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Aaron Copland… his life and his opera The Tender Land
When most people hear the word “opera”, a few common assumptions come to mind: big stages with big, loud singers, big props and sets, big costumes and wigs, and big foreign languages. Well, I bet most people did not know that there was such a thing called an American Opera. Yes that is right, an opera that is sung in English on a regular stage with regular singers, regular sets, and regular costumes. In fact, it has been said that American Opera is “one of America’s liveliest arts” (Kirk). The art of American Opera began in 1845 with the opera Leonora by William Henry Fry. Since then, opera been a part of American musical life for over 150 years, but only recently have American opera composers begun to receive the recognition they deserve (Hapka). There are many false assumptions that go along with the word “opera”, such as the elements I mentioned earlier. ... American composers Douglas, Moore, Floyd, Gershwin, and Copland wrote operas that used these elements as well as the use of American history and legend. I wish I could write about every single American opera composer, but in the interest of time I will just focus on one: Aaron Copland. Aaron Copland was a very prominent composer of the 20th century, and his opera The Tender Land contains some of the best music of Copland’s mature years (Fogel, 120). In this paper, I will cover a brief overview of Aaron Copland’s life, career and his opera the Tender Land. ...
Aaron Copland was born into a Russian-Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York on November 14, 1900. An American composer, pianist, conductor, lecturer, author, and teacher, Copland studied under Goldmark, Leopold Wolfsohn, Victor Wittgenstein, Clarence Adler, and Nadia Boulanger, among others. ... Copland was well traveled, and his visits to England, Belguim, Italy, South America, Germany, and Austria allowed him to hear the works of other composers such as Webern, Bartók, and Hindemith, while developing his own compositional style. ... Copland also received many honorary degrees from universities such as Princeton, Oberlin, Harvard, and Brandeis. His works cover many genres, including opera, ballet, choral works, orchestral works, film, and piano. ... The Tender Land was Copland’s only full-length opera. ...
In The Tender Land, Copland combines traditional operatic set pieces and recitative with a naturalistic language appropriate for college students and opera workshops. ... In Copland’s book Copland: Since 1943, he writes:
“My opera, The Tender Land, was not meant to be a big, dramatic opera. ... In writing The Tender Land, I was trying to give young American singers material that they do not often get in the opera house; that is, material that would be natural for them to sing and perform. ... with a natural language that would not be too complex for young singers at opera workshops throughout the country” (159).
The plot of The Tender Land is simple, and the cast is rather small, but the work has an “inner largeness” that becomes more apparent with each listening (Copland, 139). For the opera’s April 1954 premier, Aaron Copland provided the following synopsis:
“The opera takes place in the Thirties, spring harvest time. ... When Laurie discovers she’s been jilted, she decides to leave home anyway, and at the conclusion the mother sings a song of acceptance that is the key to the opera.
Approximate Word count = 2750
Approximate Pages = 11
(250 words per page double spaced)
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