UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations
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UCLA UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Keeping Up Appearances: Fidelity and Performance Issues in the Operatic Adaptation of Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6tw968nd Author Martin, Meagan Publication Date 2019 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Keeping Up Appearances: Fidelity and Performance Issues in the Operatic Adaptation of Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts in Music by Meagan Gale Charlly Martin 2019 © Copyright by Meagan Gale Charlly Martin 2019 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Keeping Up Appearances: Fidelity and Performance Issues in the Operatic Adaptation of Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park by Meagan Gale Charlly Martin Doctor of Musical Arts in Music University of California, Los Angeles, 2019 Professor Vladimir Chernov, Co-Chair Professor Peter D. Kazaras, Co-Chair In this dissertation, I investigate the context and emergence of Jane Austen’s novels as operatic source material, with a particular focus on the transformation of her third novel for Jonathan Dove and Alasdair Middleton’s Mansfield Park opera. I consider the mutable concept of fidelity both as it relates to historically informed staging, costuming, and deportment and to the transfer of an original work to a new medium. I have assembled passages from etiquette and conduct manuals from the Regency period in order to assist current performers and directors in infusing greater believability into their performances through an understanding of the social !ii nuances and distinct physicality that characterized the British gentry class of the early nineteenth century. Reflections by composers Rachel DeVore Fogarty (Persuasion), John Morrison (The History of England), Daniel Nelson (Pride and Prejudice), and Aferdian Stephens (Sense and Sensibility); by librettists Marella Martin Koch (Sense and Sensibility) and Douglas Murray (Persuasion); and by composer/librettist Kirke Mechem (Pride and Prejudice) offer further insight into the adaptation process and into what makes Austen’s works rich terrain for creators of new opera. !iii The dissertation of Meagan Gale Charlly Martin is approved. Juliana K. Gondek Anne K. Mellor John A. Steinmetz Vladimir Chernov, Committee Co-Chair Peter D. Kazaras, Committee Co-Chair University of California, Los Angeles 2019 !iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ii Acknowledgments x Vita xii Introduction 1 I. Jane Austen in Context 1 II. Opera and Adaptation 7 III. Works by Austen’s Contemporaries as Operatic Source Material 11 IV. Women’s Writings as Operatic Source Material 14 V. Overview 18 Chapter One: From Novel to Opera 19 I. Why Mansfield Park? 19 II. Structure 21 III. Telescoping 24 IV. Musical Characterization 32 Chapter Two: Behavior and Etiquette 46 I. Achieving Greater Believability On the Stage 46 II. Women’s Education and Accomplishments 49 !v III. Men’s Education 57 IV. Appearance 59 V. Social Graces 67 VI. Morality and Marriage 71 Chapter Three: Realizing Mansfield Park Onstage 77 I. Setting 77 II. Props 78 III. Appearance 80 IV. Physicality 82 V. Vocalization 86 Chapter Four: A Broader Look at Austen’s Representation in Music 88 I. Operas Adapted from Austen’s Works 89 II. Song Cycles Inspired by Austen’s Works 98 III. Musicals Inspired by Austen’s Works 99 Appendices 101 I. Chronology of Austen’s Works 101 II. Reflections on the Adaptation Process by Composers and Librettists 102 i. Daniel Nelson 102 ii. Aferdian Stephens 106 iii. Marella Martin Koch 110 !vi iv. Rachel DeVore Fogarty 118 v. Douglas Murray 120 vi. John Morrison 123 vii. Kirke Mechem 128 III. Character-Illuminating Quotations from Mansfield Park 141 Bibliography 164 !vii List of Tables and Figures Table 0.1: Publication Years for Translations of Austen’s Novels 6 Table 0.2: Sampling of Operas with Source Material by Women 14 Table 1.1: Novel Framework 23 Table 1.2: Opera Framework 23 Table 1.3: Novel to Libretto Sample 31 Table 4.1: Musicals Inspired by Austen’s Works 99 Table 5.1: Chronology of Austen’s Works 101 Figure 1.1: Novel vs. Opera Structure Breakdown 22 Figure 1.2: Lady Bertram Music Sample 33 Figure 1.3: Sir Thomas Music Sample 34 Figure 1.4: Maria Bertram Music Sample 35 Figure 1.5: Julia Bertram Music Sample 37 Figure 1.6: Aunt Norris Music Sample 38 Figure 1.7: Edmund Bertram Music Sample 39 Figure 1.8: Fanny Price Music Sample 40 Figure 1.9: Mr. Rushworth Music Sample 42 Figure 1.10: Siblings Music Sample 43 Figure 1.11: Mary Crawford Music Sample 44 Figure 2.1: Morning or Domestic Dresses 61 !viii Figure 2.2: Carriage or Promenade Dresses 62 Figure 2.3: Evening Dresses 63 Figure 2.4: The Graces in a High Wind by James Gillray 64 Figure 2.5: Beau Brummel, 1805 65 Figure 3.1: Mansfield Park at the Clark Library 78 Figure 