Four Saints in Three Acts was a major avant-garde phenomenon of the 1930s, an experimental opera that nonetheless achieved remarkable popular success. Photography was a key element of that success, but its complex roles in the construction, representation, and dissemination of the opera have hitherto received little critical attention. The photographic recording of the all-African American cast in particular affords a unique insight into the complexities of Four Saints in relation to the Harlem Renaissance and the New York avant-gardes of the time. This book presents a wide selection of...
Four Saints in Three Acts was a major avant-garde phenomenon of the 1930s, an experimental opera that nonetheless achieved remarkable popular success....
