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Summary:

Abstract: When Czech composer Bedřich Smetana's opera The Bartered Bride received its American premiere at the Metropolitan Opera in February 1909, New York music critics published positive reviews which displayed a great fascination with the many "Bohemian" aspects of the production. However, certain comments or language used by some critics indicate that American opinions of the Czech people were less than positive. After Czechs began immigrating to America en masse in 1848, already-established American citizens developed skewed cultural perceptions of the Czech people, established negative stereotypes, and propagated their opinions in various forms of press throughout the nation. Despite a general dislike of the Czechs, reviewers revered The Bartered Bride and praised its many authentic "Bohemian" qualities. This research explores the idea of a paradoxical cultural phenomenon in which the prejudice against Czech people did not fully cross over into the musical sphere. Instead, appreciation for Czech music and musicians may have trumped any such negative opinions and authentic Czech productions such as The Bartered Bride may have been considered a novelty in the eyes of early twentieth-century New Yorkers.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction
• The bartered bride : the American premiere
• The "Bohemian" issue
• Czech musicians in New York City
• Implications : Czech opera in New York City
• Appendix A : Czech and German character names
• Appendix B : The bartered bride plot summary.

Author/Creator:

Fehr, Laura , author

Contributors:

Mondelli, Peter , major professor

Languages:

English

Language Notes:

Item content: English

Main Work:

A 'Bohemian' Premiere?: Smetana's "The Bartered Bride" and National Identity in 1909 New York [by Fehr, L.]

Related Series:

NT thesis, Music (Complete); [volume] 2020

Subjects:

Smetana, Bedřich, 1824-1884 — Prodaná nevěsta

Music — New York (State) — New York — 20th century

Music — Czech Republic — Bohemia — History and criticism

Operas — First performances

Music — Social aspects

Prodaná nevěsta (Smetana, Bedřich)

1900-1999

Operas

Music

New York (State) — New York

Czech Republic — Bohemia

Genres:

Academic theses

Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Dissertation Notes:

M.A. ― University of North Texas, 2020.

General Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 40-43).
Description based on: Online resource; title from PDF title page (UNT Digital Library, viewed November 2, 2021).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (iii, 43 pages) : illustrations.

Digital Characteristics:

text file

Call Numbers:

Electronic Thesis

OCLC Numbers:

1287597835