
A Grand American Stage
A Comprehensive History of Opera in the United States
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy for $7.99
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Virtual Voice

This title uses virtual voice narration
About this listen
A Grand American Stage: A Comprehensive History of Opera in the United States
Opera in America has always been more than music—it is a reflection of the nation’s evolving cultural, social, and artistic identity. A Grand American Stage is the most comprehensive exploration of opera’s journey in the United States, from its earliest days in makeshift theaters to the grandeur of the Metropolitan Opera and the rise of regional companies that bring this art form to every corner of the country.
Renowned music historian Richard Fleischman takes readers on an immersive journey through more than two centuries of American opera, chronicling the triumphs, struggles, and innovations that have defined it. From the touring troupes that introduced Mozart and Verdi to frontier towns to the jazz-infused experiments of the 20th century, this book reveals how opera has adapted, endured, and flourished.
With meticulous research and engaging storytelling, A Grand American Stage explores:
🎭 The First American Opera Houses – How cities like New York, Chicago, and San Francisco built institutions that rivaled their European counterparts.
🌟 Opera’s Celebrity Icons – From Jenny Lind’s sensational tour to the American divas who conquered the world’s greatest stages.
🎶 The Rise of American Composers – How figures like John Adams, Philip Glass, and Jake Heggie shaped a distinctly American operatic voice.
📻 Technology and Transformation – The impact of radio, television, and digital streaming on opera’s accessibility and future.
🎤 Diversity and Inclusion – The breaking of racial and gender barriers in opera, from Marian Anderson’s groundbreaking debut to today’s emerging voices.
A must-read for opera lovers, musicians, and historians, A Grand American Stage is both a celebration and a critical examination of how opera has been woven into the fabric of American life. It is an invitation to rediscover an art form that has captivated audiences for generations—and continues to evolve in thrilling new ways.
For anyone who believes opera is a living, breathing part of America’s cultural soul, this is the definitive history.
Related to this topic
-
The Unusual Suspects with Kenya Barris and Malcolm Gladwell
- By: Kenya Barris, Malcolm Gladwell
- Narrated by: Kenya Barris, Malcolm Gladwell
- Length: 7 hrs and 23 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Join Kenya Barris and Malcolm Gladwell as they bypass pleasantries and promotional banter to deliver raw, unfiltered conversations with some of today’s most influential figures. Featuring titans across a spectrum of professions (from Olympic gold medalists to trailblazing Fortune 500 CEOs and everything in between), The Unusual Suspects with Kenya Barris and Malcolm Gladwell pulls back the curtain to offer listeners unprecedented access to the minds of the world’s most extraordinary individuals and their distinct paths to success.
-
-
UNusually Great!
- By Angela C. on 01-30-25
By: Kenya Barris, and others
-
How to Survive Menopause
- By: Samantha Bee
- Narrated by: Samantha Bee
- Length: 1 hr and 9 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Samantha Bee wants to talk about menopause. Okay, she actually doesn’t want to, but she must. Half of the world’s population will spend one third of their lives in it, yet it’s been completely shrouded in secrecy—until now. The Emmy Award-winning host of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee shares everything she has learned in her new one-woman show, How to Survive Menopause. Because everyone needs that one best friend who will keep it real for them—like, really real.
-
-
Authentic and powerful!
- By Tendai on 04-02-25
By: Samantha Bee
-
The Story of Grunge
- By: Michael Stewart Foley, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Michael Stewart Foley
- Length: 3 hrs
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
You can’t truly understand the last decade of the 20th century without a look at the muddy, electrifying rock music that would come to define it: grunge. For such a short-lived genre—at least in the mainstream—grunge had a lasting impact on American music and culture. It also provides a unique lens through which to examine the post-Reagan, pre-internet America of the 1990s. In the six lectures of The Story of Grunge, you’ll explore the rise and evolution of the genre, tracing it from Seattle subculture to MTV and the Billboard charts, all the way to its decline and evolution into new forms.
-
-
A Scholarly Study of Grunge
- By Mark on 03-07-25
By: Michael Stewart Foley, and others
-
The Wonder of Stevie
- By: Wesley Morris
- Narrated by: Wesley Morris, Michelle Obama, Barack Obama, and others
- Length: 6 hrs and 10 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The year 1972 saw the beginning of a five-year span in which Stevie Wonder released five groundbreaking, critically acclaimed albums, garnering him more than half a dozen Grammys and more than 10 million albums sold, securing his place as one of the most important American musicians and songwriters in history. For the first time, uncover the untold story of an extraordinary artistic journey that shaped the greatest creative era in popular music history.
