Misplaced Pages

Nan Bagby Stephens

Article snapshot taken from[REDACTED] with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Penny Richards (talk | contribs) at 17:01, 23 January 2025 (start (more soon) #WPWP). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Revision as of 17:01, 23 January 2025 by Penny Richards (talk | contribs) (start (more soon) #WPWP)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) American writer
Nan Bagby Stephens
Nan Bagby Stephens, a white woman wearing a brimmed hatNan Bagby Stephens, from a 1928 publication
Born1883
Georgia, U.S.
Died1946
Occupation(s)Dramatist, writer, composer, librettist
Notable workRoseanne (1923), Cabildo (1932)
RelativesLouis Hasselmans (brother-in-law)

Nan Bagby Stephens (1883 – 1946) was an American writer and composer, best known for the libretto of Cabildo (1932), an opera, with music by Amy Beach.

Early life and education

Stephens was from Atlanta, Georgia, the daughter of James McConnell Stephens and Zipporah Bagby Stephens. Her younger sister Frances married French opera conductor Louis Hasselmans. She trained as a pianist in Vienna with Johanna Müller and Theodor Leschetizky.

Career

Stephens, who was white, was known for writing songs and shows based on traditional "negro music" of the American South, often with dialect lyrics. Her Broadway play Roseanne was initially produced in 1923 with white performers in blackface, including Chrystal Herne. Soon after, in 1924, it was produced with a Black cast, including Charles Sidney Gilpin, Paul Robeson, and Rose McClendon. Roseanne became a source for Oscar Micheaux's film Body and Soul (1925). Black critic Eric D. Walrond called Roseanne "good art and punk propaganda" in his 1924 review.

Stephens was a vice-president of the National Federation of Music Clubs, and taught play writing at Agnes Scott College in the late 1920s.

Works

  • "Lafayette, we have come!" (1918, song, words by J. W. Greer)
  • "Three Songs" (Morning Song; Plantation Ditty; Little Tin Horn) (1921, songs, words by Frank L. Stanton)
  • "My Dearie" (1921, song, words by Frank L. Stanton)
  • "A Song of Georgia" (1921, song)
  • Roseanne (1923-1924, play)
  • "Negro Spirituals" (1924, essay in The New York Times)
  • John Barleycorn (1927, play)
  • Tares (1927, play)
  • The Auction Block (1927, one-act play)
  • Charivari (1927, one-act comedy)
  • Barbed Wire (1931)
  • Cabildo (1932, one-act opera, music by Amy Beach)
  • Glory (1932, novel)
  • Lily (1940, play)
  • If I Ever Cease to Love (1941, play)

Personal life and legacy

Stephens died in 1946. Her 1932 collaboration with composer Amy Beach, a one-act opera named Cabildo, about a prison in New Orleans, saw its first professional production in 1995, at Lincoln Center. It was part of the Muffled Voices Festival, with performances in Moscow and other Russian cities in 2024.

References

  1. ^ Carby, Hazel V. (2009-07-01). Race Men. Harvard University Press. pp. 69–70. ISBN 978-0-674-02919-4.
  2. "Louis Hasselmans Weds in Atlanta; Metropolitan Conductor Takes Miss Frances Stephens as His Bride". The New York Times. 1933-08-25. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  3. ^ "Nan Bagby Stephens, Playwriting Instructor". Billboard. 40: 35. June 23, 1928.
  4. ^ Stephens, Nan Bagby (January 27, 1924). "Negro Spirituals". The New York Times. p. 4. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  5. ^ Walrond, Eric D. (February 1924). "Roseanne". Opportunity. 2: 60.
  6. "Negroes Play 'Roseanne'; Charles Gilpin Proves Disappointing in Role of Preacher". The New York Times. March 11, 1924. p. 16. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  7. Bernstein, Matthew (2009). Screening a Lynching: The Leo Frank Case on Film and Television. University of Georgia Press. pp. 281, note 44. ISBN 978-0-8203-2752-5.
  8. "Lafayette, we have come! : song". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  9. ^ Catalog of Copyright Entries: Musical compositions. Library of Congress, Copyright Office. 1922. pp. 1436, 1454, 1473.
  10. "To Give 'Success' and 'Barleycorn.'". The New York Times. November 28, 1927. p. 15. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  11. ^ Catalogue of Copyright Entries: Pamphlets, leaflets, contributions to newspapers or periodicals, etc.; lectures, sermons, addresses for oral delivery; dramatic compositions; maps; motion pictures. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1927. pp. 153, 155, 344.
  12. "Theatrical Notes". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  13. "Abbott Cancels Tour of 'Pal Joey'; Gene Kelly Signed by Selznick for Hitchcock Film, So Show Will Close Here Sept. 27". The New York Times. July 22, 1941. p. 21. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  14. Ellison, Cori (May 7, 1995). "Classical Music: A Woman's Work Well Done". The New York Times. p. 29. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  15. "Inaugural 'Muffled Voices' Festival Announced". OperaWire. 2024-02-06. Retrieved 2025-01-23.

External links

Categories:
Nan Bagby Stephens Add topic