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Maretzek, Verdi, and the Adoring Public: Reception History and Production of Italian Opera in America, 1849-1878

Smith, Jacob H.
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0301-3443
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1462983831

Abstract Details

2016, Master of Music (MM), Bowling Green State University, Music History.
Moravian-born impresario Max Maretzek was one of the leading opera managers in nineteenth-century America, specializing in Italian opera. During his career, Maretzek highlighted three cities as being "musical centers" in America: New York, Boston, and Philadelphia. While he noted that these cities were the most important for opera, he did not treat each one the same. Indeed, each of these cities had a heritage that affected their responses to opera. For example, the Puritanical heritage of Boston caused Maretzek to cancel his production of Verdi’s Rigoletto in 1861, because citizens were revolted by the opera’s immoral plot. In this project, I will explore, discuss, and analyze reception of Maretzek’s Italian operas, and how this reception affected how he produced opera. Using Jauss’s ideas on reception theory, specifically the "horizon of expectations," I will explore the historical and cultural contexts of Maretzek’s three musical centers, coupled with research on opera in nineteenth-century America by Katherine Preston, John Dizikes, and June Ottenberg. Since Maretzek was an early proponent of Verdi’s operas, I will discuss the reception of Maretzek’s productions of Italian opera, with emphasis on Verdi and the various controversies his operas engendered. I will show that Maretzek responded to criticism differently in each of the three cities: his productions were more adventurous in his home base of New York, and more conservative in Boston and Philadelphia. Finally, I will situate Maretzek and his work in the overarching cultural context of Italian opera in nineteenth-century America, drawing on the work of Lawrence Levine and Kristen Turner. While Italian opera is commonly discussed as representing the interests of the wealthy upper class in America during this time, I will argue that discussions of Maretzek in this context require a more nuanced discussion. While there were efforts by wealthy citizens to claim Italian opera as their own, Maretzek marketed his productions to all citizens throughout his career, first and foremost for financial necessity, but also for ideological reasons, according to his memoirs. While this self-proclaimed altruism should be taken with a grain of salt, the fact remains that Maretzek, despite efforts to the opposite, produced Italian opera for everyone.
Eftychia Papanikolaou, Ph.D. (Advisor)
Ryan Ebright, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
99 p.
Music
italian opera; opera management; maretzek; verdi; reception history; nineteenth century; america; reception theory; impresario; opera production; cultural studies; music history

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Smith, J. H. (2016). Maretzek, Verdi, and the Adoring Public: Reception History and Production of Italian Opera in America, 1849-1878 [Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1462983831

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Smith, Jacob. Maretzek, Verdi, and the Adoring Public: Reception History and Production of Italian Opera in America, 1849-1878. 2016. Bowling Green State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1462983831.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Smith, Jacob. "Maretzek, Verdi, and the Adoring Public: Reception History and Production of Italian Opera in America, 1849-1878." Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1462983831

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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This open access ETD is published by Bowling Green State University and OhioLINK.