A woman staged an opera in America in 1835
OperaDelighted to see a piece of original research by conductor-scholar (and exNYT critic) Will Crutchfield published in this weekend’s NY Times.
Historians try to be precise, so it is awkward to admit that I can’t recall exactly when I first noticed the existence of an opera by Carolina Uccelli. At some point, maybe about six years ago, the name jumped out at me from a list. I do recall my reaction. A female composer got an opera onto the stage in 1835? With an all-star cast? She must have been extraordinary!
That was the start of a journey that culminates this month with the modern premiere of Uccelli’s “Anna di Resburgo” by the Teatro Nuovo company, in Montclair, N.J., on July 20 and in New York on the 24. Uccelli was indeed extraordinary, and so is the single surviving opera by which we can assess her abilities…
Read on here.
Did you read the article? She staged the opera in Naples, not America.
Did you read it? The opera was staged in Napoli. It’s now getting a mounting in America.
Yes. Unfortunately it wasn’t until 1892 that the Handel and Haydn Society in Boston premiered Amy Beach’s Mass – this was the first concert in America featuring a large-scale/major work composed by a woman.
After Mozart died, Constanza staged “Idomeneo” countless times. She didn’t get any woke headlines.
She also did not compose Idomeneo.