The supporting research is an integrated study. A survey of selected early twentieth-century operas reveals that the lyric stage reflected the times. The diversity of approaches to the female characters in these works is germane to an accurate portrayal of the protagonist in Echo . In further research, selected one-act operas by other American women composers, contemporaries of this author, represent the woman s voice at the end of the twentieth century. The musical gestures in these operas provide tools for the composition of Echo .
Successful dramaturgy depends upon specificity of time and place, even if the story is universal.
Adding period authenticity to Echo mandates a socio-historical overview of the early twentieth century, the time of the play. This study enables the discovery and discernment of the voice of Echo s protagonist as a woman of her era. The supporting research informs the composition of Echo as it listens for the woman s voice in the twentieth century.