Richard Covello papers

Collection

Identifier: Dance-MS-Covello

Staff Only

Scope and Content of the Collection

Reviews and clippings from Covello's career as a critic and opera and dance-related ephemera collected by him.

The earliest reviews, from 1966 to 1994, were collected in a large scrapbook, and also include some letters to the editor, and WNIB radio announcements, where Covello was active as an announcer and manager for many years. Subsequent reviews, mostly from Opera Canada magazine, were compiled into a 3-ring binder (disbound for conservation of the clippings). Other material includes a full set of New York City Ballet season brochures and Ballet Russe dance souvenir program books. Covello traveled out of the United States to attend concerts and festivals, and kept all the programs of what he attended along the way.

Dates

Creation: 1916-2020

Creator

Covello, Richard (Person)

Language

Materials are in English.

Conditions Governing Access

The Richard Covello papers are open for research in the Special Collections Reading Room; 1 box at a time (Priority III).

Ownership and Literary Rights

The Richard Covello papers are the physical property of the Newberry Library. Copyright may belong to the authors or their legal heirs or assigns. For permission to publish or reproduce any materials from this collection, contact the Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections.

Biography of Richard Covello

Chicago-based arts critic and radio announcer for WNIB classical music radio station.

Quotation from a WNIB radio program, 1997 - “Having been, for many years in Chicago, the manager of concert groups such as the Fine Arts Quartet and Chicago Opera Theatre, Rich comes by his interest in music naturally. A native New Yorker, he attended Columbia University, but began gravitating to operas, concerts, and recitals, etc. as a grade school student. He has never stopped. As a critic for Opera Canada he checks out all of the local opera performances, often returning to hear a work two or three times. What’s more, he’s also a devotee of plays, chamber music, dance – a true aficionado of the theatre in all its aspects – and also among the most knowledgeable.”

Covello died in Chicago on July 17, 2020, at the age of 89.