Imagining Women in Western Music

By Harriet M. Jacobs

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree, Bachelor of Arts (Music)

The Colorado College

April 10, 2013

Approved by ______Date ______Ryan Banagale, Assistant Professor of Music

______Date ______Victoria Hansen, Instructor in Voice

Imagining Women in Western Music

Women have struggled for equality for centuries. The fight for parity in education, pay, and social and civil liberties emerges from our desire to be seen as capable, strong, and independent individuals. Yet, as historical musicologist Linda Phyllis Austern states, “The roles of men and women of all social classes were rigidly defined by a complex set of hierarchical rules…The civic and domestic responsibilities of men and women were clear, separate, and, by modern standards, inflexible and unequal” (Austern 1994:54). Female inequality can be seen through a myriad of realms—domestic, professional, educational, and most importantly for the purpose of this paper, musical.

Until relatively late in the twentieth century, women were largely excluded from participating in music composition. As the feminist music scholar Susan McClary writes,

“Throughout its history in the West, music has been an activity fought over bitterly in terms of gender identity…Male musicians have retaliated…by prohibiting actual female participation altogether” (McClary 1991:17). Although there have long been female performers, there are ominously fewer women composers when compared to male composers. One result of this exclusion from the compositional process is that male composers and lyricists came to depict female subjects from a distinctly different perspective than women composers themselves might use. Men essentially objectified women in music through lyrics and poetry. McClary explains that the male must always be the hero and that the obstacle the male hero must conquer is the female (McClary 1991:14). With this image in mind, women have lost their individuality and

1 are now seen as objects or something attainable—not just in song, but also in certain segments of modern society.

This objectivity of women can be seen in opera arias, art songs, and pieces. Although no single portrayal has dominated, since the seventeenth century male composers have regularly focused on the themes of women’s power and dominance over men and a woman’s desire to find love. For example, Clara Schumann’s art song, “Lorelei” tells the story of a mermaid who lures sailors with her beautiful singing into the rocks where she lives, causing the sailors to crash their boats and die. The lyrics of this piece suggest the dangers of giving women too much power. According to Susan Cook, it was not until 1948 that people began to have reservations about previous musical standards and gender expectations in the musical communities (Cook 1994:3). In 1948, the United Nations embraced the Universal

Declaration of Human Rights, which emphasized equal rights for men and women. The UN’s step towards creating equal opportunity may have sparked interest in reevaluating women’s rights in all realms of activity.

This reevaluation regarding musical standards and gender inequality was extremely important in gaining perspective on the female life experience. It should go without saying that women are much more complex than many men acknowledge. Yet, as seen in today’s society, many women feel pressure to marry and have a family before a certain age, but the female interest in obtaining a career has increased over the years. The question whether women can successfully have a career and be devoted to a husband and children still remains debated today.

Although a majority of vocal music from the past implies otherwise, women have interests that surpass the desire to look beautiful and to obtain love.

2 This paper examines the portrayal of women in various forms of vocal music from the

1600s to the 1980s. Analyzing the lyrics and poetry in these different pieces provides an understanding of how females are often portrayed in male-dominated and influenced compositions. This paper is divided into five sections. It begins with an overview of how women have been seen in society and in a musical context throughout history. The next three sections discuss the representation of woman in opera arias, art songs, and musical theatre pieces ranging from the late 1600s until the late 1900s. These various pieces, considered alongside the observations of notable musicologists, reveal a variety of representations of women in vocal music since the seventeenth century. Ultimately, the lack of female composers and lyricists has played a large role in this detrimental depiction of females. Male composers have depicted women in music as abusing their power, being fanciful and romantically naïve, or incapable of independence. It is not until the introduction of musical theatre that there began to be a celebration of female strength and self-determination, although, here too, female representation has limits.

The Representation of Women in Opera Arias

A common theme in operas is the exploration of the womanly nature to crave love and relationships. Although opera was not fully developed until the seventeenth century, a variety of earlier musical genres influenced its development, such as pastoral dramas and madrigals.

