Collection context
Summary
- Abstract:
- The Blanche Thebom Collection has three major components. The first is scores, correspondence, publicity, production notes, and media from her post-Met career as teacher and director. Secondly, there are published and unpublished sound recordings of Thebom. Lastly, the collection also retains Thebom's extensive archive of printed music.
- Extent:
- 87 box(es) 86 boxes and 1 oversize folder
- Language:
- English
- Preferred citation:
-
Blanche Thebom Collection, ARS-0059. Courtesy of the Stanford Archive of Recorded Sound, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, Calif.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The bulk of the Blanche Thebom Collection contains scores, publicity, correspondence, notes, and media from her years as a theatrical director. Included are business records and production materials from the Atlanta Opera Company, production materials from the operas and puppet shows she directed at the University of Arkansas - Little Rock, and some files from her stint teaching at San Francisco State University. The largest portion of this collection is devoted to Thebom's own printed music collection, intact and in the order she kept it. Outside of some ephemera from her many tours abroad, there is little material from her time performing with the Metropolitan Opera, nor is there much in the way of personal correspondence. However, the collection does hold many recordings from this era, including test pressings from her years recording for RCA (some with unissued takes), as well as almost 150 unique recordings on fragile instantaneous discs, several from the 1930's. A collection contents list is available.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Operatic mezzo-soprano Blanche Thebom was born in Monessen, Pennsylvania in 1915, and began her formal concert career in 1941. She was a member of the Metropolitan Opera through 1967, known for her roles in Wagnerian epics. During this period she also toured extensively, including being the first American to perform at the Bolshoi in Moscow. In 1967 she was appointed head of The Atlanta Opera Company in Atlanta, Georgia. Following that experience, Thebom taught at the University of Arkansas in Little Rock. In 1980 she moved to San Francisco and directed an opera workshop at San Francisco State University, and founded the Opera Arts Training Program in 1988 in conjunction with the San Francisco Girls Chorus. Thebom passed away in March 2010 at the age of 94.
- Processing information:
-
This finding aid was produced with generous financial support from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
- Arrangement:
-
Note: box numbers 35 & 43 are not used
- Physical location:
- Stanford Archive of Recorded Sound Stanford University Libraries Stanford, California 94305-3076
- Material specific details:
- Audio: Tape 3" reels - 2 5" reels - 3 7" reels - 183 10" reels - 7 Audiocassettes - 59 Discs 7" instantaneous discs - 1 10" instantaneous discs - 3 12" instantaneous discs - 145 10" 78 rpm test pressings - 40 12" 78 rpm test pressings - 6 10" 78 rpm album sets - 2 10" 78 rpm discs - 2 12" 78 rpm discs - 15 Moving Pictures: U-Matic - 14 Sony V-32 - 5 1" video - 1 Ampex 164 - 4 VHS - 4 DVD - 1 1" film - 1 1/2" film - 2
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Open for research; material must be requested at least two business days in advance of intended use. Contact the Archive for assistance.
- Terms of access:
-
Property rights reside with repository. Publication and reproduction rights reside with the creators or their heirs. To obtain permission to publish or reproduce, please contact the Head Librarian of the Archive of Recorded Sound.
- Preferred citation:
-
Blanche Thebom Collection, ARS-0059. Courtesy of the Stanford Archive of Recorded Sound, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, Calif.
- Location of this collection:
-
Braun Music Center, 541 Lasuen MallStanford, CA 94305-3076, US
- Contact:
- (650) 723-9312