Little dove : a new operetta for undergraduate singers

Little Dove: A New Operetta for Undergraduate Singers presents an original stage work that is pedagogically appropriate for college-aged musicians. The score for Little Dove has been tailored to fit perceived needs of undergraduate opera singers and collegiate opera directors–it is thoroughly singable and pedagogically advisable for performance by underclassmen. It contains mostly female roles, several of which are designed to be “first roles” for beginning students. Further, the operetta is designed for performance with minimal staging, scenic, and costume expenditures. The first chapter of this dissertation includes a review of related literature that influenced the composer, general pedagogical guidelines for undergraduate vocalists, and the infusion of these pedagogical principles into the new score. Chapter two explains the plot, purpose, and origin of the story of Little Dove. Chapter three includes a scene structure and design of the operetta. Chapter four details the result of a compositional analysis of forty-five pieces of popular undergraduate vocal literature measuring the ranges, tessituras, intervals, forms, and performance lengths, and defining best-practice compositional attributes for Little i Dove. Chapter four also details historical operatic conventions such as the act-ending finale, mad scene, and scena ed duetto, highlighting each convention’s influence on the composition of Little Dove. Lastly, Chapter five concludes with notes from the author regarding her creative process and suggestions for further study. Appendix A contains the libretto for Little Dove, and Appendix B contains the musical score. Appendix C lists the forty-five undergraduate songs studied and records the compositional findings therein.