Opera’s original purpose was to serve as an intermedio, which was a musical performance played in between acts in a play. The early seventeenth century composer, Claudio Monteverdi

(1567-1643), is recognized as writing one of the first operas, L’Orfeo (Burkholder 2006:307-

316). Even this earliest example of Opera depicts women as helpless and dependent on men as

3 the opera follows Orfeo’s struggle to bring his dead wife back from Hades. For the purposes of this study, I will explore arias from twentieth century opera arias, including “Rusalka” by

Antonin Dvořák in 1901, “The Old Maid and the Thief” written by Giancano Menotti in 1939, and “Trouble in Tahiti” by Leonard Bernstein in 1952. Theses examples reveal how these male composers depict heterosexual relationships and the stereotypical female demand for love.

The celebrated Czech composer, Antonin Dvořák, uses a mythological female character in his opera, “Rusalka” to demonstrate the formulaic belief that women would give up their lives for love. Dvořák was born on 8 September 1841 and began studying music at the age of six. He showed musical promise quickly and eventually became an incredibly diverse composer, writing operas, chamber music, orchestral, and piano music (Döge, web). Composed in 1901, Rusalka tells the story of a nymph, Rusalka, that lives in the lake who falls in love with a human Prince.

She convinces a witch to let her become a human, but only under the conditions that she will lose her power to speak and if the Prince does not return her love, the Prince will die and Rusalka will be condemned to life at the bottom of the lake. As the Dvořák scholar, Michael Beckerman writes, “Rusalka, charmed by human beauty, is seized by the desire for a man and his love” and therefore she sacrifices her life and potentially the Prince’s life in order to feel loved (Beckerman

1993:250). This mythological creature, albeit still technically a female, is displayed through the aria’s melodic development and lyrics as naïve and ignorant because she falls in love with a human and risks her life in desperation of finding love.

Rusalka’s aria, “Song to the Moon” reflects Dvořák’s portrayal of the female character as desperate for male attention and love. She sings to the moon, begging for the moon to “give him light far away, give him light, tell him, tell, who waits here for him” (Cheek 2001:209-210). Her inability to approach the Prince herself and her insistence for the moon’s help portrays this

4 female character as dependent and desperate. The simple melody in the aria mirrors the simple request Rusalka makes to the moon. Her use of repeated lyrics throughout the aria emphasizes this plea. Her last despairing request to the moon before it disappears in the night sky comes in the last ten measures. She begins this final musical phrase softly on the D above middle C. The music continues to build as she begs the moon to “not disappear” and as the accompaniment crescendos, she loudly sings a high B-flat on the concluding words, “Do not disappear.” The musical climax at the end of this piece emphasizes her desire for love. Instead of being portrayed as a strong, independent female character, Rusalka is portrayed as being dependent on the Prince in order to achieve happiness.

The 1939 opera The Old Maid and the Thief captures composer Gian Carlo Menotti’s

(1911-2007) interest in love and curiosity in romantic intricacies. The hopelessly romantic composer was originally from Italy but came to the United States in 1928 in order to take advantage of the musical education possibilities available in America. In a tribute to Menotti’s life and works, it states, “his desire to reach unattainable beauty in art, his need to reconcile simple faith with the ambiguities of religion, and his explorations of the complexities and complicities of love give us avenues to comprehend his turbulent personality. All of his operas are variations on these subjects” (Schirmer 1991:15). The Old Maid and the Thief uses powerful lyrics and a morally complicated story line to capture the complexities and complicities of love.

