OPERA IN CONTENTION: SOCIAL CONFLICT IN LATE NINETEENTH-CENTURY MEXICO CITY Anna Agranoff Ochs A dissertation submitted to the faculty of 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 Chapel Hill 2011 Approved by: Dr. David García, Chair Dr. Annegret Fauser Dr. Jon Finson Dr. Joanne Hershfield Dr. John Nádas © 2011 Anna Agranoff Ochs ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT ANNA AGRANOFF OCHS Opera in Contention: Social Conflict in Late Nineteenth-Century Mexico City (Under the direction of Dr. David García) While opera in the nineteenth-century was largely centered in Europe, one significant secondary hub of operatic activity existed in Mexico City. Mexico City’s musical and theatrical scene included Mexican companies, as well as troupes from Europe, Cuba, and elsewhere, which performed a wide range of genres, from tragic plays and zarzuelas (Spanish musical theater) to Italian romantic operas and French comic operas. The ways in which the leading singers, Mexican and European composers, and individual works in the opera scene reflected dialogues about the dominant constructions of gender, race, and nationality help to explain the role opera culture played in the relationship between European and Mexican elements in Mexican society and Mexican opera traditions. The Mexico City opera scene was an arena of experimentation in which individual operas, their composers, and performers both challenged and reinforced racial and gender ideologies, as well as foreign influences. For example, the depiction of the Aztec hero Cuauhtémoc as a quasi-European “civilized” hero in the Mexican composer Aniceto Ortega’s opera Guatimotzín (1871), demonstrates ambiguities and contradictions in conceptions of mestizaje, or racial mixture, and its implications for perceptions of Mexican history. Musical and textual influences evident in Guatimotzín and another Mexican opera from this period, iii Melesio Morales’s Ildegonda (1866), highlight the debate concerning the role of Mexican heritage in Mexico’s future. And, among performers, the reception and literary depictions of Spanish cancan dancer Amalia Gómez, Mexican soprano Angela Peralta, and Italian tenor Enrico Tamberlick illustrate how individuals could overcome obstacles presented by discourses of femininity and masculinity by emphasizing unconventional professional and personal choices. Mexican operas, such as Guatimotzín and Ildegonda, along with singers and dancers in Mexico City opera productions, highlight the role of opera culture in the larger dialogue between European and Mexican influences in efforts to “civilize” the Mexican nation. iv To my friends and family. I could not have made it through without you. v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Many individuals, organizations, and archives made significant contributions to the research, writing, and completion of this dissertation. My advisor, David García, helped me to organize my thoughts in outlines, clarify my arguments in discussions of critical theory, and improve my writing in both content and style through his meticulous attention to detail. The initial readers of my dissertation, Dr. Joanne Hershfield and Dr. John Nádas also provided great feedback throughout, particularly in modes of analysis. All the members of my committee, Dr. García, Dr. Hershfield, Dr. Nádas, Dr. Finson, and Dr. Fauser, made very useful suggestions for future directions of this research project. I received funding support from numerous sources at UNC, and would like to thank each individually. The Graduate School’s Interdisciplinary Scholars Program gave me the opportunity to develop the multidisciplinary approaches in this dissertation while interacting with doctoral students from departments across campus. The Institute for the Study of the Americas made it possible for me to present early research at the Latin American Studies Association conference in Brazil. The Institute also funded my three months of dissertation research in Mexico City (during the swine flu outbreak). In my final year, the Graduate School made it possible for me to focus on writing and polishing the dissertation as a Dissertation Completion Fellow. I owe the success of my archival research in Mexico City to many individuals at the Escuela Nacional de Música, the Biblioteca de las Artes, CENIDIM, and the Conservatorio vi Nacional de Música. At the UNAM Escuela Nacional de Música, Oscar Manuel Silva Zamora helped me to navigate the library’s collections and provided access to an excellent exemplar of Angela Peralta’s Album Musical. The staff at the Biblioteca de las Artes, especially Claudia Jasso, was extremely helpful and knowledgeable about the collections and resources available. This project would not have been possible without