I Hear America Singing: American Opera in the Mid-20th Century

American opera came into its own in the mid-1900s. We'll explore how American composers created a markedly new operatic style.
About this Event

American opera composers followed European models at first, but by the 1930’s they began striking out in new directions, giving home-grown opera a distinctly modern character. Their deliberate tunefulness and dramatic directness often earned critical ridicule for their supposed lack of European modernism and dissonant compositional daring. But the growing canon of distinguished American operas has now earned the loyal appreciation of devoted audiences unphased by the scorn of academia or the snobbery of critics.

Using video illustrations, San Francisco Opera’s Dramaturg (Scholar in Residence) Emeritus Kip Cranna will explore American opera from the 1930’s through the 1970s, including the ground-breaking, decidedly American work of influential composers, many of whom were of Jewish background, George Gershwin, Virgil Thomson, Gian Carlo Menotti, Leonard Bernstein, Samuel Barber, Aaron Copland, Carlisle Floyd, and Philip Glass. The fertile fields of American opera beckon us to new discoveries, and you are invited to join in the journey.

Clifford (Kip) Cranna, is the Dramaturg Emeritus (Scholar in Residence), with the San Francisco Opera. He is an Opera Appreciation Lecturer, at the Fromm Institute at the University of San Francisco and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes (OLLI) at University of California Berkeley, San Francisco State University, and Dominican University, and at Stanford Continuing Studies.

In July 2026 we honor the 250th birthday of the United States by celebrating the anniversary of its independence, marking a historic milestone known as the Semi quincentennial.

Join us for these exciting upcoming lectures and movie which shine a spotlight on the uniquely creative and innovative contributions to our American culture.

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What’s more uniquely American than Elvis in the 1950’s? Hear from our rock historian on Thursday, 7/30 @ 1:00 pm