Title: Democracy at the opera
First published: 1997
Description: Was there opera - and just what was it like - in New York City before the advent of the Metropolitan Opera Company? In exploring these questions, Karen Ahlquist describes the social, cultural, economic, and esthetic factors that led to the assimilation of Italian opera - a complex, expensive genre of elitist reputation - into New York's business oriented community, with its English cultural heritage and sacred republican traditions.

In her lively description of opera as few today can imagine it, Ahlquist considers Jacksonian-era efforts to create a polite social setting, the influence of a socially based clash between "respectability" and broad public access, and the role of music in shaping, not just reflecting, social and cultural life.
Subjects: History and criticism, Music, Opera, Social aspects, Social aspects of Music, Music, social aspects, Music, history and criticism, 19th century, Popular culture, new york (state), new york
Places: New York, New York (State)
Time periods: 19th century
LC classification: ML1711.8.N3 A45 1997