AN ANALYSIS OF KATE SOPER’S OPERA HERE BE SIRENS A Dissertation Submitted to the Temple University Graduate Board In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY by Evan Kassof May 2021 Examining Committee Members: Dr. Cynthia Folio, Advisory Chair, Music Studies Dr. Andrea Clearfield, Co-Advisor, Composition Dr. Michael Klein, Committee Member, Music Studies Dr. Yayoi Uno Everett, External Member, University of Illinois Chicago ii © Copyright 2020 By Evan Kassof All Rights Reserved - iii ABSTRACT In this study, I present three approaches to understanding Kate Soper’s 2014 opera Here be Sirens. In the first chapter, I develop an analytical model using Jacques Lacan’s theory of the mirror stage as a mapping for the evolution of the sirens Peitho and Polyxo. I argue that their evolutionary arcs together form one complete cycle of the mirror stage, where Peitho begins the opera immediately before the mirror stage and finishes well in the middle, while Polyxo starts in the middle of the mirror stage and is ultimately able to sublimate out of it. With this mapping in hand, elements of the musical and dramaturgical unfolding are contextualized, and most importantly, the relationship between speaking and singing is understood. In the second chapter, I look at the diegetic/nondiegetic orientation of the opera’s musical discourse, the narratological registers within which the opera unfolds, and the role eclectic musical styles play in the narrative and in the perception and meaning of time. Together, these three windows into the work illuminate a complex, dynamic set of interactions that generate an astonishingly novel but immediately accessible work. In the third chapter, I present the transcript of an interview I conducted with Kate Soper where we discuss a variety of topics, from the symbolic meaning of spoken language to the practical considerations of using an onstage piano played by the singers. I annotate in footnotes parts of the interview that deal directly with other parts of the analysis, and specifically those parts where Soper’s statements contradict my own analytical conclusions. The last chapter is a brief, rhapsodic consideration of this work as an analyst and composer. The way my own compositional dispositions framed my analysis is vital to understanding what is included and what is left out of this work. Soper’s compositional voice iv deserves consideration on a composer-to-composer level, as it challenges the prevailing value-systems around contemporary music. To that end, I consider what might be garnered from this work as a composition lesson, and what questions – such as those around technique – are not worth asking from a compositional or analytical perspective. v DEDICATION To my Mom, my Dad, and my Sibling for always supporting my weird and wild dreams my whole life. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation is entirely the manifestation of the love, support, and collaboration in my life, distilled to a mere few hundred pages (including the Ganymede 5 score). Accordingly, these acknowledgements are long, as they ought to be. I am grateful to my committee – through incredibly unusual times that challenge any sense of academic purpose – for supporting me. In particular, I am grateful for the year of lessons I have had with Andrea Clearfield, who is an astonishing composer and unrelenting teacher, forcing me to trust my voice and present it with integrity. To Cynthia Folio and Michael Klein, I am grateful for their inventiveness in helping me form this committee, their support in helping me write this dissertation, and the years I have spent as their student, TA, and water fountain gossip. Of course, the committee is not complete without the outside reader, Professor Yayoi Uno Everett, whose participation in this process is an honor for me. My time at Temple has not been without the occasional issue, with most of the friction of my own making. However, an honest assessment of what I have been able to do at Temple centers almost entirely around Dean David Brown’s support. ENAensemble would not exist (and thus no Ganymede 5) without Dean Brown’s logistical knowledge, support, and willingness to lend Boyer’s resources to us. Similarly, Dean Stroker is uniquely responsible for this dissertation existing in that he pulled the trigger on bringing Andrea Clearfield onboard. Ganymede 5 is a village opera in that no less than 30 people played meaningful roles in bringing it to life. I am grateful to my longtime librettist Aleksandar Hut Kono, whose work on the original libretto was fantastic, and who then was the first to say (at the premiere) “this is so wordy and shit! We must rewrite it!” Well, we did, and his work on that was even better. That