| Summary: | © 2018 Dr. Patrick MacDevitt At the turn of the twentieth century, composers in the United States struggled to establish a national voice. While many musical minds promoted the use of American-derived musical material, some intellectuals endorsed whole-hearted participation in the hegemonic European legacy, assuming the composers’ American provenance would endow their creations with national properties. This thesis considers possible manifestations of these properties within Horatio Parker’s Mona, premiered as the first full-scale American opera produced on the Metropolitan Opera stage. Its language is post-Wagnerian, but several elements seem to betray a unique and sometimes American voice. This thesis comprises a dissertation (constituting 65% of the thesis) and performance folio (constituting 35% of the thesis, supplementing the content of the dissertation) that explore Mona and the opera’s musical, cultural and socio-political contexts. It is hoped that this exploration adds nuance and complexity to discussions of European-influenced American opera and national elements in early twentieth-century American operas. The dissertation first considers the early twentieth-century American milieu, describing Parker’s life and career, prominent theatrical and musical trends, and broader socio-political issues. There is then an exploration of aspects of the music and drama of Mona, highlighting the ways in which the opera projects contemporaneous American cultural preferences, anxieties, and prejudices. These includes the integration and extension of European musical and operatic production trends, the narrative’s allusions to imperial occupation (reflecting the US occupation of the Philippines), and the opera’s engagement with issues raised by the women’s suffrage movement. The performance folio, accompanying the dissertation, offers an aural context for the dissertation’s exploration, providing examples of the early twentieth-century audience’s musical environment, including works that had an impact on Mona. It also illustrates aspects of Parker’s compositional trajectory, the music of Parker’s colleagues and students, and subsequent attempts at English-language dramatic text-setting. List of Performance Folio Contents [except where noted, all recordings were Performed by Patrick MacDevitt (Voice) and David Barnard (Piano)]: 1. 3 Songs, Horatio Parker (1882). 1.1. Slumber Song 1.2. Wedding Song 1.3. Goldilocks 2. 7 Songs, Horatio Parker (1909). 2.1. I Shall Come Back 2.2. A Man’s Song 2.3. A Woman’s Song 2.4. Only a Little While 2.5. A Robin’s Song 2.6. Offerings 2.7. Together 3. Opera and Operatic Song. 3.1. Winterstürme, Die Walküre, Richard Wagner (1870) 3.2. Oh, Oh, quest-ce que c’est, Pelléas et Mélisande, Claude Debussy (1902) 3.3. An die Nacht, op. 68, Richard Strauss (1918) 3.4. Then let there be an oath between us, Mona Horatio Parker (1912) 4. British and American Songs—Video. Kade Greenland (Director/Editor) 4.1. 0:00: The Bobolink, 5 Songs, George Whitefield Chadwick (1914) 4.2. 1:38: Midsummer Lullaby, 8 Songs, Edward MacDowell (1893) 4.3. 3:44: Matin Song, 4 Songs, John Knowles Paine (1879) 4.4. 5: 49: Lonely, 12 Songs, Frederic Cowen (1892) 4.5. 10:11: Speak, Music, 2 Songs, Edward Elgar (1902) 4.6. 13:39: My Love’s an Arbutus, Songs of Old Ireland, Charles Villiers Stanford (1882) 4.7. 16:11: The Blackbird, 3 Songs, Amy Beach (1889) 4.8. 17:25: Oh My Luve’s Like a Red Red Rose, 5 Songs, Arthur Foote (1887) 4.9. 19:47: When I am Dead, 12 Songs, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1906) 5. Parlour and Heart Songs 5.1. Parlour Songs. Patrick MacDevitt (Voice) and Ken Murray (Banjo/Guitar) 5.1.1. Maggie By My Side, Stephen Foster 5.1.2. Old Dog Tray, Stephen Foster 5.1.3. If You’ve Only Got a Moustache, Stephen Foster 5.1.4. Believe Me if All Those Endearing Young Charms, Thomas Moore, arranged by Catherina Josepha Pratten 5.2. From Heart Songs, 1909 5.2.1. The Old Arm Chair, Henry Russell 5.2.2. Lull¬aby, Erminie, Edward Jakobowski 5.2.3. To the Evening Star, based on a melody from Tannhaüser, Richard Wagner 5.2.4. Chinese Baby Song, Trad. 5.2.5. The Lost Chord, Arthur Sullivan¬ 5.2.6. Toyland, Babes in Toyland, Victor Herbert 5.2.7. The Rainy Day, William R. Dempster 6. American Experimentalism. 6.1. From 114 Songs, Charles Ives (1922). 6.1.1. In the Alley 6.1.2. The Things Our Fathers Loved 6.2. There is not much difference between the two (Suzuki Daisetz), John Cage (1979)—Video. Patrick MacDevitt (Voice) 7. Arias from Billy Budd, Benjamin Britten (1951). 7.1. I am an old man 7.2. I accept their verdict
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