UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Santa Barbara “The Librettist Wears Skirts”: Female Librettists in 19th-Century Bohemia A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Music by Emma Taylor Parker Committee in charge: Professor Derek Katz, Chair Professor David Paul Professor Stefanie Tcharos June 2016 The dissertation of Emma Taylor Parker is approved. ___________________________________________________________ David Paul ___________________________________________________________ Stefanie Tcharos ___________________________________________________________ Derek Katz, Committee Chair June 2016 “The Librettist Wears Skirts”: Female Librettists in 19th-Century Bohemia Copyright © 2016 By Emma Taylor Parker iii Acknowledgements Writing a dissertation is not for the faint of heart and I certainly would not have finished this dissertation without a veritable village of supporters. I would like to thank the Fulbright Commission in the Czech Republic who sponsored my research year in Prague, especially Dr. Hanka Ripková, director of the commission, who was a truly hospitable host, and Andrea Semancová who patiently answered innumerable questions along every step of the journey. I am so grateful to them and the rest of the wonderful staff for their support, both financial and emotional. I am also grateful to Dr. Jarmila Gabrielová who sponsored my Fulbright application and was, along with her students, gracious in welcoming me to her graduate seminar at Charles University and extremely helpful in pointing me in the right direction during my time there. Haig Utidijian and the Charles University Chorus afforded me incomparable performing opportunities, a much-needed musical outlet during my time in Prague, and most of all, their warm friendship. And of course, without my fellow Fulbrighters (especially Laura Brade and John Korba) I would have been on a plane home more times that I can count. From the moment I first came to Santa Barbara it felt like home, thanks in large part to the UCSB Music Department. Dr. David Paul always offered sage, pragmatic advice and has consistently provided excellent feedback on my writing. Dr. Stefanie Tcharos consistently made time in her hectic schedule to meet with me, on many occasions saying just exactly what I needed to hear at the right moment, and always leading by brilliant example. Last, but certainly not least, Dr. Derek Katz offered wise and witty counsel, consistent support, and a near encyclopedic knowledge of music – Czech and otherwise. To these remarkable teachers and scholars, my committee members, I am profoundly grateful for all that you have taught me about musicology and myself. I would also like to thank Dr. Michael Beckerman who has always been generous of time and spirit, offered practical and sound advice, and who told me to come to UCSB in the first place. I have been incredibly lucky to find myself among exceptionally bright, friendly colleagues in my seven years as a graduate student at UCSB. Scott Dirkse, Meghan Joyce Tozer, and Linda Shaver-Gleason were the best cohort I could have asked for: never competitive, always supportive, and ever ready to bounce around ideas or provide a glass of wine, a shoulder to cry on, and excellent advice. It has been such a pleasure to run this marathon with them. It is rare to find someone who shares a near-identical internal monologue and sense of humor, but Emma Levine is that person and without her I would have gone crazy more than once over the last seven years. Sara Ballance consistently provided insightful feedback, excellent cat videos, and a refreshingly snarky wit. My thanks also to Michael Vitalino, Vincent Rone, Henry Michaels, Michael Joiner, Jacob Adams, Luke Hannington, Rachel Short, Matthew Roy, and the many other students who have shared my journey at UCSB. iv The Adelfos Ensemble and its musical director Temmo Korisheli provide an always-welcome musical refuge for me. Each Tuesday I am refreshed and renewed by making music with hilarious, smart, sensitive musicians and dear friends. I thank them for regularly helping me remember why I wanted to study music to begin with. To my friends near and far, especially Betty Bauman, Erin Winker Fasone, Elizabeth Halsey, and Audrey Gauss: thanks for the long-distance phone calls, the long- distance visits, and the frequent forgiveness of my failure to call you back. You are all amazing and all inspire me in all that you do. Sometimes you have friends who are so amazing that they become the family you choose. Rob, Emmy, and Emslie Guzzon, and Patty, Cody, and Sage Makela have been a steadfast source of friendship and love for many years. I am grateful to them for loaning me their children when I needed a break, countless spontaneous dinners, beach BBQs, lunch dates, birthdays, holidays, and for their unwavering support, even when I was too bogged down with work to be very much fun. Laurie and Steve Parker, Elaine Parker, and BJ, Abby, and Eitan Elias welcomed me into their family with open arms from