Patrick Bade
The Metropolitan Opera: 1883 - 1910
Summary
The creation and construction of The Metropolitan Opera was financed by newly affluent New Yorkers who were excluded from acquiring boxes at the Academy of Music by the snobbish ‘old money’ of New York society. This lecture will take a look at the early years of the Metropolitan Opera and the great stars who graced its stage during a golden age of singing.
Patrick Bade
Patrick Bade is a historian, writer, and broadcaster. He studied at UCL and the Courtauld Institute of Art. He was a senior lecturer at Christie’s Education for many years and has worked for the Art Fund, Royal Opera House, National Gallery, and V&A. He has published on 19th- and early 20th-century paintings and historical vocal recordings. His latest book is Music Wars: 1937–1945.
Well the critics from New York, Aldrich for instance, in this period are all worth reading, and you know, in Britain too, in people like Ernest Newman. I wouldn’t say I have a particular favourite, but I do think that opera criticism has fallen. It’s not as informed or detailed as it used to be.