University of Dayton eCommons Honors Theses University Honors Program 5-1-2021 From Prop to Partner: The Evolution of Female Roles in American Opera Mariah J. Berryman University of Dayton Follow this and additional works at: https://ecommons.udayton.edu/uhp_theses Part of the Musicology Commons, and the Music Therapy Commons eCommons Citation Berryman, Mariah J., "From Prop to Partner: The Evolution of Female Roles in American Opera" (2021). Honors Theses. 308. https://ecommons.udayton.edu/uhp_theses/308 This Honors Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the University Honors Program at eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of eCommons. For more information, please contact
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[email protected]. From Prop to Partner: The Evolution of Female Roles in American Opera Honors Thesis Mariah Berryman Department: Music Advisor: Andrea Chenoweth-Wells, DMA April 2021 From Prop to Partner: The Evolution of Female Roles in American Opera Honors Thesis Mariah Berryman Department: Music Advisor: Andrea Chenoweth-Wells, DMA April 2021 Abstract For many years, women in opera have been in service to their plots. They have always been present but have either been relegated to passive roles in their own stories or actively considered societal outcasts. They were dramatically stereotyped as either airheads or witches, mothers or daughters, love interests or foes to be conquered. And, along with the character stereotypes came typically associated vocal stereotypes.