Christopher Columbus on Santa Maria in 1492

''Christopher Columbus'' is an

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

in one act by composer

Eugene Zador Eugene Zador (born Jenő Zádor; 5 November 1894, Bátaszék, Hungary – 4 April 1977, Hollywood, California) was a Hungarian and American composer. Life Born into a Jewish family, his parents were Paula Biermann and József Zádor (originally ...

with a German-language libretto by

Archduke Joseph Francis of Austria Josef Franz, Archduke of Austria, Prince of Hungary (Josef Franz Leopold Anton Ignatius Maria; 28 March 1895 – 25 September 1957), was the eldest son of Archduke Joseph August of Austria and Princess Auguste Maria of Bavaria. As his fat ...

. Zador, a Hungarian Jew, wrote the opera while voyaging across the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

in 1939 to flee persecution from

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

. The work depicts the first voyage of Christopher Columbus to America in 1492. Soprano Josepha Chekova wrote an English-language translation to the work for its world premiere on October 8, 1939. Her translation has been used several times for performances of the work in the United States, including on a recording made by the

American Symphony Orchestra The American Symphony Orchestra is a New York–based American orchestra founded in 1962 by Leopold Stokowski whose mission is to demystify orchestral music and make it accessible and affordable for all audiences. Leon Botstein is the orchestra ...

in 1975. The opera is approximately one hour in length.

Plot

The opera occurs in a single act which is divided into five scenes. The first scene occurs in the Spanish court of

Ferdinand and Isabella The Catholic Monarchs were Queen Isabella I of Castile () and King Ferdinand II of Aragon (), whose marriage and joint rule marked the '' de facto'' unification of Spain. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, ...

and dramatizes Columbus's successful funding campaign before the Spanish monarchs. The remaining four scenes all occur on board the '' Santa María'' with the final scene depicting Columbus's landing at

San Salvador San Salvador () is the Capital city, capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its San Salvador Department, eponymous department. It is the country's largest agglomeration, serving as the country's political, cultural, educational and fin ...

on 12 October 1492.

History

Eugene Zador was a Hungarian Jew who fled Austria on the day of the

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, ), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a "German Question, Greater Germany") arose after t ...

to return to his native country. Recognizing that his safety in Europe was likely only temporary due to the rise of

, he sought employment in the United States and was able to secure a position on the faculty of the

New York College of Music The New York College of Music was an American conservatory of music located in Manhattan that flourished from 1878 to 1968. The college was incorporated under the laws of New York and was empowered to confer diplomas and degrees ranging from a ...

. The school obtained an American visa for Zador, and he sailed to the United States in 1939. While traveling across the Atlantic Ocean he wrote the music to his opera ''Christopher Columbus'', making the score both a reflection of Columbus's journey to the

New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

but also a personal reflection of Zador's own journey to America at the time of the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

.Crawford, p. 19, 188 ''Christopher Columbus'' had its world premiere on October 8, 1939. It was presented in a concert version at the Center Theatre in New York City with conductor

Ernö Rapée Ernö Rapée (or Erno Rapee) (4 June 1891 – 26 June 1945) was a Hungarian-born American symphonic conductor in the first half of the 20th century whose prolific career spanned both classical and popular music. His most famous tenure was as the h ...

leading the symphony orchestra of

Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall (also known as Radio City) is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York C ...

(RCMH). Originally the opera was scheduled for performance at the RCMH, but ticket demand was high enough that the performance was moved to the larger Center Theatre which sold out. The premiere used an English-language translation of

's original German-language libretto by soprano Josepha Chekova. The original cast included

Robert Weede Robert Weede (February 22, 1903 – July 9, 1972) was an American operatic baritone. Life and career Robert Wiedefeld was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and had two sisters, Elizabeth and Mary Wiedefeld. Weede studied voice at the Eastman Sc ...

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...

Jan Peerce Jan Peerce (born Yehoshua Pinkhes Perelmuth; June 3, 1904 December 15, 1984) was an American operatic tenor. Peerce was an accomplished performer on the operatic and Broadway concert stages, in solo recitals, and as a recording artist. He is ...

Diego Columbus Diego Columbus (; ; ; 1479/1480 – February 23, 1526) was a navigator and explorer under the Kings of Castile and Aragón. He served as the 2nd Admiral of the Indies, 2nd Viceroy of the Indies and 4th Governor of the Indies as a vassal to the K ...

, Martha Lipton as Queen Isabella, Lorenzo Alvary as King Ferdinand II, and Louis Purdey as a

Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Rom ...

. In addition to being heard by the audience in the theatre, the performance was broadcast live nationally on the

NBC Blue Network The Blue Network (previously known as the NBC Blue Network) was the on-air name of a now defunct American radio network, which broadcast from 1927 through 1945. Beginning as one of the two radio networks owned by the National Broadcasting Co ...

and on WJZ in New York City on the radio program ''

Radio City Music Hall of the Air ''Radio City Music Hall of the Air'' was a weekly American radio program broadcast on the NBC Blue Network from 1932 through 1942 that featured a range of classical music programming extending from symphonies and other kinds of orchestral works ...

''. In 1956 the

Tucson Symphony Orchestra The Tucson Symphony Orchestra, or TSO, is the primary professional orchestra of Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1928, when the season consisted of just two concerts, the TSO is the oldest continuously running performing arts organization in the Sout ...

performed the opera using Chekova's English-language translation. Her translation was also used on the

's 1975 recording of the opera made under the direction of Laszlo Halasz.

Critical reception

The Musical Courier The ''Musical Courier'' was a weekly 19th- and 20th-century American music trade magazine that began publication in 1880. The publication included editorials, obituaries, announcements, scholarly articles and investigatory writing about musical ...

'' critic wrote that Zador's score "showed manifest modernistic tendencies as well as several derivative ideas". ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' was critical of the

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

and stated that the story had been shortened to the point that it prevented "dramatic action", and that its episodic construction made the work more akin to a

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian language, Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal music, vocal Musical composition, composition with an musical instrument, instrumental accompaniment, ty ...

rather than opera. That reviewer also felt the vocal writing lacked a sense of appealing melody, and felt the music overall was derivative of

Ildebrando Pizzetti Ildebrando Pizzetti (20 September 1880 – 13 February 1968) was an Italian composer of classical music, as well as a musicologist and a music critic. Biography Pizzetti was born in Parma in 1880. He was part of the "Generation of 1880" alon ...

while simultaneously praising the orchestral score as "colorful" and "richly-textured" and providing the "most interest" to the work.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * {{Authority control 1939 operas German-language operas Cultural depictions of Christopher Columbus One-act operas Operas