Scope and Content Note
Materials in the Correspondence of Elizabeth Mitchell Stephenson Fite and the American National Opera Company span from 1864 to 1951, with the bulk dating from 1871 to 1921. The collection documents Elizabeth M. S. Fite’s efforts in the early 1900s to establish an opera company that would perform stage works in English and promote the careers of American singers and composers. Fite’s goal was to provide a vehicle that would “uplift…the entire American people and thus develop the national taste for the best operatic music.” Despite support from other notable music figures, including particular enthusiasm and involvement from Reginald De Koven, the American National Opera Company never materialized.
The Correspondence documents encouragement for the nascent project as well as rejections of Fite’s plan. In addition to items specific to the American National Opera Company, the collection contains correspondence addressed to Fite in her role at The Circle and Success magazine. Correspondents include David Bispham, Arthur Farwell, Riccardo Martin, Charles H. Meltzer, and Marguerita Sylva. A small group of correspondence concerning the opera company is addressed to Reginald De Koven and correspondents include George Whitefield Chadwick, Fite, and Arthur Foote. Additionally, there are letters and documents regarding Fite's family members as well as items addressed to other individuals whose connection to her is not clear. Several letters of literary rejection are present, which may be related to her work with the magazine.
Items directly related to the American National Opera Company in the Other Documents series include cards signed by individuals who indicated their willingness to become governors of the organization such as Arthur Foote, Victor Herbert and William J. McCoy. Remaining materials include a group of autographs cut from letters or albums, several clippings, a typed article written by Fite, and photographs of musicians active around the turn of the twentieth century.