May Valentine Opera Photograph Collection
Scope and Content of the Collection
Mainly professional photographs of opera singers and conductors, most of them undated. Also, a miscellaneous collection consisting of a few informal individual and group pictures, two stills of ballet dancers, scenes from operas staged in Chicago, and three reproduced portraits of composers.
Dates
- Creation: approximately 1910-1972
Creator
- Valentine, May L. (Person)
Language
Materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
The May Valentine Opera Photograph Collection is open for research in the Special Collections Reading Room; 1 box at a time (Priority III).
Ownership and Literary Rights
The May Valentine Opera Photograph Collection is 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 May Valentine
Chicago chorus conductor and music librarian.
May L. Valentine was the chorus conductor and music librarian for the Chicago Civic Opera and then the Lyric Opera of Chicago for many years. After touring the world with her own comic opera troupe, she settled down to train choruses, accompany singers, and act as curator for the Chicago Lyric Opera Library.
Miss Valentine retired from the opera company in 1973 and died the following year at the age of 84.
Extent
1 Linear Feet (1 box and 1 oversize folder)
Abstract
Photographs of opera singers and conductors, collected by May Valentine, chorus director and music librarian for the Chicago Lyric Opera for 44 years. Mostly undated professional stills of individuals, plus a few stage scenes and miscellaneous group shots.
Arrangement
Arranged by occupation and gender, then alphabetically by name of performer.
Collection Stack Location
1 35 7
Provenance
Gift, May Valentine, 1973.
Processed by
Virginia Hay Smith, 2007.
Subject
- Garden, Mary, 1874-1967 (Person)
- Karajan, Herbert von (Person)
- Kopp, Leo (Person)
- Leitner, Ferdinand (Person)
- MacDonald, Jeanette (Person)
- Martinelli, Giovanni, 1885-1969 (Person)
- Valentine, May L. (Person)
- McArthur, Edwin (Person)
- Nilsson, Birgit (Person)
- Reiner, Fritz, 1888-1963 (Person)
- Serafin, Tullio, 1878-1968 (Person)
- Stevens, Risë, 1913-2013 (Person)
- Tibbett, Lawrence, 1896-1960 (Person)
- Tozzi, Giorgio (Person)
- Weber, Henry (Person)
- Chicago Civic Opera (Chicago, Ill.) (Organization)
- Walter, Bruno, 1876-1962 (Person)
- Lyric Opera of Chicago (Organization)
- Albanese, Licia (Person)
- Flagstad, Kirsten, 1895-1962 (Person)
Genre / Form
Geographic
Occupation
Topical
- Title
- Inventory of the May Valentine Opera Photograph Collection, approximately 1910-1972
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Virginia Hay Smith
- Date
- ©2007.
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the The Newberry Library - Modern Manuscripts and Archives Repository
60 West Walton Street
Chicago Illinois 60610 United States
312-255-3512
reference@newberry.org