Scarlet Masque Theatre Journal New Beginnings and Fond Farewells Vol. 1 | Page 47

has had to actively attempt to alleviate, primarily through avenues like their Live in HD
series, which serves to bring live performances at the opera house to movie theaters
across the country (van Eeden, 2011). Whether or not this serves to effectively bring
new audiences to opera or increases future attendance at live performances is yet to
truly be determined or quantitatively proved (van Eeden, 2011). However, despite its
early elitist beginnings, it seems as though the Met has changed its attitude towards
who and what should be catered to in operatic performance. I will further investigate the
evolution of such a perspective as we proceed.
Prior to the termination of Laszlo Halasz, NYCO was able to have a very
interesting and broadening series of firsts. In 1946, the company staged the city
premiere of prominent composer Richard Strauss’ opera, Ariadne auf Naxos (The
Montreal Gazette, 1946). The production was enormously successful and proceeded to
tour Canada and provide the country with the opera’s premiere (The Montreal Gazette,
1946). Three years later provided the company with it’s first world premiere of a work,
staging William Grant Still’s, Troubled Island, which was one of the first major operas
written by an African-American (New York Times, 2001). Halasz’s departure from the
company was centered around his insistence that NYCO be the venue for the world
premiere in 1949 for David Tamkin’s, The Dybbuk, which was fought by the board and
resubmitted for approval by Halasz in 1951 (New York Times, 2001). Distaste between
the two parties resulted in Halasz’s aforementioned departure. Joseph Rosenstock was
selected to man the helm after the loss of Halasz, who furthered NYCO’s commitment to
stage new work by bringing operas by Copland and Bartok in the early to mid 1950s
(TIME Magazine, 1956). Rosenstock’s tenure lasted briefly upon his resignation in 1956
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