The Old Maid and the Thief has a small cast of only four characters, three of whom are females. An elderly lady, Miss Todd and her servant Laetitia allow a strange man, Bob, to enter and stay at Miss Todd’s house. She later hears of a runaway thief whose appearance matches that of Bob, but Miss Todd does not report him to the police. Instead, Miss Todd and her friend,

Miss Pinkerton, do everything possible to make Bob’s visit comfortable and as the lyrics say in

5 Laetitia’s aria, “Miss Todd schemes and labors to get him some money. She robs friends and neighbors the club and the church.” Ultimately, Laetitia and Bob decide to get married and they steal Miss Todd’s belongings before running away together (Archibald, web). The opera itself portrays Miss Todd and Miss Pinkerton as ignorant and somewhat unintelligent. These two old ladies risk their dignity and break laws in order to provide Bob with money and safety.

However, in the end, despite Miss Todd’s good intentions to help Bob, both Bob and Laetitia deceive her.

Comparably to Dvořák’s Rusalka and the emphasis placed on the nymph finding love,

Menotti uses Laetitia’s aria, “Steal Me Sweet Thief,” to paint Laetitia as a distressed maid searching for love before her youthful days past. In “Steal Me Sweet Thief,” Laetitia asks Bob to make her “die before dark death steals her prey” (Menotti 1939). This prey that she is referring to is Bob. Describing Bob as prey suggests that Laetitia is animalistic rather than human and that women see men and love as something they need to attain in order to survive, just as an animal hunts his prey in order to stay alive. In addition, Laetitia sings, “Oh, steal me, sweet thief, for time’s flight is stealing my youth,” which seems to imply that Laetitia believes that finding love before one’s natural death is the most important accomplishment one can achieve in a lifetime (Menotti 1939). Yet again, the audience finds that this female character is consumed with the desire to fall in love. She sings, “Steal my cheeks before they’re sunk and decayed…for time’s flight is stealing my youth” (Menotti 1939). This belief that women can only find love when they are young and beautiful suggests that only a woman’s beauty can win a man over and that her character and intelligence plays a much less significant role when finding a romantic companion.

6 Just as Rusalka and The Old Maid and the Thief explore the intricacies and complications of a relationship between a male and female, Leonard Bernstein’s opera, Trouble in Tahiti follows the day in a life of a man and a woman in a troubled marriage. Leonard Bernstein was born on 25 August 1918 into a rather unhappy household. The biographer Joan Peyser writes that Bernstein’s birth gave his mother some sense of happiness while trying to deal with a flawed marriage (Peyser 1998:22). Bernstein used the experience of growing up in an unhappy household to inspire his opera, Trouble in Tahiti (Smith 2011:49). Trouble in Tahiti is the story of two characters, Sam and Dinah, and their inability to communicate and respect each other.

As summarized by author Helen Smith, Bernstein held rather opinionated views about the differences between men and women:

Bernstein himself saw a separation in characteristics of men and women: Women: They dream: They beautify themselves: They escape—They get analyzed: They confide too easily: They need constant diversion. Men: They are in order: They are strong: They can categorize: They organize: They go to the gym: They know where sex belongs (Smith 2011:47).

Trouble in Tahiti follows these gender-specific characteristics very closely. For instance, in one scene in the opera, Dinah sees a physiatrist and sings a dreamlike aria about voices in a garden.

Just as Bernstein believes that women need constant diversion, Dinah later goes to the movies as a diversion to her marital problems. Sam, on the other hand, goes to the gym and sings about winning a handball tournament. Sam seems more concerned about sports and work than his marriage that has begun to fall apart. Bernstein portrays women in a manner consistent with

Smith’s observations, encouraging the stereotypes that all women are obsessed with creating diversions and confide in others too frequently. Bernstein’s harsh opinions of women are explored in some of his other shows, such as West Side Story, where the lead female character,

7 Maria, sings “I Feel Pretty” and confides in her brother’s girlfriend, Anita, about her new love,

Tony.

