“Can't Help Singing”: the “Modern” Opera Diva In

“CAN’T HELP SINGING”: THE “MODERN” OPERA DIVA IN HOLLYWOOD FILM, 1930–1950 Gina Bombola A dissertation submitted to the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Music in the College of Arts and Sciences. Chapel Hill 2017 Approved by: Annegret Fauser Tim Carter Mark Katz Chérie Rivers Ndaliko Jocelyn Neal ©2017 Gina Bombola ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT Gina Bombola: “Can’t Help Singing”: The “Modern” Opera Diva in Hollywood Film, 1930–1950 (Under the direction of Annegret Fauser) Following the release of Columbia Pictures’ surprise smash hit, One Night of Love (1934), major Hollywood studios sought to cash in on the public’s burgeoning interest in films featuring opera singers. For a brief period thereafter, renowned Metropolitan Opera artists such as Grace Moore and Lily Pons fared well at the box office, bringing “elite” musical culture to general audiences for a relatively inexpensive price. By the 1940s, however, the studios began grooming their own operatic actresses instead of transplanting celebrities from the stage. Stars such as Deanna Durbin, Kathryn Grayson, and Jane Powell thereby became ambassadors of opera from the highly commercial studio lot. My dissertation traces the shifts in film production and marketing of operatic singers in association with the rise of such cultural phenomena as the music-appreciation movement, all contextualized within the changing social and political landscapes of the United States spanning the Great Depression to the Cold War. Drawing on a variety of methodologies—including, among others, archival research, film analysis, feminist criticisms, and social theory—I argue that Hollywood framed opera as less of a European theatrical art performed in elite venues and more of a democratic, albeit still white, musical tradition that could be sung by talented individuals in any location. This reconfiguration began in the 1930s, when professional opera divas first created a market for musical films featuring opera-singer narratives and fully staged iii opera excerpts. By the end of the decade, Hollywood established a new operatic ideal for the cinema, casting girl-next-door sweethearts as talented ingénues who sang in domestic settings. iv For my family v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation came to fruition with the help and support of my wonderful colleagues, friends, and family. Needless to say—but I will say it anyway—I could not have done it without you. Firstly, I would like to acknowledge the archivists and librarians who helped me with my project and without whom I surely would have missed important research discoveries. My gratitude goes to the always cheerful crew at the Margaret Herrick Library in Beverly Hills, California, who made my long days sitting at the Special Collections table such fun; the librarians and staff at the University of California, Los Angeles; the archivists at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville; the archivists at the Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan; Phil Vandermeer, Diane Steinhaus, and Carrie Monette in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for their unwavering support; the archivists and staff in the Music Division at the Library of Congress, with whom I was privileged to spend a summer processing multiple collections; and, especially, to Ned Comstock at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, who graciously talked to me about the movies at length, printed out lists of sources for me unasked, and sent me as a “Christmas present” an article to which I refer over and over again in the first two dissertation chapters. Thank you, Ned. Numerous scholars have graciously contributed to this project with their time, providing feedback on my drafts and comments at conferences. Julie Hubbert offered special insight into the wartime musical and observations on one of my chapters. Daniel Goldmark, too, discussed my work with me and helped me think beyond Met singers in Hollywood when I was in the thick vi of writing. Hannah Lewis, whose conversations about Hollywood’s early sound-film era and musical films are always a joy, has been a constant source of inspiration. My friends offered their assistance in numerous ways, and I could not be more grateful for their unflagging support. I am especially appreciative of my colleagues who read and commented on my research in a dissertation colloquium. My work is all the richer for our many conversations. To Christa Bentley, I want to say thank you for always being there, for offering feedback on my work, for kicking around ideas with me, for dragging me to Orange Theory, and for the endless chats and morale boosting. Thanks also to Catherine Hughes (Cahugh!) for your friendship and comments on my