Aida in New York: Culture, Criticism, and Crashing Financial Markets
During the 1860s and ‘70s, as New York City attempted to position itself as a major international center of the performing arts, it engaged in an aggressive cultural competition with London and Paris. Many artists, productions, and newly composed works were heard in the city, including recently composed operas by Verdi, Gounod, and Meyerbeer. Some of these works were premiered in New York, often before they were heard in London, Paris or other European cities. To prove that New York audiences were sophisticated and “up” on the latest Parisian and Italian artistic endeavors, American impresarios presented operas in which the original costumes and sets were recreated. As the Offenbach opéra bouffe craze of the late 1860s was waning, traditional opera regained its importance to the city’s cultural presentations. One major offering in 1871 was the American premiere of Wagner’s Lohengrin, not yet staged in London, Paris, or Milan.
In September 1873, a national financial meltdown of major proportions began in New York with the failure of the New York branch of a Philadelphia bank; it quickly spread to London and the rest of Western Europe. In spite of the severe economic problems, that November Max Strakosch offered New Yorkers another important American operatic premiere that once again preceded performances in London and Paris: it was an “over-the-top” production of Aida, which was conducted by Verdi’s former student and friend, Emanuele Muzio, with a recreation of the costumes and scenery seen at La Scala. In this presentation, I examine the critical response to the opera’s production, to Verdi’s “new” style of composition, to the perceived influence of Wagner (and others) on Verdi, and to the intersection of the financial crisis with the presentation of opera and the entertainment industry in general.
During the 1860s and ‘70s, as New York City attempted to position itself as a major international center of the performing arts, it engaged in an aggressive cultural competition with London and Paris. Many artists, productions, and newly composed works were heard in the city, including recently composed operas by Verdi, Gounod, and Meyerbeer. Some of these works were premiered in New York, often before they were heard in London, Paris or other European cities. To prove that New York audiences were sophisticated and “up” on the latest Parisian and Italian artistic endeavors, American impresarios presented operas in which the original costumes and sets were recreated. As the Offenbach opéra bouffe craze of the late 1860s was waning, traditional opera regained its importance to the city’s cultural presentations. One major offering in 1871 was the American premiere of Wagner’s Lohengrin, not yet staged in London, Paris, or Milan.
In September 1873, a national financial meltdown of major proportions began in New York with the failure of the New York branch of a Philadelphia bank; it quickly spread to London and the rest of Western Europe. In spite of the severe economic problems, that November Max Strakosch offered New Yorkers another important American operatic premiere that once again preceded performances in London and Paris: it was an “over-the-top” production of Aida, which was conducted by Verdi’s former student and friend, Emanuele Muzio, with a recreation of the costumes and scenery seen at La Scala. In this presentation, I examine the critical response to the opera’s production, to Verdi’s “new” style of composition, to the perceived influence of Wagner (and others) on Verdi, and to the intersection of the financial crisis with the presentation of opera and the entertainment industry in general.