One particular musical example that demonstrates Bernstein’s inaccurate stereotypes of women is one of Dinah’s arias, “What A Movie.” Throughout the aria, she reenacts the terrible movie (in her opinion) that she has just seen. However, throughout the aria, she begins to dream of the movie’s location, Island Magic, which she begins to believe is paradise. The musical accompaniment changes to emphasize Dinah’s shift in attitude. The meter changes from 2/4 to

2/2 and the accompaniment’s rhythm becomes syncopated. She becomes so distracted by her fantasies in her aria that by the end of the song, she realizes she has completely lost track of time.

Through the music, she has essentially escaped into another world and has forgotten her marital problems. Bernstein’s own personal perspective and experience of women results in a depiction of Dinah as a confused woman, looking for an escape from her troubled marriage. Dinah represents, in Bernstein’s mind, the common woman and this is seen throughout Dinah’s aria,

“What A Movie” as she dreams, escapes, and uses a trip to the movies as a diversion from her real life dilemmas. While women in the 1950s were expected to play a supporting role to their husbands, it does not condone this inaccurate depiction of women.

Although it would be incorrect to state that all twentieth-century opera arias explore gender roles and a woman’s desire to find love, Rusalka, The Old Maid and the Thief, and

Trouble in Tahiti examine a common female stereotype: that all women place a priority on finding love. The illuminating lyrics and compelling instrumental accompaniments in each of these three male-composed operas drive forward the claim that women are desperate, dependent, fanciful, and in need of male companionship. This generalization is demeaning for women and

8 suggests that women lack other priorities or goals in life when, in reality, women care about more than just finding love.

Representation of Women in Art Songs

Although not all composers of European art songs are men, the opinion that women abuse power rings prominently in many songs. Rather than focusing on the male-female relationship, the art songs under consideration here focus more on female power and the risks that come with this dominance. As exemplified by art song composers such as Henry Purcell,

Claude Debussy, and Clara Schumann, works in this genre typically have poetic lyrics (typically written by a man) that are set to a melodic line and a piano accompaniment. Although Clara

Schumann was a woman, a man wrote the text she set and therefore her art songs are subject to the same analysis and criticism as male-composed art songs. By exploring and analyzing the poetry and harmonic structure in European art songs such as Henry Purcell’s “Music for a

While” (1692), Clara Schumann’s “Lorelei” (1843), and Claude Debussy’s “Fleur des Blés”

(1880), one begins to grasp the male perspective on the consequences or rewards of either giving females too much power or a lack of authority and control.

Although a description of Henry Purcell’s life is often left to guesswork, Purcell’s music is very telling. It is thought that Purcell was born in Westminster or London sometime in 1659 and lived until 1695. He was born right before the Restoration period, when King Charles II encouraged music, causing music communities to flourish. Purcell’s musical abilities and talents were encouraged during the Restoration period, and as Purcell developed as a composer, he found a real connection with the stage (Zimmerman 1967:78). Some of his most famous works come from operas such as The Fairy Queen (1692), Dido & Aeneas (1688), and Oedipus (1692).

9 Over the course of time, “Music For A While,” written, in 1692, has transitioned from an aria within Purcell’s Oedipus to an art song experienced primarily in a recital format. It describes the power that a woman can have over mankind. The text itself tells the story of

Alecto, one of the Furies who were mythological goddesses who persecuted those who had committed murder. This art song describes the control and power Alecto has over mankind. As the text of the music explains, mankind must wait for Alecto to liberate the dead. The lyrics state, “Till Alecto free the dead…from their eternal, eternal bands” (Purcell 1692). Alecto clearly has authority over mankind, but the piece’s minor mode and use of diminished chords suggests that man does not appreciate this female control. Purcell scholar, Franklin Zimmerman, notes that Purcell uses “the chromatic ascent from dominant to tonic” to create tension between the singer’s lines and the accompaniment (Adams 1995: 325). These musical elements imply a message of deceit and trickery.