premiere, produced by ENAensemble and funded in part by a Presser vii Foundation Grant (thanks to Dean Stroker, Dean Flanagan, and Dr. Folio!) meant the world to me. We arrived that night, and the magic of that experience could not have happened without the endless work of my two amazing collaborators, co-producers, and friends: Anaïs Naharro-Murphy and Nicole Renna. Since 2018, we have staged eight operas together, and our shared vision – the heart of good opera – is so well-balanced, collaborative, and expansive. To have made operas with you two means the world. Rose Freeman brilliantly directed Ganymede 5, and was third (right behind Aleksandar and Nicole) to rightly condemn its failures and need for rewrites. Working with Rose felt like we were punching above our weight, and that is because we were. Her role as dramaturg in the rewriting process served Aleks and me extremely well and is a major reason why the revised first act is so much better. I am so grateful for the rest of the folks in the Ganymede 5 production – each of whom I could write a page about – for making that opera happen and making it happen so fantastically. The cast, Megnot Toggia, Caitlin Mead, Heather Gardiner, and Wesley Morgan were all amazing – true Ganymedians! The rest of the crew, AD Alice Hakvaag, Stage Manager Casey Berner, Costume Designer Asia Dickerson & Nicole Renna, Lighting/Media Designer Bless Rudisill, HMU Olivia Cleri & Diana May Whitener, Rehearsal Pianist Extraordinaire Risa Okina, Audio Recording Andrew Litts, and Supertitles Jackie Dunleavy & Tessika McClendon, were all amazing. Then there’s the extraordinary ENAorchestra: Flute/Piccolo Chelsea Meynig & Elisa Muzzillo, Clarinet Abbey Atwater, Bassoon Olivia Cleri, Percussion Alyssa Resh, Violin Michael Shingo Crawford, Viola Jenny Boorum, and Cello Leigh Brown. Others who helped me navigate the composition of Ganymede 5 include the world-famous vocalist Tony Arnold, composer and conductor Robert Whalen, bassoonist Gabi Vanek, and pianist and arranger/engraver of the piano reductions Thomas Ang. It takes a village to make an opera and I am so grateful to have been in this village. viii I haven’t even mentioned my friends yet… I am so grateful for all of you. Andrew Litts, composer, technologist, fellow baseball fan, teacher to me, and fellow glutton for new music concert organizing. Risa Okina, my work-wife and my favorite Brahmsian. Tim Gonzalez, my friend, intellectual sparring partner, fellow baseball fan, and chess-mate. You three helped me navigate Temple, become a half-decent scholar, and supported my musical ambitions. I am also grateful for the rest of my Boyer colleagues, Solomon Guhl-Miller, Lydia Huang, Matt Kiple, Emily DeWoolfson, Hannah Selin, Sepehr Pirasteh, Tracy Nguyen, Olivia Cleri, and Adelia Scheck. I love you all. I also want to thank the Boyer faculty and staff I have had the opportunity to work with: Jan Krzywicki, Matthew Greenbaum, Adam Vidiksis, Heather Miller Lardin, Noriko Manabe, Shana Goldin- Perschbacher, David Cannata, Dara Boyd, Kristina Lang, Sandy James, and our illustrious librarian Anne Harlow. I am incredibly grateful to the Temple University Graduate Student Association (TUGSA AFT Local 6290), the labor union that represents graduate workers at Temple. Because of them, I have had health insurance, funding, and employee protections for the last four years, making my time as a student and as a TA much more fulfilling. Serving on the board of TUGSA has changed my life because of the amazing people I served with: Ethan Ake-Little, Heather Squire, Lindsay Bartkowski, Bethany Kosmicki, Matt Ford, Alexandria Nazar, Bob Carey, Elysia Petras, and Marygrace Navarra. Thank you all for the work you do so things like this can happen. My housemates, Jon and Elisa deserve special recognition as they have always been amazingly supportive, willing to drop everything to play cards, and – especially in the last few months – literally willing to cook for me so I could work. You made our house a home. ix My friends Gwen, Claudia, Thomas, Alix, Chris, Lucia, John, and Matt. You all have always been there supporting me, making me a better musician, thinker, and friend. I cannot imagine life without you, and luckily, I don’t have to. To Tara, thank you for supporting me and showing me new parts of life while this project worked itself out. I am grateful for those experiences and for you. And finally, my family, who has already gotten the dedication – I love you guys, thank you. x TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................................................... iii DEDICATION ..................................................................................................................................