Shifting the cultural balance: American perceptions of European opera, 1880-1914

Abstract

Opera can be considered as a distinctive, European cultural expression, which is complex, universal and often political – whether directly or indirectly. But how did this popular, deep-rooted European tradition eventually transfer across the Atlantic? In what way was it received by the democratic cultural environment of America? What was in fact the role of European opera in American society during the turn of the twentieth century when global power and transatlantic relations between Europe and America changed significantly? To examine a possible shift of the cultural balance, this research project will focus on the American perception of European opera as a specific European art form. How was European opera perceived by Americans according to historical American newspapers between 1880 and 1914, and to which extent can we identify a change in American public discourse in relation to European opera in this period? Three noteworthy European operas: Richard Wagner’s Tannhäuser (1845), Giuseppe Verdi’s Aïda (1871), and Giacomo Puccini’s Madama Butterfly (1904) serve as a case study.