Classically Trained Soprano | PhD from Harvard
Dr. April Lynn James
SCORE Mentee
IN HER OWN HAND:
OPERAS COMPOSED by WOMEN
I broke new ground with my 2003 Harvard exhibit, In Her Own Hand: Operas Composed by Women 1625-1913 that takes us from the 17th-century Medici court to the opera houses of 19th- and early 20th-century Paris. It was the first exhibit in an American library to explore this topic. I turned that exhibit into a lecture that brought these composers alive for audiences, touring it around New York State as a Speaker in the Humanities for the New York Council for the Humanities. As part of my coursework for my MSLIS at Drexel University, I turned it into a LibGuide. Where will it go next? You tell me!
Below are links to recordings of a few of the 20+ composers whose names and works appeared in my exhibit. Does music history look or sound different when the focus is on works by women? Click on the images/links below to find out!
Maria Antonia, Electress of Saxony
Talestri, regina delle amazzoni
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This opera was composed by Her Highness around 1760, and received its premiere in 1763, following the Seven Years War that ravaged Saxony. It was published by Breitkopf and Haertel in 1765.
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This opening Sinfonia is in three movements, and is played here by the Batzdorfer Hofkapelle.
Louise Bertin
Esmeralda
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This work is based on Victor Hugo's "Notre Dame de Paris." A copy of the score to theis 4-act opera can be found at the NY Public Library. Click on Bertin's picture for more informaion.
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The recording is by Orchestre National de Montpellier Languedoc-Rousillon under the direction of Lawrence Foster.