-
-
Good but not great
- By Anonymous User on 09-14-24
By: Wesley Morris
-
Mrs. Bibi
- By: Waleed Akhtar
- Narrated by: Laila Rouass, Nimra Bucha, Steve Furst, and others
- Length: 1 hr and 7 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Yasmin’s career is finally taking off. After years of fighting for visibility in the theater, the British-Pakistani actress lands the eponymous role of Mrs. Bibi—the ultimate aunty-ji—in a hit primetime sitcom. Her newfound success means a steady paycheck, the possibility of owning her own home, and a carefree fling with a charming young assistant director. But when her estranged sister arrives with news of their mother, Yasmin's hard-won stability is shaken to its core.
-
-
An exceptional audio drama
- By Kindle Customer on 03-26-25
By: Waleed Akhtar
-
Weird Scenes Inside the Canyon
- Laurel Canyon, Covert Ops, and the Dark Heart of the Hippie Dream
- By: David McGowan
- Narrated by: Bill Fike
- Length: 14 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The very strange but nevertheless true story of the dark underbelly of a 1960s hippie utopia. Laurel Canyon in the 1960s and early 1970s was a magical place where a dizzying array of musical artists congregated to create much of the music that provided the soundtrack to those turbulent times. But there was a dark side to that scene as well. Many didn't make it out alive, and many of those deaths remain shrouded in mystery to this day.
-
-
My first review. This book changed me.
- By Robert on 06-30-19
By: David McGowan
-
The Unusual Suspects with Kenya Barris and Malcolm Gladwell
- By: Kenya Barris, Malcolm Gladwell
- Narrated by: Kenya Barris, Malcolm Gladwell
- Length: 7 hrs and 23 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Join Kenya Barris and Malcolm Gladwell as they bypass pleasantries and promotional banter to deliver raw, unfiltered conversations with some of today’s most influential figures. Featuring titans across a spectrum of professions (from Olympic gold medalists to trailblazing Fortune 500 CEOs and everything in between), The Unusual Suspects with Kenya Barris and Malcolm Gladwell pulls back the curtain to offer listeners unprecedented access to the minds of the world’s most extraordinary individuals and their distinct paths to success.
-
-
UNusually Great!
- By Angela C. on 01-30-25
By: Kenya Barris, and others
-
How to Survive Menopause
- By: Samantha Bee
- Narrated by: Samantha Bee
- Length: 1 hr and 9 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Samantha Bee wants to talk about menopause. Okay, she actually doesn’t want to, but she must. Half of the world’s population will spend one third of their lives in it, yet it’s been completely shrouded in secrecy—until now. The Emmy Award-winning host of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee shares everything she has learned in her new one-woman show, How to Survive Menopause. Because everyone needs that one best friend who will keep it real for them—like, really real.
-
-
Authentic and powerful!
- By Tendai on 04-02-25
By: Samantha Bee
-
The Story of Grunge
- By: Michael Stewart Foley, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Michael Stewart Foley
- Length: 3 hrs
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
You can’t truly understand the last decade of the 20th century without a look at the muddy, electrifying rock music that would come to define it: grunge. For such a short-lived genre—at least in the mainstream—grunge had a lasting impact on American music and culture. It also provides a unique lens through which to examine the post-Reagan, pre-internet America of the 1990s. In the six lectures of The Story of Grunge, you’ll explore the rise and evolution of the genre, tracing it from Seattle subculture to MTV and the Billboard charts, all the way to its decline and evolution into new forms.
-
-
A Scholarly Study of Grunge
- By Mark on 03-07-25
By: Michael Stewart Foley, and others
-
The Wonder of Stevie
- By: Wesley Morris
- Narrated by: Wesley Morris, Michelle Obama, Barack Obama, and others
- Length: 6 hrs and 10 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The year 1972 saw the beginning of a five-year span in which Stevie Wonder released five groundbreaking, critically acclaimed albums, garnering him more than half a dozen Grammys and more than 10 million albums sold, securing his place as one of the most important American musicians and songwriters in history. For the first time, uncover the untold story of an extraordinary artistic journey that shaped the greatest creative era in popular music history.
-
-
Good but not great
- By Anonymous User on 09-14-24
By: Wesley Morris
-
Mrs. Bibi
- By: Waleed Akhtar
- Narrated by: Laila Rouass, Nimra Bucha, Steve Furst, and others
- Length: 1 hr and 7 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Yasmin’s career is finally taking off. After years of fighting for visibility in the theater, the British-Pakistani actress lands the eponymous role of Mrs. Bibi—the ultimate aunty-ji—in a hit primetime sitcom. Her newfound success means a steady paycheck, the possibility of owning her own home, and a carefree fling with a charming young assistant director. But when her estranged sister arrives with news of their mother, Yasmin's hard-won stability is shaken to its core.