the first time we met. I am so fortunate to have married into such a phenomenal, supportive family who teaches me so much about life, Judaism, and the right way to play Legos (among many other things). My parents Ellen and Steve McCullough have supported me in everything I’ve ever wanted to do. Even when I’m sure they thought what I wanted to do was crazy and it meant that they had to buy plane tickets to increasingly distant locales to come visit me, they have always been a seemingly limitless source of love and support. For once I’m at a loss for words to express my love and gratitude. My husband John Parker is my biggest cheerleader, my rock, and a phenomenal and understanding partner. His love and support has never wavered, even during a 10- month period when we were separated by 9,000 miles and nine time zones. Despite having discovered my many faults (ok, yes, I actually am a messy person) he has continued to love me unconditionally. On the many days that I didn’t believe in myself, he believed in me. He pushes me to be a better person, is my perfect complement, my best friend and I am the luckiest woman in the world to be married to him. Darling, I promise our next vacation will have nothing to do with my research or a conference! Finally, I must thank my libretistky, the real reason this dissertation exists. Even though we have never met and never will, I feel as though I know them. They were brave, brilliant, funny, infuriating, and inspirational. I wish I could sit down for a drink with them, ask them all my questions, and thank them for doing what they did. Since that’s not possible, dedicating this dissertation to them will have to suffice. v VITA OF EMMA TAYLOR PARKER June 2016 EDUCATION 2016 Ph.D., Musicology, University of California, Santa Barbara Dissertation: “The Librettist Wears Skirts”: Female Librettists in 19th-Century Bohemia 2012 M.A., Musicology, University of California, Santa Barbara 2009 B.M., Vocal Performance, Ithaca College AWARDS AND HONORS 2016 University Service Award, University of California, Santa Barbara 2012-13 Fulbright Grant, Prague, Czech Republic CONFERENCE PARTICIPATION Papers Presented 2016 “Antonín Dvořák and Marie Červinková-Riegrová,” 19th Biennial International Conference on Nineteenth-Century Music, Oxford University, Oxford, England, July 11-13 “Libretistky: Female Librettists in 19th-Century Czech Opera,” Invited Speaker at UCSB Graduate Division and Graduate Students’ Association Lunch and Learn, February 11 2015 “Man-Hungry Amazon: or “Treacherous Trumpeter”? Fibich’s Šárka as Property of the Nation,” North American Conference on 19th Century Music, North Andover, MA, July 16-18 2013 “The Social Network: Correspondence between Female Librettists in 19th-Century Bohemia,” 45th Annual Convention of the Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies, Boston, November 21-24 Organization/Moderation 2016 Logistics Co-Chair for Beyond Academia Graduate Student Conference, University of California, Santa Barbara, May 20-21 2012 Member of planning board for “Music and Crisis,” Graduate Student Conference, Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Music, University of California, Santa Barbara, April 14-15 2010 Panel Chair for Politics and Nationalism panel, and member of planning board for “Music and the Written Word,” Graduate Student Conference, Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Music, University of California, Santa Barbara, January 16-17 vi TEACHING EXPERIENCE University of California, Santa Barbara 2015-2016 Instructor, Writing 2: Academic Writing Fall 2014 Instructor, Directed Teaching in Music (TA Training Course) 2014-15 Lead TA, UCSB Music Department Winter-Spring 2014 Teaching Associate, Music Appreciation (Instructor of Record) Fall 2013, Fall 2014 Teaching Assistant, Introduction to Music Summer 2012, Summer 2013 Teaching Associate, Music Appreciation (Instructor of Record) 2010-2012, Winter-Spring 2015 Teaching Assistant, Music Appreciation vii ABSTRACT “The Librettist Wears Skirts”: Female Librettists in 19th-Century Bohemia By Emma Taylor Parker When Antonín Dvořák received the libretto to the opera Dimitrij in 1881 he liked it so much that he asked to speak to “Mr. Librettist” right away. The answer, from the director of Prague’s National Theater, was: “The librettist wears skirts.” Dvořák quickly corrected himself and soon thereafter was introduced to Marie Červinková- Riegrová, his new libretistka (female librettist). Despite Dvořák’s initial surprise he was not alone in working with a female librettist during this period of Czech history. Indeed, by the time Dvořák began composing Dimitrij, Bedřich Smetana had already composed two operas to libretti by Eliška Krásnohorská and was completing a third, and Zdeněk Fibich would compose three operas based on libretti by Anežka Schulzová in the 1890s. Although the female librettist was a comparatively common phenomenon in 19th-century Bohemia, few women were engaged in the work of creating the texts for operas elsewhere.