Historic Scenic Collection, 1865-2012 | Northern Illinois University

Collection Overview

Title: Historic Scenic Collection, 1865-2012

ID: RBSC/SPX/012

Extent: 250.0 Linear Feet

Arrangement:

Series I: Production Notebooks, Series II: Blueprints, Series III: Floorplans, Series IV: Photographs, Series V: Illustrations, Series VI: Programs, Series VII: Libretto, Series VIII: Scripts, Series IX: Correspondence, Series X: Timesheets, Series XI: Accounts, Series XII: Expense Reports, Series XIII: Purchase Orders, Series XIV: Material Orders, Series XV: Receipts, Series XVI: Property Lists, Series XVII: Inventory, Series XVIII: Reference Material, and Series XIX: Miscellaneous.

A copy of the old finding aid is located in Series I, Box 1 and it provides details of the orginal inventory made for the collection. When the collection was fully processed this inventory was adapted and used in the current finding aid which includes how some series were arranged.

Languages: English, French, German, Italian

Abstract

The Historic Scenic Collection contains intriguing documentation, photos, blueprints, and advertisements of the Chicago Opera dating back to the early 1900s. This collection is 250 linear feet that spans an entire century of theatre performances. Some of the highlights are production photos of scenes and play actors, blueprints of the sets and stages, and old-time programs that were handed out to avid theatre goers.

Scope and Contents of the Materials

This collection consists of printed paper-based materials, photographs, books, correspondence, illustrations, and blueprints that relate directly to the Lyric Opera of Chicago. This collection is divided into series based upon format. Series I is composed of production notebooks; Series II and III are Blueprints and Floorplans respectively (which are currently still being processed). Series IV consists of photographs; Series V is Illustrations of sets, stage design, and costumes; Series VI consists of Programs that describe the opera acts and story; Series VII is Libretto (which are the texts of the opera, translated from their original language into English). Series VIII is Scripts; Series IX is Correspondence; Series X consists of Timesheets, which are further broken down into Timesheet subseries of Anuual Tours, Rehearsal Timesheets, and Performance Timesheets. Series XI is Accounts; Series XII Expense Reports; Series XIII is Purchase Orders; Series XIV is Material Orders; Series XV is Receipts; Series XVI is Property Lists; and Series XVII is Inventory. Series XVIII is Reference Material that includes books (some of these books have call numbers listed that can be found in our online catalogue). Lastly, Series XIX is Miscellaneous material.

Administrative Information

Repository: Northern Illinois University

Access Restrictions: no restrictions

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Series:

[Series I: Production Notebooks],
[Series II: Blueprints],
[Series III: Floorplans],
[Series IV: Photographs],
[Series V: Illustrations],
[Series VI: Programs],
[Series VII: Libretto],
[Series X: Timesheets],
[Series VIII: Scripts],
[Series IX: Correspondence],
[Series XI: Accounts],
[Series XII: Expense Reports],
[Series XIII: Purchase and Work Orders],
[Series XIV: Material Orders],
[Series XV: Receipts],
[Series XVI: Property Lists],
[Series XVII: Inventory],
[Series XVIII: Reference Material],
[Series XIX: Miscellaneous],
[All]

Series XVIII: Reference Material

Box 1

Folder 1: Carnegie Hall letter and photo [photo of Herbert Johnson], 1919, 2011
Folder 2: Opera Guyed [guide], 1923
Folder 3: Souvenir of Dedication of Soldiers and Sailors Auditorium [Chattanooga, TN], Feb 1924
Folder 4: Metal company catalogues and brochures, 1924 - 1930
Folder 5: The Playgoer - Magazine for the Theatre, 1927
Folder 6: The Bostonian Magazine, Feb 1929
Folder 7: Lyric Opera News, 1964 - 1966, 1969 - 1970
Folder 8: Lyric Opera News, Fall 1976, Spr 1978, Fall 1979, Winter 1979, Fall 1980, Spr 1981, Spr 1990
Folder 9: Lyric Opera Annual Reports, 1979, 1990
Folder 10: Lyric Opera Magazine, 1986 - 1987, 1989 - 1996
Folder 11: Operation 91 Magazine, 1991
Folder 12: American Airlines Salute to the Lyric Opera of Chicago [magazine|2 copies], Nov 1991
Folder 13: Lyric Opera News, Spr 1992
Folder 14: Lyric Opera Advance Orders, 1995, no date
Folder 15: The Ring [Lyric Opera Magazine|3 copies], 1996
Folder 16: The Opera Quarterly [vol 16|no 1], Winter 2000