-
-
An exceptional audio drama
- By Kindle Customer on 03-26-25
By: Waleed Akhtar
-
Weird Scenes Inside the Canyon
- Laurel Canyon, Covert Ops, and the Dark Heart of the Hippie Dream
- By: David McGowan
- Narrated by: Bill Fike
- Length: 14 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The very strange but nevertheless true story of the dark underbelly of a 1960s hippie utopia. Laurel Canyon in the 1960s and early 1970s was a magical place where a dizzying array of musical artists congregated to create much of the music that provided the soundtrack to those turbulent times. But there was a dark side to that scene as well. Many didn't make it out alive, and many of those deaths remain shrouded in mystery to this day.
-
-
My first review. This book changed me.
- By Robert on 06-30-19
By: David McGowan
-
I'm Almost There
- By: Todd Almond
- Narrated by: Todd Almond
- Length: 59 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
All he wants to do is let the perfect man in, but can he overcome his unhinged neighbor, a seductive cult, a self-obsessed vampire, and a cat intent on dragging him to hell?
-
-
So Talented, Artistic and Refreshing
- By KAC Reviews on 02-19-25
By: Todd Almond
-
Petty: The Biography
- By: Warren Zanes
- Narrated by: Warren Zanes
- Length: 13 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
No one other than Warren Zanes, rocker and writer and friend, could author a book about Tom Petty that is as honest and evocative of Petty's music and the remarkable rock and roll history he and his band helped to write. Born in Gainesville, Florida, with more than a little hillbilly in his blood, Tom Petty was a Southern shit kicker, a kid without a whole lot of promise. Rock and roll made it otherwise.
-
-
Tom Petty gets some bio love
- By tru britty on 12-15-15
By: Warren Zanes
-
Chasing the Sound
- By: Kirk Flash
- Narrated by: Kirk Flash
- Length: 2 hrs and 52 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ever thought about all the incredible stories hiding in your favorite tracks? Chasing the Sound is the new Audible series from writer, actor and prolific question-asker Kirk Flash, who’s taking listeners all around the globe on a mission to uncover the secrets, misconceptions, and debates buried in some of the world's most iconic music genres.
-
-
Kirk Flash does it again!
- By jazz charton on 04-03-25
By: Kirk Flash
-
Farewell Yellow Brick Road
- Memories of My Life on Tour
- By: Elton John, David Furnish - foreword
- Narrated by: Richard Armitage, Vikas Adam, Daniel Henning, and others
- Length: 6 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Farewell Yellow Brick Road is a celebration of Elton John's record-breaking, globe-spanning farewell tour—from Allentown to Auckland, from Sydney to San Francisco. Featured concerts include Elton’s dazzling performances at Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium in November 2022, the finale of which streamed live on Disney+. Fans will be treated to a behind-the-scenes glimpse into every aspect of these spectacular shows, including Elton’s legendary touring wardrobe by Gucci, the set design, official photography, and more.
-
-
Could have been …
- By Tracy F. on 01-04-25
By: Elton John, and others
-
Purlie Victorious
- A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
- By: Ossie Davis
- Narrated by: Leslie Odom Jr., Kara Young, Vanessa Bell Calloway, and others
- Length: 1 hr and 36 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dynamic traveling preacher Purlie Victorious Judson returns to his small Georgia town hoping to save Big Bethel, the community’s church, and emancipate the cotton pickers who work on oppressive Ol’ Cap’n Cotchipee’s plantation. With the assistance of Lutiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins, in a Tony Award-winning performance by Kara Young, Purlie hopes to pry loose an inheritance due his long-lost cousin and use the money to restore his beloved church.
-
-
A great listen!
- By Kindle Customer on 03-19-25
By: Ossie Davis
-
A Streetcar Named Desire
- By: Tennessee Williams
- Narrated by: Carla Gugino, Audra McDonald
- Length: 2 hrs and 52 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With Emmy, Grammy, and six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald as Blanche DuBois alongside Carla Gugino as Stella, O’Hara takes a fresh and visceral look at the emotionally charged relationship between these two iconic sisters. Haunted by her past, Blanche seeks refuge with Stella and Stanley (Ariel Shafir) in New Orleans, where she wrestles with the nature of her sister’s husband, her sister’s denial, and her own unraveling mind.
-
-
Classic With Fresh Insight
- By Talia Shafir on 12-04-20