Opera performance, and the compact disc recording of the 1954 radio broadcast premiere.
ContributorsLeyva, Elizabeth (Author) / Holbrook, Amy K (Thesis advisor) / Dreyfoos, Dale (Committee member) / Elgar Kopta, Anne (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
Reverend Stormfield Goes to Heaven is an operetta in six scenes for seven vocalists and

flute, clarinet, horn, percussion, piano, violin, cello, and double bass. The work’s approximate length is 40 minutes. The libretto is written by the composer and based on the short story by Mark Twain titled “Captain Stormfield

Reverend Stormfield Goes to Heaven is an operetta in six scenes for seven vocalists and

flute, clarinet, horn, percussion, piano, violin, cello, and double bass. The work’s approximate length is 40 minutes. The libretto is written by the composer and based on the short story by Mark Twain titled “Captain Stormfield Goes to Heaven.” The short story features the typical biting sarcasm of Mark Twain. The libretto combines part of the original text with alterations to satirize modern day Christianity and religious values in general. The story follows Reverend Stormfield as she arrives in Heaven and quickly learns that the locations and people she expected to see and meet are shockingly different. The journey takes her through comical scenarios and deeper philosophical dilemmas, and in the end she is left to confront her own disturbing past.

The musical elements of the operetta include traditional and octatonic scales, twelve- tone rows and set theory based on the overriding intervallic relationship of the perfect fourth. The sets implemented as motivic ideas: 0-1-4-5, 0-1-6-7, and 0-2-5-7 are based on the perfect fourth and serve as the framework for many of the melodic ideas. The instruments provide an accompanimental role often incorporating melodic fragmentation and contrapuntal textures and techniques. Instrumental solos are featured prominently in arias and the instrumental interludes between scenes.
ContributorsSakamoto, Dale Toshio (Author) / Rogers, Rodney (Thesis advisor) / Rockmaker, Jody (Committee member) / Suzuki, Kotoka (Committee member) / DeMars, James (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
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Description
Aspiring opera singers receive training in many different areas including vocal technique, acting, foreign languages, and role preparation to help them prepare for the demands of the standard operatic repertoire. Many of the operatic roles within the standard repertoire are too demanding in their entirety for young singers who are

Aspiring opera singers receive training in many different areas including vocal technique, acting, foreign languages, and role preparation to help them prepare for the demands of the standard operatic repertoire. Many of the operatic roles within the standard repertoire are too demanding in their entirety for young singers who are still developing physically and intellectually. Vocal health is a great concern for young voice students and their teachers. An operatic role which demands more stamina or control than a student is currently capable of executing in a healthy way can result in vocal trauma. To avoid assigning repertoire to students which may push their limits, many undergraduate vocal students are not given the opportunity to perform an operatic role in its entirety until after they have graduated.

Pauline Viardot’s operetta Cendrillon provides a solution to the often difficult task of giving experience to young singers without causing them potential harm. The knowledge Viardot gained by having a career both as an opera singer and a voice teacher resulted in a composition which contains full operatic roles that many young singers could capably perform. Viardot was sensitive to the issues that many young singers face, and as a result, she created an operetta which voice faculty can feel comfortable assigning to their students. In order to understand the demands of Cendrillon on young opera singers, this project included a performance of the piece with undergraduate voice students, many of whom had never been in an opera before. Through this process and a comparison of Cendrillon with some of the repertoire these singers will encounter later in their careers, it is clear that Viardot’s insightful compositional style provided a smooth transition for these relatively inexperienced students.
ContributorsBerman, Lauren Rebecca (Author) / FitzPatrick, Carole (Thesis advisor) / Campbell, Andrew (Committee member) / Suzuki, Kotoka (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017