many drafts of abstracts and papers. Kristen Turner helped me locate various sources and provided feedback on multiple chapters. My fellow Fauserites, you are brilliant. Thank you, Christopher Campo-Bowen for being a stellar cohort buddy, roommate, and friend. Megan Ross and Joanna Helms have been the best coffee-shop-writing pals and “crushing tomatoes” will forever be our motto. Meg Orita, you are indeed a super TA. Hana Chmielewski, we started at Vanderbilt together and entered our respective graduate programs in the same year, too—twelve years of friendship and counting. I also want to say a warm thank you to my committee, whose advice and encouragement kept me going. Tim Carter offered close readings of my work and (always) asked the tricky questions. Jocelyn Neal kept her door open for when I needed to chat not only about work, but also about life. Chérie Rivers Ndaliko prompted me to think ever deeper about the implicit aspects of Hollywood’s studio system. Mark Katz opened up my eyes to new ways of thinking about the movies and directed my attention toward the musical implications of the ever-changing studio technologies. My advisor, Annegret Fauser, helped me in so many ways. She talked me through my doubts when I needed to choose a dissertation topic and helped me focus on what I vii really wanted to study: film. She offered reassurance, advice, and invaluable feedback on my ideas throughout the research and writing stages. Moreover, she knew exactly what to say in our meetings, no matter what my state of mind. Thank you, Annegret, for your understanding. Last but certainly not least, I would like to thank my family. My Cousin Jennifer let me crash at her apartment for an entire semester when I received a fellowship to conduct research in Los Angeles. Now that’s a cool cousin. Aunt Kathy and Uncle Dale also let me stay at their house for a summer during another research trip to Southern California. Decidedly, Summer 2014 ranks among my favorite seasons of all time. Aunt Kathy deserves much credit for watching classic Hollywood musicals with me, as I tried to complete my long list of films— many of which are not even included in my “Selected Filmography” at the end of this dissertation. Moreover, she took me to tour multiple studio lots, which helped me gain a new perspective on how the movies at RKO and Paramount were made. Amazing! My sister, Christina, helped me locate background information on movies, assisted me with creating film clips for conference presentations, and bought me DVDs so I could fill out my personal movie catalog. (Another fantastic Christmas present!) My father generously listened to me talk about my dissertation for four years. Dad, too, was always there to say “take a break!” when I felt like the project would never end and helped keep things in perspective. Thanks for the constant positivity, Dad. My mother offered advice, feedback, and her invaluable proofreading services when I asked for them. She also corralled her friends into reading my research, and I don’t know how she did that to this day. Mom, you’re the best. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES……………………………………………………………………………...xii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS…………………………………………………………………...xiv INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………………...1 Setting the Scene: Opera in Early American Cinema……………………………………..7 Class Distinctions, Music Appreciation, and the Middlebrow…………………………..13 Race and Ethnicity……………………………………………………………………….21 Gender and Women’s Bodies……………………………………………………………26 Vocality…………………………………………………………………………………..27 Chapter Overview………………………………………………………………………..34 CHAPTER 1: THE CATALYST FOR “OPERA” FILMS: ONE NIGHT OF LOVE (1934)…………………………………………………………………………………….37 One Night of Love: Origins………………………………………………………………38 Conflicts of Marketing Interest…………………………………………………………..49 Screenplay………………………………………………………………………………..58 Reception: Extended Play and Audience Applause……………………………………...65 Good Film, Good Music…………………………………………………………………69 Grace Moore and Operatic Vocality……………………………………………………..72 Creating the Modern American Diva………………………………………………….....75 Disciplining the Diva through American Physical Culture……………………………...79 Reception of the Modern American Diva………………………………………………..88 ix CHAPTER 2: FILM CENSORSHIP AND REPRESENTATIONS OF RACE IN RKO’S I DREAM TOO MUCH (1935) AND HITTING A NEW HIGH (1937)………………....95 Background: I Dream Too Much………………………………………………………...97 Screenplay: I Dream Too Much………………………………………………………...102 Marketing and Vocality: I Dream Too Much…………………………………………..104 Censorship and Reviews: I Dream Too Much………………………………………….117 The Production Code, Film Conventions, and Stage Comparisons………..…………...129 Opera Films Begin to Decline in Public Favor…………………………………………136

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