Box 2

Folder 1: Advertisements for machinery and furniture, various dates
Folder 2: Machine tool company catalogues and brochures, various dates
Folder 3: Authentic Russian Theatre Poster Prints [magazine], no date
Folder 4: Comment Discerner Les Styles Le Mobilier Transformations Progressives [book], no date
Folder 5: Comment Discerner Les Styles Le Luminaire Transformations Progressives [book], no date

Box 3

Folder 1: Comment Discerner Les Styles Le Style Picanesi Epaque Louis XVI [book], no date

Volume 1-108: Reference Books

Item 1: Roster [Indiana Society of Chicago|call number F 521 .I535 1930a], 1930
Item 2: Norma [vocal score|music by Bellini|call number M 1500 .B455 N6 1940za], 1940
Item 3: Carmen [vocal score|music by Bizet|call number M 1503 .B625 C32 1923a], 1923
Item 4: Don Pasquale [vocal score|music by Donizetti|call number M 1503 .D683 D62 1950za], 1950
Item 5: Lucia Di Lammermoor [vocal score|music by Donizetti|call number M 1503 .D683 L8 1926a], 1926
Item 6: Martha [vocal score|music by Flotow|call number M 1503 .F642 M44 1902ba], 1902
Item 7: Faust [vocal score|music by Gounod|call number M 1503 .G711 F3 1930a], 1930
Item 8: Romeo and Juliet [vocal score|music by Gounod|call number M 1503 .G711 R6 1925a], 1925
Item 9: Hansel and Gretel [vocal score|music by Humperdinck|call number M 1503 .H926 H23 1895a], 1895
Item 10: Pagliacci [vocal score|music by Leoncavallo|call number M 1503 .L582 P215 1906a], 1906
Item 11: Manon [vocal score|music by Massenet|call number M 1503 .M415 M35 1940a], 1940
Item 12: Cavalleria Rusticana [vocal score|music by Mascagni|call number M 1503 .M389 C32 1891a], 1891
Item 13: Cosi Fan Tutte [vocal score|music by Mozart & Willner|call number M 1503 .M939 C62 1951a], 1951
Item 14: Don Giovanni [vocal score|music by Mozart|call number M 1503 .M939 D64 1900a], 1900
Item 15: The Marriage of Figaro [vocal score|music by Mozart & Stein|call number M 1503 .M939 N642 1947a], 1947
Item 16: The Magic Flute [vocal score|music by Mozart|call number M 1503 .M939 Z36 1941a], 1941
Item 17: Les Contes D'Hoffmann|The Tales of Hoffmann [vocal score|music by Offenbach|call number M 1503 .O32 C6 1940a], 1940
Item 18: La Gioconda [vocal score|music by Ponchielli|call number M 1503 .P785 G52 1960za], 1960
Item 19: La Boheme [vocal score|music by G. Puccini|call number M 1503 .P977 B7 1917a], 1917
Item 20: Madama Butterfly [vocal score|music by G. Puccini|call number M 1503 .P977 M28 1963a], 1963
Item 21: Tosca [vocal score|music by G. Puccini|call number M 1503 .P977 T6 1905a], 1905
Item 22: IL Barbiere Di Siviglia|The Barber of Seville [vocal score|music by Rossini|call number M 1503 .R835 B3 1900a], 1900
Item 23: The Italian Girl in Algiers [vocal score|music by Rossini|call number M 1503 .R835 I88 1966a], 1966
Item 24: Samson and Delilah [vocal score|music by Saint-Saens|call number M 1503 .S155 S3 1892a], 1892
Item 25: The Bartered Bride [Optional Dialogue|English translation by Libushka Bartusek|call number M 1503 .S626 B3 1934a], 1934
Item 26: The Bartered Bride [vocal score|music by Smetana|call number M 1503 .S626 B3 1934a], 1934
Item 27: Fledermaus [vocal score|music by Dietz & Kanin|call number M 1503 .S912 F59 1951a], 1951
Item 28: Salome [vocal score|music by Richard Strauss|call number M 1503 .S912 S3 1970za], 1970
Item 29: Mignon [vocal score|music by Thomas|call number M 1503 .T453 M42 1929a], 1929
Item 30: Aida [vocal score|music by Verdi|call number M 1503 .V484 A44 1925a], 1925
Item 31: The Masked Ball [vocal score|music by Verdi|call number M 1503 .V484 B212 1940za], 1940
Item 32: Don Carlo [vocal score|music by Verdi|call number M 1503 .V484 D6 1963a], 1963