Claudia’s insight and friendship. Aurea Maya at CENIDIM not only shared her wealth of knowledge about opera in nineteenth-century Mexico, but also lobbied on my behalf so that I could gain access to the Special Collections at the Conservatorio Nacional de Música. Her assistance and expertise in this Collection has been indispensable. My family and friends have given unwavering support and valuable comedic breaks from writing and researching. Dan Guberman, Laurie McManus, Naomi Graber, Catherine Hughes, Joan Titus, and Ana Alonso Minutti gave feedback, helped me to talk through moments of frustration, and encouraged me along the way. My grandmothers played the roles of “enforcers” when I lacked motivation. My parents provided reassurance and moral support throughout the process. My sisters, Lily, Maggie, Mei, and Nora, helped me maintain my sanity and sense of humor. My Aunt Nancy and Uncle Vinnie supplied welcome distractions. And Jess Irven, the patients, and the nurses at the Children’s Oncology and Hematology Clinic at UNC allowed me to gain perspective and focus on what’s really important in life—fun and happiness. For this and more, I will always be grateful to friends and family. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES…………………………………………………………………………ix LIST OF FIGURES…………………………………………………………………………x Chapter I. Introduction: The Diverse Mexico City Stage, 1867-1890………………………1 Case Studies in Context……………………………………………8 Theoretical Perspectives…………………………………………..21 Relationship to Existing Literature………………………………..32 Chapter Outlines…………………………………………………..36 II. Mexican Opera and European Legitimacy: “The Italy of the Americas” in Operatic Style………………………………….…39 Developing a Mexican Identity: Ideologies, Politics, and Music…………46 Melesio Morales and Ildegonda: Mexican Mastery of Opera……………..54 Guatimotzín as Italian Opera: Mexico’s International Image? ……………79 III. Performing Mestizaje: Racial Identity in the Opera Scene………..…………..94 Race and Difference: Mestizaje and the Mestizo………………….96 Guatimotzín: The Origin and Context of the Premiere……..…….110 The Libretto: Performing “Indigenous-as-Mestizo”…………..….116 Musical Performances: Cuauhtémoc and the Princesa…..……….120 Reception as Identity: Critical Responses to Guatimotzín……..…133 viii IV. Operatic Obstacles: Gendered Expectations in the Opera Scene…………….148 Gender in Nineteenth-Century Mexico City……………………………...153 Revolutionary Cancanera: Amalia Gómez in Mexico City………………164 Angela Peralta: The Fetishized Voice of a Nation……………………….177 Enrico Tamberlick: The “Feminine” Hero……………………………….198 V. The Legacy of Opera and Zarzuela in Mexico City……………………….….211 Appendix: Major Opera Companies in Mexico City, 1866-1890………………..223 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………...224 ix LIST OF TABLES 2-1: “Quai memorie,” recitative text………………………………………………….......58 2-2: “Lunga da lei” (La traviata), recitative text…………………………………………59 2-3: “Quai memorie,” cantabile text………………………………………………….......60 2-4: “Quai memorie,” tempo di mezzo, cabaletta texts…………………………………...61 2-5: “Aria de Cortés,” recitative text……………………………………………………...81 2-6: “Aria de Cortés,” aria text………………………………………………………........82 3-1: “Aria de Cuauhtémoc” cantabile text……………………………………………….125 3-2 “Aria de Cuauhtémoc,” cabaletta text……………………………………………….127 Appendix: Major Opera Companies in Mexico City, 1867-1890………………………..223 x LIST OF FIGURES 2-1: “Quai memorie,” form in A section of cantabile…………………………………….64 2-2: “Quai memorie,” form in B section of cantabile…………………………………….66 2-3: “Quai memorie,” cabaletta themes…………………………………………………..69 2-4a: “Solo un’ alba,” Rizzardo’s cantabile theme……………………………………….71 2-4b: “Un dì felice,” Alfredo’s cantabile theme………………………………………….72 2-5: “Solo un’ alba,” Ildegonda’s cantabile motives……………………………………..73 2-6a: “Solo un’ alba,” cabaletta coda theme……………………………………………...74 2-6b: “Un dì felice,” Violetta’s secondary theme…………………………………………74 2-7: “Aria de Cortés,” form in A section……………………………………………….…83 2-8: “Aria de Cortés,” form in A’ section…………………………………………………84 2-9a: “Marcha y Danza Tlaxcalteca,” motive a…………………………………………...87 2-9b: “El Guajito” [The Fool]……………………………………………………………..87 2-10a: “Marcha y Danza Tlaxcalteca,” motive b………………………………………….88 2-10b: “El Espinado” [The Pricked One]………………………………………………….88 2-10c: “El Cojo” [The Lame One]……………………………………………..………….88 2-11: “Marcha y Danza Tlaxcalteca,” motive c (tzotzopizahuac)…………………………89 2-12a: “Marcha y Danza Tlaxcalteca,” motive d…………………………………………..90 2-12b: “El Perico” [The Parakeet]…………………………………………………………90 2-12c: “El Curripiti”……………………………………………………………………......90 2-13: “Marcha y Danza Tlaxcalteca,” motive e…………………………………………....91 3-1: “Aria de Cuauhtémoc,” theme from orchestral introduction, mm. 59-60 (cabaletta)..123