The following report documents the internship performed by Michael Indest, Jr. at the Metropolitan Opera Guild in New York City. Since 1935, the Metropolitan Opera Guild has supported the Metropolitan Opera Association as a separate nonprofit organization in order to ensure the continuing survival of this esteemed opera company. The Guild operates from its office buildings in the Rose Building at 70 Lincoln Center Plaza, in New York City. During his time at the Rose Building, Mr. Indest worked closely with the Development and Education Departments, and was responsible for writing instructional study guides and grant appropriate materials for those departments. This report catalogues the duties performed by Mr. Indest and the scope of his contribution. It discusses issues encountered during that process, and also provides a SWOT analysis of the organization. The report examines the best practices performed by similar organizations and provides practical recommendations to foster increased effectiveness within the Guild. Finally, the report discusses Mr. Indest's contributions as an intern and their short and long-term effects. It should also be noted that Mr. Indest's experience was solely with the Guild, and the statements and analysis included in this report do not in any way reflect the practices of the Metropolitan Opera Association.

Thesis (Ed.D)--Teachers College, Columbia University, l988. / Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: Robert Douglas Greer. Dissertation Committee: Harold F. Abeles. Bibliography: leaves 442-451.

Thesis (D.M.A.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2999-01-01

This work compares two of the biggest opera houses – La Scala and the Metropolitan opera New York and focuses on its Opera Studios. The main goal is to collect as many information as possible and to get to know which one of these institutions provides better possibilities for beggining singers. Besides finding new information I have used my connections with current participants in these institutions, so I could compare their experiences with mine. I have found out two ways of getting into opera studios in general and got to a conclusion which one is more efficient for me personally. Besides practical tips, this work includes historical facts as well as data on notable operatic performers. My thesis should be primarily useful for singers who aspire to have an international carreer.

Diss.--Philosophie--New York (N.Y.)--the graduate faculty in music, 2001. / Bibliogr. p. 515-536.

Thesis (D.M.A.)--University of Oklahoma, 1988. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 67-69).

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The pattern of American institution building through private funding began in metropolises of all sizes soon after the nation's founding. But by 1840, Manhattan's geographical location and great natural harbor had made it America's preeminent commercial and communications center and the undisputed capital of finance. Thus, as the largest and richest city in the United States, unsurprisingly, some of the most ambitious cultural institutions would rise there, and would lead the way in the creation of a distinctly American model of high culture. This dissertation describes New York City's cultural transformation between 1840 and 1940, and focuses on three of its enduring monuments, the New York Public Library, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Metropolitan Opera. It seeks to demonstrate how trustees and financial supporters drove the foundational ideas, day-to-day operations, and self-conceptions of the organizations, even as their institutional agendas enhanced and galvanized the inherently boosterish spirit of the Empire City. Many board members were animated by the dual impulses of charity and obligation, and by their own lofty edifying ambitions for their philanthropies, their metropolis, and their country. Others also combined their cultural interests with more vain desires for social status. Although cohesive, often overlapping social groups founded and led most elite institutions, important moments of change in leadership in the twentieth century often were precipitated by the breakdown of a social order once restricted to Protestant white males. By the 1920s and 1930s, the old culture of exclusion--of Jews, of women, of ethnic minorities in general--was no longer an accepted assumption, nor was it necessarily good business. In general, institutions that embraced the notion of diversity and adapted to forces of historical change tended to thrive. Those that held fast to the paradigms of the past did not. Typically, when we consider the history and development of such major institutions, the focus often has been on the personalities and plans of the paid directors and curatorial programs. This study, however, redirects some of the attention towards those who created the institutions and hired and fired the leaders. While a common view is that membership on a board was coveted for social status, many persons who led these efforts had little abiding interest in Manhattan's social scene. Rather, they demanded more of their boards and expected their fellow-trustees to participate in more ways than financially. As the twentieth century beckoned, rising diversity in the population mirrored the emerging multiplicity in thought and culture; boards of trustees were hardly exempt from this progression. This dissertation also examines the subtle interplay of the multi-valenced definition of "public" along with the contrasting notion of "private." In the early 1800s, a public institution was not typically government funded, and more often functioned independent of the state, supported by private individuals. "Public," instead, meant for the people. Long before the income tax and charitable deductions for donations, there was a full range of voluntary organizations supported by private contributions in the United States. This dissertation argues that in a privatist spirit, New York elites seized a leadership role, both individually and collectively, to become cultural arbiters for the city and the nation.

No description available.

When Czech composer Bedřich Smetana's opera The Bartered Bride received its American premiere at the Metropolitan Opera in February 1909, New York music critics published positive reviews which displayed a great fascination with the many "Bohemian" aspects of the production. However, certain comments or language used by some critics indicate that American opinions of the Czech people were less than positive. After Czechs began immigrating to America en masse in 1848, already-established American citizens developed skewed cultural perceptions of the Czech people, established negative stereotypes, and propagated their opinions in various forms of press throughout the nation. Despite a general dislike of the Czechs, reviewers revered The Bartered Bride and praised its many authentic "Bohemian" qualities. This research explores the idea of a paradoxical cultural phenomenon in which the prejudice against Czech people did not fully cross over into the musical sphere. Instead, appreciation for Czech music and musicians may have trumped any such negative opinions and authentic Czech productions such as The Bartered Bride may have been considered a novelty in the eyes of early twentieth-century New Yorkers.