Alternative Means of Research

Since this week was our Spring Break, with no classes or assigned readings for the week, this week's blogs will be about things going on in my life that are connected to Victorian music.  Of course, being a Savoyard, much of what I do is connected to Victorian music.  As I have mentioned in many of my previous blogs, I have designed a Fulbright project in which I would prepare performance guides for the Gilbert and Sullivan operettas.  I have just recently learned that my project proposal has been turned down for the Fulbright Scholarship.  This has lead me to consider what other means of research I can undertake.  I believe that I can at least lay the foundation for the guides doing work here in the U.S.  I can certainly do the libretti analyses here, and I have enough contacts around the world to do some of the research from afar.  It will certainly take longer, and be a more complicated process, but I believe the work is important enough to do nonetheless.

These guides will be a wonderful benefit to both the repertoire, and to university music programs in the U.S. (and abroad, hopefully).  The first installments will focus on the lesser-known operas in the repertoire, with the intent that they can be realized to be accessible to modern audiences.  This will hopefully increase the frequency with which these works are performed.  Emphasis will be placed upon the aspects of the Savoy Operas that make them ideal for students (their own language, singability, witty language use, the ability for both classical and music theater performers to work together on the show, FUN, etc).  With luck, these will help guide university music programs towards choosing a Savoy Opera when looking for a show for their students to perform.  With the other Savoy Operas already being a bit more familiar, and thus more performed, these guides will hopefully increase the overall number of G&S performances at the university level.  By exposing students, it will hopefully create a greater number of the next generation who will continue to perform the works, keeping the Savoy Operas alive and thriving for years to come.