Purcell also emphasizes Alecto’s unsettling physical characteristic of snakes dropping from Alecto’s head through musical dramatization. Purcell uses nine short, stressed eighth notes on the word “drop” to accentuate Alecto’s unusual appearance. The text also describes Alecto as having “the whip from out her hands.” The imagery of Alecto suggests that women can be ruthless, powerful, but mad. Again, the use of diminished chords and chromaticism throughout the piece represents chaos and confusion. Perhaps Purcell is suggesting that by giving females, such as Alecto power, turmoil and disorder are inevitable. Ultimately, Alecto represents the powerful and domineering female and the control women can have over society.

Clara Schumann (1819-1896) was an incredible pianist and musician, but unfortunately fell subject to the common female complexities of balancing family and career. She was born on

13 September 1819 in Leipzig, Germany. As a young girl, she displayed a great gift for the

10 piano, but after marrying Robert Schumann at an early age, she retired to household duties.

Throughout her life, Schumann was dependent on and greatly influenced by men. Clara’s father gave her piano lessons and required her to sing, and he demanded a great deal from her from an early age (Chissell 1983:4-6). He made sure that Clara continued her performing career, not permitting any distractions to come in the way of her success. After marrying the talented pianist, Robert Schumann, Clara fell into the routine of married life, leaving little time to compose and perform (Chissell 1983:81). Clara wrote in her diary in November 1839, “I once thought that I possessed creative talent, but I have given up this idea; a woman must not desire to compose—not one has been able to do it, and why should I expect to?” (Neuls-Bates 1996:154).

It was not until Robert Schumann passed away that Clara began to see herself first as a musician and second as a parent (Neuls-Bates 1996:100). While Clara Schumann composed beautiful music, the lyrics to many of her pieces were often set to poetry written by men.

The art song, “Lorelei” was written by Clara Schumann in 1843 and she used the poetry of nineteenth century German poet, Heinrich Heine (1797-1856) for the lyrics. This poem describes the Legend of Lorelei. The Legend of Lorelei suggests that a mermaid named Lorelei sat upon a rock off the Rhine River, and would lure men into the rock by her beautiful singing, causing these men to crash their boats and die (European Institute of Cultural Routes, web).

Schumann’s piece, “Lorelei” uses fast, repeated chords in the accompaniment to create tension and drama. The varied dynamics throughout the piece adds to the tension and helps create a sense of deception, leaving the listener to wonder where the piece is moving next. The poetry describes the power this mermaid had over the men out at sea. Heine wrote:

11 I think that the waves will devour Ich glaube, die Wellen verschlingen The boatman and boat as one, am Ende Schiffer und Kahn, And this by her song’s sheer power Und das hat mit ihrem Singen, Fair Lorelei has done. Die Lorelei getan (Heine 1822).

Just as Alecto punished mankind in Purcell’s piece, “Music For A While,” Lorelei uses her looks and beautiful singing to destroy men out at sea. This ability to deceive men through beauty suggests that women’s only influence and power over interacting with men is beauty and sexuality. This ultimately portrays females as one-dimensional.

Known for his unique and distinctive music, Claude Debussy (1862-1918) had a life full of not only composing music, but also having an abundance of relationships with women.

Claude Debussy was born on 22 August 1862 in Saint Germain-en-Laye, France. He did not begin formal music until the age of eight, but by 1872 had joined the Paris Conservatoire.

Throughout his career Debussy composed music that defied many harmonic and stylistic rules.

Debussy’s music often lacks tonality and traditional harmonic progression, presenting Debussy as a risk taker and a musical innovator. His piece, “Fleur des Blés,” was written in 1880 with poetry written by André Girod. Debussy dedicated this art song to Madame E. Deguingand.

Throughout Debussy’s life, he had numerous relationships with women.

