American Indian opera is a subgenre of

music of the United States The United States' multi-ethnic population is reflected through a diverse array of styles of music. It is a mixture of music influenced by the music of Europe, Indigenous peoples, West Africa, Latin America, Middle East, North Africa, amongst ...

. It began with composer

Gertrude Bonnin Zitkala-Ša, also Zitkála-Šá (Lakota language, Lakota: , meaning Northern cardinal, Red Bird; February 22, 1876 – January 26, 1938), was a Yankton Dakota writer, editor, translator, musician, educator, and political activist. She was also kn ...

(1876-1938), also known as ''Zitkala-Sa'' ("Red Bird" in

Lakota Lakota may refer to: *Lakota people, a confederation of seven related Native American tribes *Lakota language Lakota ( ), also referred to as Lakhota, Teton or Teton Sioux, is a Siouan languages, Siouan language spoken by the Lakota people of ...

). Bonnin drew from her

Yankton Dakota The Dakota (pronounced , or ) are a Native American tribe and First Nations band government in North America. They compose two of the three main subcultures of the Sioux people, and are typically divided into the Eastern Dakota and the Wester ...

heritage for both the libretto and songs for the opera ''The Sun Dance''. This full-scale opera was composed with William F. Hanson, an American composer and teacher at

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

in Utah.

Significance

Unlike the "American Indianist" attempts to create operas with American Indian themes (see selected list below), with librettos written and music composed by non-Indians, ''The Sun Dance'' (1913) was a collaboration in which

Zitkala-Sa Zitkala-Ša, also Zitkála-Šá (Lakota language, Lakota: , meaning Northern cardinal, Red Bird; February 22, 1876 – January 26, 1938), was a Yankton Dakota writer, editor, translator, musician, educator, and political activist. She was also kn ...

contributed some of the music and libretto. For years, she received no credit. She had studied classical music. After teaching music and studying violin at Boston's

New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. The conservatory is located on Huntington Avenue along Avenue of the Arts (Boston), the Avenue of the Arts near Boston Symphony Ha ...

, Bonnin worked with Hanson in Utah to compose an American Indian opera. Bonnin performed and transcribed "Sioux melodies", to which she and Hanson added harmonies and lyrics. Because American Indian melodies had been an oral tradition, trying to adapt them to use in an opera was, according to Warburton, "like forcing a proverbial square peg into a round hole."Warburton, pg. 127 Bonnin and Hanson successfully managed the transition. Ute singers and dancers performed in the opera, although the major roles were performed by European-American singers with opera training. The importance of Bonnin for American Indian opera cannot be underestimated but scholars do not agree on the extent of her role. Few if any American operas on American Indian themes, using indigenous performers, have been composed by American Indians since her era. This Yankton woman was likely the first indigenous composer who can be considered to have achieved this. According to Catherine Parsons Smith, she was aided by William F. Hanson, who taught at Brigham Young University. He continued to compose works based on Native American themes."William F. Hanson"
Brigham Young University, accessed 4 Dec 2008 But Hanson is generally credited as composer for the opera, and Tara Browner describes Zitkala-Sa as a contributor.

Selected "Indianist" operas by non-indigenous composers

* Nevin, Arthur F. (1907). ''Poia'', opera. Carnegie Hall. * Cadman, Charles Wakefield (1912),

Nelle Richmond Eberhart Nelle Richmond Eberhart (August 28, 1871 – November 15, 1944) was an American librettist, poet, and teacher. She is known for her long collaboration with composer Charles Wakefield Cadman. She wrote 200 songs and the librettos for five operas fo ...

, and Francis LaFlesche (

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

). ''Da-O-Ma: Ramala (Land of Misty Water)'', opera in four acts. It was never published or produced. (Note: This opera was written in collaboration with

Francis La Flesche Francis La Flesche (Omaha, 1857–1932) was the first professional Native American ethnologist; he worked with the Smithsonian Institution. He specialized in Omaha and Osage cultures. Working closely as a translator and researcher with the anthr ...

(Omaha), so it appears to be similar to Zitkala-sa's joint project. See Sherry L. Smith, "Francis LaFlesche and the World of Letters," ''American Indian Quarterly'' 25.4 (2001): 579-603.) *Cadman and Nelle Eberhart (1894-1943), and

Tsianina Redfeather Blackstone Tsianina Redfeather Blackstone (December 13, 1882 – January 10, 1985) was a Muscogee singer, performer, and Native American activist, born in Eufaula, Oklahoma, within the Muscogee Nation. She was born to Cherokee and Creek parents and stood o ...

( Creek), ''

Shanewis ''Shanewis'' (or ''The Robin Woman'') (1918) is an opera in one act and two scenes by American composer Charles Wakefield Cadman with an English-language libretto by Nelle Richmond Eberhart. Cadman called the work an "American opera." They collab ...

'' (or ''The Robin Woman'') (1918). Metropolitan Opera. Note: Blackstone was not given official credit.Pamela Karantonis, Dylan Robinson. ''Opera Indigene: Re/presenting First Nations and Indigenous Cultures''
Routledge, 2016, p. 178 * Freer, Eleanor Everest (1927). ''The Chilkoot Maiden'', opera in one act. Skagway, Alaska. * Carter, Ernest Trow (1931). ''The Blonde Donna: The Fiesta at Santa Barbara'', opera comique. Heckscher Theater, New York. * Smith, Julia Frances (1939). ''Cynthia Parker'', opera in one act. North Texas State University, Denton. *Gary A. Edwards (composer (2016). , A.J. Spawn (inspired lyrics ''Qualchan And Whistalks'', opera in three acts, Unperformed.

American Indian opera by American Indian composers

*Bonnin, Gertrude, and Hanson, William F. (1913). ''The Sun Dance'', grand opera. Premiered in Orpheus Hall,

Vernal, Utah Vernal, the county seat and largest city in Uintah County, is in northeastern Utah, approximately east of Salt Lake City and west of the Colorado border. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 10,079. The population has since grown t ...

. *

Raven Chacon Raven Chacon (born 1977) is a Diné composer, musician and artist. Born in Fort Defiance, Arizona within the Navajo Nation, Chacon became the first Native American to win a Pulitzer Prize for Music, for his '' Voiceless Mass'' in 2022. He has ...

, and Yun, Du (2020). ''Sweet Land''. Premiered at Los Angeles State Historic Park. Jaakola, Lyz and Johnson, Hannah. Mináǧi kiŋ dowáŋ (My Spirit Sings in Dakota): a Zitkála-Šá Opera. Premiered on film, Minneapolis 2022.

References

{{reflist Native American music Opera in the United States

Significance

Selected "Indianist" operas by non-indigenous composers

American Indian opera by American Indian composers

See also

References