Melbourne Conservatorium of Music - Theses
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Item‘Darling Kath’: Benjamin Britten’s music for Kathleen Ferrier( 2018)This thesis examines the career of contralto Kathleen Ferrier (1912–1953), and her collaborations with composer Benjamin Britten (1913–1976). In the late 1940s, Kathleen Ferrier was among the most famous classical singers of her day. Britten was the pre-eminent composer in Britain, composing solos for Ferrier in three major works: the title role in The Rape of Lucretia (1946), the contralto solos in Spring Symphony (1949), and the part of Isaac in Canticle II: Abraham and Isaac (1952). Although their collaboration ceased with Ferrier’s untimely death, Britten’s work with Ferrier was musically and personally significant, and proved influential for the course of Britten’s career and for shaping Ferrier’s legacy. Drawing on diaries, correspondence, and recordings, this thesis examines Britten’s intricate understanding of Ferrier’s voice and ability, the unusual way in which he exploited them, and how Ferrier in turn interpreted and created the premiere performances. In addition, with reference to the writings of J.P.E. Harper-Scott and Carolyn Abbate, this thesis evaluates the nature of the relationship between an influential male composer and the woman who gives voice to a work or role, to address the vexed question whether it is the composer or interpreter who creates that role.
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ItemOpera, publicity, disability: a case study of the public persona of Marjorie Lawrence( 2018)This thesis is an investigation of the public life of the Australian dramatic soprano Marjorie Florence Lawrence (b. Deans Marsh, Victoria 1907 – d. Little Rock, Arkansas 1979). Lawrence, who begun her professional stage career in Monte Carlo in 1932, was permanently paralysed from the waist down in 1941 after contracting poliomyelitis (at the time better known as infantile paralysis, now commonly referred to as polio). Despite the considerable challenges facing performers with disability in the pre-disability right era, Lawrence continued to perform in staged operas, concerts, and troop tours around the world. Lawrence published her autobiography in 1949, several decades before the end of her performing career and several years before the beginning of her first teaching position. Given that the basic biography of the singer is still relatively unknown the thesis starts with a brief outline of Lawrence’s biography, focusing on the years leading up to her paralysis. Chapter 1 examines her position as a role model and ambassador for people with a disability in the United States in the wake of several polio epidemics and an influx of returned servicemen with war injuries. Her affiliation with President Franklin Delano Roosevelt is also explored in conjunction with an analysis the solutions Lawrence used to enable her return to the stage. Chapter 2 focuses on the complexity of her public persona and behaviours in the context of the ‘prima donna’ and ‘diva’ categorisations often used in literature concerning the biography of female opera singers. To investigate this, a case study of Lawrence’s interactions with high ranking military and civilian officials during her 1944 troop is used. Chapter 3 is a documentation and reflection on the previously under-researched topic of Lawrence’s role as a university professor at Southern Illinois University, particularly regarding the production of Joplin’s Treemonisha. Research in this thesis is based on archival documents, historical news sources and on new interviews with colleagues and students of Lawrence and family members. This research, conducted in situ across Australia and the United States, allows a more-rounded perspective on perceptions of Lawrence’s career, teaching and personal interactions and introduces Lawrence’s own voice through her letters.
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ItemBeyond revolution: the journeys of Luigi Nono’s politically engaged music( 2014)The works of Italian composer Luigi Nono (1924-1990) present a special opportunity to examine the interactions between music and history. A committed communist, Nono explored political and social issues in works such as La victoire de Guernica (1954), Il canto sospeso (1955-56) and Intolleranza 1960 (1961). His musical materials were progressive, representing the cutting-edge of the 1950s European avant-garde. This seems to present a contradiction: how could one express political and social issues to a wide audience through such an arcane and elite musical language? After presenting an overview of Nono’s life and work and questioning previous approaches to the production and analysis of ‘engaged’ music, this thesis will present case studies investigating the three works above. La victoire and Il canto sospeso have had diverging political meanings since Nono’s death, and an analysis of the historical and musical aspects of each will be presented in an attempt to explain these trajectories. The musical language will be contrasted with the contemporary and post-premiere reception with close reference to primary sources. The opera Intolleranza 1960 has been revived on numerous occasions since its premiere in 1961, predominantly in German-speaking countries. This thesis argues that the work allows theatrical artists to create a form of ‘coming to terms with the past’ (Vergangenheitsbewältigung) that is sufficiently abstract as not to be overly confronting. The final chapters describe the transformation of the work from a hypertopical, engaged piece of political musical theatre into an abstract and timeless parable. It is argued that this transformation is the reason for the work’s enduring popularity, and is a direct result of its troubled and chaotic genesis.