In contrast to “Music For A While” and “Lorelei,” “Fleur des Blés” removes female power by deconstructing a woman’s image and comparing her beauty to various elements of nature. While describing this woman as beautiful is flattering, it also suggests a superficiality of the relationship between the man and woman in the poem. Solely describing this woman’s beauty and in such detail objectifies females and emphasizes the stereotypical notion that a woman’s personality and character is insignificant. For instance, Girod writes, “Ces épis dorés, c’est l’onde/De ta chevelure blonde” which translates into “These golden clusters, they are the wave/Of your blond hair” (Debussy 1880). In other words, this woman’s hair is being compared

12 to these golden clusters of wheat, eliminating any sense of individuality. Debussy uses arpeggios in the accompaniment to create a light, delicate, and ethereal texture, not unlike the description of the female in the poem. Debussy wrote beautiful melodic lines throughout this piece, beginning low and soft before ascending to the climax of the phrase while crescendoing, and then descending back down and reaching the end of the phrase. For example, the first melodic line of this piece, “Le long des blés que la brise/Fait onduler puis défrise” uses a heighten phrase, which sets the tone for the rest of the piece (Debussy 1880). These long, melodic lines give forward motion to the piece, symbolizing the male’s forward nature in the poem. Ultimately, this poem merely describes the woman’s beauty, seeing her as one with nature rather than as an individual, which removes her power and makes her an object rather than a respected female.

Portrayal of Females in Musical Theatre

The questions and concerns regarding gender roles and female empowerment remain somewhat unanswered as one looks at twentieth century musical theater in the United States.

Musical theater has had a rich history, gaining its roots in North America at the start of the twentieth century with shows such as Showboat and Porgy and Bess. These early shows dealt with racial inequality, and it was not until the 1950s when “U.S. women’s history, women’s roles, and representations of women in other media…conversed and resonated with the

Broadway musical in its form and content” (Wolf 2011:12). Musicals reflected and refracted the changing societal and political views throughout the twentieth century, and as the role of women in society changed with every decade, musicals reflected these changes. Musicals such as Guys and Dolls (1950), (1964), and Les Misérables (1980) all have distinct portrayals of females as the social contexts and gender roles changed over time.

13 Guys and Dolls, with music and lyrics written by Frank Loesser (1910-1969) in 1950, explores gender roles and the societal expectations of the 50s in the United States. This musical tells the story of gamblers in and their strife and triumph with two women, Sarah

Brown and Miss Adelaide. The male characters, Sky and Nathan, feel as though they have power and control over Sarah and Miss Adelaide, and therefore see these women as dolls, or something malleable. Ultimately, Sarah and Miss Adelaide decide to marry Sky and Nathan respectively even though they realize that their relationships are far from perfect. However, it was expected that women marry and have children, and therefore Sarah and Adelaide follow the social conventions of the 1950s. As Wolf describes, “Gender roles were rigid and clear. White middle-class heterosexual women were supposed to be homemakers and mothers and to find complete satisfaction in those roles” (Wolf 2011:27). Guys and Dolls examines these gender roles throughout the entirety of the show by depicting male characters’ dominance and women’s acceptance of these men’s somewhat inexcusable flaws through various musical numbers.

“I’ll Know” is a song from Guys and Dolls and was originally a duet sung by Sarah

Brown and Sky Masterson. Ironically, the religious character, Sarah, sings about how she’ll know when her perfect man comes along, and yet she ends up marrying Sky, a man who gambles and leads, in her eyes, an immoral lifestyle. Sarah sings, “I’ll know as I run to his arms that at least I’ve come home safe and sound. Until then, I shall wait. Until then, I’ll be strong”

(Loesser 1950). Sarah is implying that most women would be weak and vulnerable without a man, and that safety and security only comes with finding a man. Although she is determined to be an example of a strong woman who can wait for the perfect man, she settles for less in desperation of finding love. Just as Dina in Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti remains in an unhappy marriage, Sarah ultimately marries a gambling man, sacrificing true happiness that she believes

14 will only come once she has found her perfect man. Perhaps she does this in order to fulfill the

1950s expectations that a woman must marry and be the caretaker.

