Document Type
Thesis
Date of Award
2026
Degree Name
Master of Music (MM)
Department
Music
First Advisor
David Moskowitz
Abstract
Important music methods books began to emerge in the 1750s with instrumental treatises for flute, piano, and violin. By the end of the nineteenth century, there was a multitude of treatises for a variety of instruments, including classical voice. This study investigates and analyzes the content of treatises from four individual women who performed, taught, and published vocal treatises in the nineteenth century: German Mathilde Marchesi (1821–1913), Italian Virginia Boccabadati (1828–1922), Spanish Matilde Esteban (1841–1915), and English American Clara Kathleen Rogers (1844–1931). These methods books are set in the historical context of the music industry before and during the nineteenth century with an emphasis on gender and class demonstrated in the prima donna, educational institutes, and expectations of professional singers. Before the analysis of the content of the treatises, there is a biographical discussion of each individual to contextualize specific material in their writing. Even though the treatises discussed similar subject matters and pedagogic strategies, each individual had a slightly different approach to how their books were written. The treatises of these women were based on their own education and experience, which were built on a foundation of women on stage, the rise of the middle class, and a growing space for women in higher education as students and teachers.
Subject Categories
Music | Musicology
Keywords
instrumental treatises, Mathilde Marchesi, Virginia Boccabadati, Matilde Esteban, Clara Kathleen Rogers
Number of Pages
96
Publisher
University of South Dakota
Recommended Citation
Hawkinson, Emma, "All She Ever Wanted Was the World: The Emergence of Vocal Methodology, Pedagogy, and Opera Performance for Women in the Nineteenth Century" (2026). Dissertations and Theses. 415.
https://red.library.usd.edu/diss-thesis/415