| |
Stephanie Jensen-Moulton
is a Ph.D. Candidate in Musicology at
the
City University of New York, where she is also active in the Women's Studies
Certificate Program. Her work has been published in Critical Minded: New
Approaches to Hip Hop Studies, edited by Ellie M. Hisama and Evan Rapport,
and most recently, in Sounding Off: Theorizing Music and Disability,
edited by Neil Lerner and Joseph N. Straus. Stephanie's dissertation focuses on
three operas written by women in 1950s New York City, and includes studies of
Miriam Gideon, Julia Perry, and Louise Talma. As a performer, Stephanie
specializes in contemporary repertory, and has been hailed by The New York
Times as a soprano who sings "brilliantly and confidently." Her
research interests include the voice, women in music, and disability studies.
Abstract:
In 1958, Miriam Gideon composed her only opera, Fortunato.
Reflecting her deep connection with texts, Gideon fashioned her own libretto
from Serafin and Joaquin Alvarez Quintero's 1928 farce of the same name. The
story centers on the title character, who, desperately poor after having been
without work for four years, struggles to make an honest living for on a wintry
day in Madrid. The female characters that Fortunato encounters while he searches
for a job provide commentary on ways of enacting womanhood. Gideon's libretto
and score emphasize these varied modes of femininity, which are intimately
intertwined with Fortunato's capacity to maintain his high moral standard. Even
in the plot synopsis written by Gideon, the composer re-writes and emphasizes
certain aspects of the play that reflect some of her personal writings. My
analysis of Gideon's opera is complicated by her public reluctance to connect
herself with labels such as “woman composer,” or “Jewish composer.”
Yet, as scholar Ellie M. Hisama has written with regard to Gideon, personal
writings can “rewrite the dominant image that has been established.” This
presentation will focus on ways in which the music and text of the opera, Fortunato,
not only reflect Gideon's identity as a woman writing opera during the American
1950s, but also her identity as a Jewish composer.
Plot Synopisis of Fortunato
Fortunato, desperately poor after having been without work for four years,
tries to make an honest living on a cold day in Madrid. He encounters
individuals of widely varied character and background in each of the three
scenes of the opera. Unlike many of his fellow citizens in need, he is
unwilling to sacrifice his morals in order to feed his five children. In the
first scene, Fortunato attempts to obtain his rent money from a generous
middle-class architect and his gullible wife, but is thwarted by a fraudulent
beggar, Don Victorio. In the second scene, we see Don Victorio back on the
streets of Madrid, celebrating his financial victory with a healthy serving of
wine. Victorio tries to give Fortunato a few pointers about begging, but it is
of little use. Desperate, Fortunato steals from a blind guitarist, but upon
learning that the guitarist has children of his own, Fortunato returns what he
has stolen. In the final scene, he replies to an advertisement for an assistant,
ending up at a carnival with the famous female sharpshooter, Amaranta. Despite
his cowardice, Fortunato finds himself looking down the barrel of Amaranta's
shotgun and rejoicing that he will be able to feed his family after she pays his
wages for the day's work.
|