Women’s roles began to change in the 1960s as females began to express their individuality and embrace independence. Wolf explains that “…Women’s liberation as a political movement was in the air as women fought for and began to gain rights legally, socially, and culturally” (Wolf 2011:54). The musicals that were composed and performed in the 1960s reflect this change and move towards female empowerment. Many of the musicals, such as

Funny Girl written by (1905-1994) and Bob Merrill (1921-1998) in 1964, depart from exploring the theme of finding true and perfect love, and instead portray women as the single, independent woman who is capable of being financially and emotionally stable.

The song, “Don’t Rain On My Parade” from Funny Girl represents the unconstrained attitude of Fanny Brice. She is unwilling to let men tell her what she can and cannot do and she openly expresses that she will march to the beat of her own drum. The opening line of the song,

“Don’t tell me not to live, just sit and putter” sets the tone for the entirety of the song (Merrill

1964). Fanny Brice is determined to live her life as she sees fit, seizing the day and doing what she pleases. As Stacey Wolf writes, “Don’t Rain On My Parade” is “a celebration of self, independence, and power” (Wolf 2011:196). The use of strong, accented chords in the accompaniment emphasizes Fanny’s determination and strength. The fast pace of the song and the abundance of lyrics symbolizes Fanny Brice’s strong opinions and enthusiasm to let these opinions be known. Funny Girl is a story of female empowerment, independence, and uniqueness.

By the 1980s, the fight for female equality on the Broadway stage took a step backwards as so-called “megamusicals” such as Les Misérables and Phantom of the Opera came to New

15 York City from London. As Wolf affirms, old stereotypes reemerge, where “men are active and women are passive; men function in the world and women are their muses…women take up minimal musical space and even less performative space” (Wolf 2011:128-129). This is clearly seen in Claude-Michel Schönberg (b.1944) and Alain Boublil’s (b.1941), Les Misérables, which was written in 1980. The four “main” female characters play very insignificant roles and ultimately do not contribute significantly to the musical’s plot. The male characters drive the plot forward, as they deal with the French Revolution and themes of deceit and survival. The women characters are often displayed as frail and fragile and insignificant.

In the song, “I Dreamed A Dream,” Fantine imagines a life during happier times when a man loved her. The dependence on men devalues Fantine and all women who believe that having a man is the only road to happiness. For instance, Fantine sings:

But the tigers come at night With their voices soft as thunder As they tear your hope apart And they turn your dream to shame (Schönberg & Boublil 1980).

The tigers symbolize men, and Fantine gives these men an enormous amount of power as she allows them strip her of hope and dreams. The musical continues to devalue Fantine immediately after she dies because, as Wolf says, “…immediately after Fantine dies, Javert enters, and he and Valjean fight over and around her dead body; she is literally an object in the middle of their struggle and their duet” (Wolf 2011:146). Fantine’s death is immediately dismissed suggesting its insignificance. Les Misérables has a large set, extravagant costumes, and big lights but the female characters are always removed from the enormity of the production.

As described by Wolf, “Les Misérables diminished women by exiling them from the set and forcing them outside of the world of the play” (Wolf 2011:145). Les Misérables focuses on

16 exploring the male characters’ identities and problems, leaving the female characters’ development to afterthought.

Ultimately, from the 1950s through the 1970s, women’s roles in musicals increasingly pushed the gender roles boundaries. Musicals written in the 1960s and 1970s, such as Funny

Girl and Hair, encourage and respect the female voice. Unfortunately, man’s fear of giving up too much power meant that women’s roles in musicals were suppressed yet again in the 1980s.

Conclusion

Women have not always had access and ability to pursue musical opportunities. For centuries, women were treated as inferior to men and were expected to be the caretaker and homemaker. This lack of freedom restrained women’s creativity in a variety of realms, including music. The dominance of male composers and lyricists who wrote and composed music about female subjects led to a misconstrued perception of the female character. As seen in the analysis of arias, art songs, and musical theatre pieces from the late 1600s until the late twentieth century, women have been objectified, belittled, or seen as abusing authority or power. It was not until the 1960s that women began to be seen as independent, intellectual, and strong individuals.

