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East meets west: stereotyping the East-Asian female in operatic works from 1885 to 2010

Description

Artistic trends of the mid-nineteenth century demonstrate the popularity of incorporating Asian elements into various artistic media. This paper discusses why the stereotypical Asian female provided an attractive character for operatic librettists, composers and audiences. To support the discussion, six operas from 1885 to 2010 are examined, and the dramatic…

Artistic trends of the mid-nineteenth century demonstrate the popularity of incorporating Asian elements into various artistic media. This paper discusses why the stereotypical Asian female provided an attractive character for operatic librettists, composers and audiences. To support the discussion, six operas from 1885 to 2010 are examined, and the dramatic and musical portrayal of representative female characters is discussed. The familiar character of Cio-cio-san from Giocamo Puccini's Madama Butterfly (1904) provides a foundation to discuss these stereotypical Asian female characteristics, specifically one archetype, that of the naïve, yet sexually desirable female. Prior to Cio-cio-san, Sir W. S. Gilbert and Sir Arthur Sullivan's Yum-Yum from The Mikado (1885), Iris of Pietro Mascagni's Iris (1898) exemplify this archetype, as does Liù from Puccini's Turandot (1924). At the other extreme is the icy, cold and bloodthirsty archetype found in the title role of Puccini's Turandot and Katisha from The Mikado. Chiang Ch'ing (also known as Madame Mao) from John Adams's Nixon in China (1987), and Madame White Snake from Chinese-American composer Zhou Long's Madame White Snake (2010) feature leading characters that demonstrate elements of both of these archetypes, and this combination of the two archetypes yields more complex and richer characters. These two extremes of the female Asian stereotype and the evolution of these characteristics provide an interesting outlook on the incorporation of non-Western musical styles into these operas, and the understanding of a Western perception of foreign peoples, especially foreign females.

ContributorsLo, Wan-Yi (Author) / Campbell, Andrew (Thesis advisor) / Carpenter, Ellon (Committee member) / Kopta, Anne (Committee member) / Mills, Robert (Committee member) / Ryan, Russell (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)

Created2013

White College Boy Steelbands" in 1950s Trinidad: how middle-class teenagers helped the steelpan gain national acceptance

Description

This document highlights the increased involvement of “ college boys ” or “ white college boys ” - better-educated middle-class white and light-skinned persons - in steelbands in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Following an introductory overview of the demography of Trinidad and Tobago, the history of Carnival, and…

This document highlights the increased involvement of “ college boys ” or “ white college boys ” - better-educated middle-class white and light-skinned persons - in steelbands in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Following an introductory overview of the demography of Trinidad and Tobago, the history of Carnival, and the interregnum of the temporary instruments used between the ban of indigenous drums in the 1880s and the invention of the steelpan at the end of the 1930s, this document will examine the history and membership of these college boy bands, with particular emphasis on the Hit Paraders. Two factors that highlight the vital role played by these college boy steelbands are discussed: commercial sponsorship of bands, and support that bands received from the People's National Movement Party. A detailed timeline of steelpan invention and innovations is also included.

ContributorsDeLamater, Elizabeth (Author) / Smith, Jeffery B (Thesis advisor) / Sunkett, Mark (Committee member) / Bush, Jeff (Committee member) / Hackbarth, Glenn (Committee member) / Solís, Ted (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)

Created2011

Percussion ensemble concert

ContributorsDeLamater, Elizabeth (Director) / Pan Devils Steel Band (Performer) / ASU Library. Music Library (Publisher)

Created2007-12-01

Charles Ives lecture recital

ContributorsRuhleder, Kathleen (Performer) / Lo, Wan-Yi (Performer) / Montana, Matt (Performer) / Nicosia, Paul (Performer) / O'Hara, Martha (Performer) / Rovani, Suzanne (Performer) / Peterman, Jeremy (Performer) / ASU Library. Music Library (Publisher)

Created2010-02-18

ContributorsSalmon, Audrey (Performer) / Hsu, Jui-Ling (Performer) / Dalbey, Jenna (Performer) / Dauphinais, Michael (Performer) / Gorbich, Victoria (Performer) / Nouri, Sahar (Performer) / Susilo, Chandra (Performer) / Lo, Wan-Yi (Performer) / ASU Library. Music Library (Publisher)

Created2010-02-11

Convocation I

ContributorsArias, Mauricio (Performer) / Wang, Boyang (Performer) / Lo, Wan-Yi (Performer) / Wilson, Evan Tyler (Performer) / Whitworth, Kristen (Performer) / Villanueva, Antonio (Performer) / Perez, Joseph (Performer) / McKenzie, James (Performer) / ASU Library. Music Library (Publisher)

Created2009-09-16

This feelin' nice

ContributorsSharpe, Len (Composer) / DeLamater, Elizabeth (Composer)

Paul Peterson, percussion

ContributorsPeterson, Paul (Performer) / DeLamater, Elizabeth (Performer) / McGraw, Matt (Performer) / Thompson, Darrell (Performer) / Wilkinson, Katye (Performer) / ASU Library. Music Library (Publisher)

Created2008-03-20