3.2: Fanny Price and Her Embroidery 79 Figure 3.3: Leisurely Stances of Mary and Henry Crawford 82 Figure 5.1: Score Sample of Marianne Dashwood: Songs of Love and Misery 109 Figure 5.2: Score Sample of Jane’s History of England (Page 33) 127 Figure 5.3: Score Sample of Jane’s History of England (Page 45) 127 !ix ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I offer sincere thanks to all who have supported me on my academic journey, particularly my parents, James Martin and Mary Gale Martin, who have been a constant source of love, encouragement, and musical insight and who were the first to read my full dissertation draft, and my sisters—Marella, Erin, and Anne—who helped instill my appreciation for literature, theater, and the power of the written word. I am grateful to all of my teachers. For this dissertation, I was honored by the participation of my committee members, who generously invested their time and shared their wisdom and expertise throughout this process. Special mention goes to my Co-Chairs: my voice teacher, Vladimir Chernov, for providing an inspiring example of devotion to one’s craft and to one’s students, and Director of Opera UCLA, Peter Kazaras, for his steadfast commitment to helping me and my classmates to create cogent theatrical portrayals and for choosing to produce Mansfield Park and to cast me as Fanny Price. I also wish to thank Juliana Gondek and John Steinmetz for their thorough reading and many helpful suggestions for improving the quality of the dissertation, as well as Anne K. Mellor for informing me about the current landscape of literary scholarship on Jane Austen and for deepening my awareness of lesser-recognized themes in her works. Thank you to all the composers and librettists who replied so readily to my email inquiries and allowed me to quote their reflections on the adaptation process: Rachel DeVore Fogarty, Marella Martin Koch, Kirke Mechem, John Morrison, Douglas Murray, Daniel Nelson, and Aferdian !x Stephens. I offer similar thanks to choreographer and etiquette expert Nicola Bowie for her interview and permission to include her responses within the paper. I wish to offer special recognition to librettist Marella Martin Koch and composer Aferdian Stephens for creating the evocative song cycles that first encouraged me to consider the connection between Jane Austen and classical vocal music as a dissertation topic. I would also like to thank Douglas Sumi for so graciously diving into the world of Jane Austen as the pianist for both of the Dashwood Sisters Song Cycles on multiple occasions. Thank you to the moderators of JASNA.org for allowing me to reproduce their “Chronology of Jane Austen’s Works” and for their incredible resources and passion for all things Jane Austen. I would like to acknowledge Anneliese Gerl, Mak Grgic and Geoffrey Pope, who helped me stay on track with my doctoral progress by sharing their experiences with the dissertation writing process. I am also thankful to Jennifer Judkins for her guidance during the initial steps of my doctoral studies. I am grateful for the scholarship and grant support I received during my studies at UCLA. This assistance made my attendance possible and allowed me to focus on my singing and research. Finally, I thank Jane Austen herself. Her works inspired this investigation and continue to brighten my existence on a daily basis. !xi VITA EDUCATION & TRAINING University of California, Los Angeles Doctor of Musical Arts in Music (expected) Teaching Fellow, Opera UCLA Herb Alpert Scholarship Student Opportunity Fund Grant First Place Winner of the 2018 Hershey Felder Competition for Classical Musicians Dean’s Medal from Inaugural Dean Judith L. Smith Master of Music in Music Teaching Assistant University Fellowship Hutchinson Fellowship Student Opportunity Fund Grant Bachelor of Arts in German summa cum laude Departmental Highest Honors for Honors Thesis: “E.T.A. Hoffmann’s Musical Nature as the Catalyst of his Writing Career, as Demonstrated in the Novella, Don Juan” (Wolfgang Nehring, advisor) Most Outstanding Graduating Senior for the Department of Germanic Languages Music Academy of the West, Vocal Fellow, 2019 (upcoming) Teatro Nuovo, Apprentice Artist, 2018 Masterclasses with Teresa Berganza — Festival Internacional de Panticosa, 2016 International Vocal Artists Academy in Payerbach with Vladimir Chernov and Olga Toporkova, 2015-2016 Young Artists Vocal Academy — Houston Grand Opera, 2014 The Naked Voice Institute with W. Stephen Smith, 2013-2014 Gstaad Vocal Academy with Silvana Bazzoni Bartoli — Gstaad Menuhin Festival, 2013 SongFest, 2011-2012 !xii SELECTED PERFORMANCES Sara, Higdon/Scheer, Cold Mountain, 2019 (upcoming) Music Academy of the West; D. Candillari, c.; J. Darrah, d. Featured Mezzo, L. Stevens after Humperdinck, Wagner and Mozart, German Opera Tales, 2019 LA Opera Education and Community Engagement; C. Kim, mus. d.; E. Villanueva, d.