The dominance of male composers and lyricists is still a problem in today’s world.

Although there are equal opportunities for men and women to pursue musical endeavors, it appears that males take advantage of this opportunity far more frequently than females. It would be interesting to continue this research into the twenty-first century to see whether the portrayal of females has become more accurate. There have been some innovative and talented female composers such as Fanny Mendelssohn, Amy Beach, and Thea Musgrave who have inspired men and women to achieve musical excellence. Modern female composers and artists such as

17 Lady Gaga and Madonna use music as a means to express their individuality, promoting innovation, originality, and the encouragement of female success. Society needs to celebrate female composers and musicians more often, just as female composers and musicians need to continue to step up and prove that women are strong, capable, independent, and smart. Only women can accurately depict the dilemma and complexities all women face in life.

18 Bibliography

Adams, Martin. 1995. Henry Purcell. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Archibald, Bruce, Barnes, Jennifer. "Menotti, Gian Carlo." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 19 Jan. 2013. .

Archibald, Bruce. "The Old Maid and the Thief." The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. Ed. Stanley Sadie. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 19 Jan. 2013.

Austern, Linda Phyllis. 1994. “Music and the English Renaissance Controversy over Women.” In Susan C. Cook, Judy S. Tsou, eds., Cecilia Reclaimed: Feminist Perspectives on Gender and Music, pp. 52-69. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.

Beckerman, Michael, ed. 1993. Dvorak and His World. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.

Burkholder, J. Peter, Donald J. Grout, and Claude V. Palisca. 2006. A History of Western Music. 7th ed. New York: W. W. Norton and Company, Inc.

Cheek, Timothy. 2001. Singing in Czech. Maryland: Scarecrow Press, Inc.

Chissell, Joan. 1983. Clara Schumann: A Dedicated Spirit. New York: Taplinger Publishing Company.

Cook, C. Susan, Tsou, Judy S. 1994. “Introduction: ‘Bright Cecilia’.” In Susan C. Cook, Judy S. Tsou, eds., Cecilia Reclaimed: Feminist Perspectives on Gender and Music, pp. 1-14. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.

Debussy, Claude. 1993. Fleur des blés. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation.

Döge, Klaus. "Dvořák, Antonín." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 19 Jan. 2013. .

Dvorak, Antonin. 2004. Mesicku na nebi hlubokem. New York: G. Schirmer, Inc.

Heine, Heinrich. 1822. “Die Lorelei.” Web. February 3, 2013. .

Loesser, Frank. 2000. I’ll Know. Wilwaukee: Hal Leonard Corporation.

McClary, Susan. 1991. Feminine Endings: Music, Gender, and Sexuality. Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press.

19 Menotti, Giam Carlo. 1954. Steal Me Sweet Thief. No place: G. Ricordi and Co.

Merrill, Bob, Styne, Jule. 2000. Don’t Rain On My Parade. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard.

Neuls-Bates, Carol, ed. 1996. Women in Music. Boston: Northeastern University Press.

Peyser, Joan. 1998. Bernstein: A Biography. New York: Billboard Books.

Purcell, Henry. 1958. Music for a While. New York: International Music Company.

Schirmer, G. 1991. Gian Carlo Menotti: Tributes. No place: G. Schirmer, Inc.

Schönberg, Claude-Michel, Boublil, Alain. 1980. Les Misérables. No place: Editions Musicales Alain Boublil.

Smith, Helen. 2011. There’s a Place For Us: The Musical Theatre Works of Leonard Bernstein. Vermont: Ashgate Publishing Company.

Wolf, Stacy. 2011. Changed For Good: A Feminist History of The Broadway Musical. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Zimmerman, Franklin B. 1967. Henry Purcell 1659-1695: His Life and Times. New York: St Martin’s Press.

20