Item 33: La Forza Del Destino [vocal score|music by Verdi|call number M 1503 .V484 F6 1944a], 1944
Item 34: Otello [vocal score|music by Verdi|call number M 1503 .V484 O7 1950za], 1950
Item 35: Rigoletto [vocal score|music by Verdi|call number M 1503 .V484 R52 1930a], 1930
Item 36: La Traviata [vocal score|music by Verdi|call number M 1503 .V484 T52 1926a], 1926
Item 37: IL Trovatore [vocal score|music by Verdi|call number M 1503 .V484 T7 1926a], 1926
Item 38: Lohengrin [vocal score|music by Wagner|call number M 1503 .W14 L53 1900za], 1900
Item 39: Die Meistersinger Von Nurnberg [vocal score|music by Wagner|call number M 1503 .W14 M4 1932a], 1932
Item 40: Parsifal [vocal score|music by Wagner|call number M 1503 .W14 P3 1960za], 1960
Item 41: The Rhinegold [vocal score|music by Wagner|call number M 1503 .W14 R522 1940za], 1940
Item 42: Die Walkure|The Valkyrie [vocal score|music by Wagner|call number M 1503 .W14 R532 1900za], 1900
Item 43: Siegfried [vocal score|music by Wagner|call number M 1503 .W14 R533 1904a], 1904
Item 44: Gotterdammerung|Twilight of the Gods [vocal score|music by Wagner|call number M 1503 .W14 R534 1904a], 1904
Item 45: Tannhauser [vocal score|music by Wagner|call number M 1503 .W14 T3 1904a], 1904
Item 46: Tristan and Isolda [vocal score|music by Wagner|call number M 1503 .W14 T7 1934a], 1934
Item 47: One Hundred Favorite Hymns for Male Voices [copy 1|call number M 2117 .O64 1915a], 1915
Item 48: One Hundred Favorite Hymns for Male Voices [copy 2|call number M 2117 .O64 1915a], 1915
Item 49: One Hundred Favorite Hymns for Male Voices [copy 3|call number M 2117 .O64 1915a], 1915
Item 50: L'Amour Des Trois Oranges 2011 - 2012 [Opera National de Paris|call number ML 40 .P3 O647 2012a, 2012
Item 51: Aida [opera guide and libretto|call number ML 50 .V484 A42 1962a], 1962
Item 52: IL Trovatore [libretto|call number ML 50 .V484 T82 1900za], 1900
Item 53: Lyric Opera of Chicago [hardcover book|call number ML 1711.8 .C5 C377 1979a, 1979
Item 54: The Beginning of Grand Opera in Chicago 1850 - 1859 [book|call number ML 1711.8 .C5 H335 1913a], 1913
Item 55: Forty Years of Opera in Chicago [book|call number ML 1711.8 .C5 M667 1930a], no date
Item 56: Elementary German Grammar [book|call number PF 3111 .O83 1914a], no date
Item 57: Pick-Up Girl [play in three acts|call number PS 3537 .H635 P5 1946a], no date
Item 58: Three Cornered Moon [comedy in three acts|call number PS 3539 .O45 T5 1933a], no date
Item 59: Die Befreiung by Wilhelm Langewiefche Brandt [book], no date
Item 60: Harper's Magazine vol. 3, no date
Item 61: Harper's Magazine vol. 4, no date
Item 62: Harper's Magazine vol. 6, no date
Item 63: Harper's Magazine vol. 9, no date
Item 64: Harper's Magazine vol. 12, no date
Item 65: If the Shoe Fits by Harry W. Beatty [book], no date
Item 66: The Indiana Society of Chicago - 25th Annual Dinner [program], no date
Item 67: Messer Marco Polo by Donn Byrne [book], no date
Item 68: The Mother's Recompense by Edith Wharton [book], no date
Item 69: Pierre Key's Music Yearbook 1926 - 1927, no date
Item 70: Pierre Key's International Music Yearbook 1929 - 1930, no date
Item 71: Self Mastery Through Conscious Autosuggestion by Emile Coue [book], no date
Item 72: Ullgemeine Weltgefchichte vol. 1, no date
Item 73: Ullgemeine Weltgefchichte vol. 2, no date
Item 74: Ullgemeine Weltgefchichte vol. 3, no date
Item 75: Ullgemeine Weltgefchichte vol. 4, no date
Item 76: Ullgemeine Weltgefchichte vol. 5, no date
Item 77: Ullgemeine Weltgefchichte vol. 6, no date
Item 78: Ullgemeine Weltgefchichte vol. 7, no date
Item 79: Ullgemeine Weltgefchichte vol. 8, no date
Item 80: Ullgemeine Weltgefchichte vol. 9, no date
Item 81: Ullgemeine Weltgefchichte vol. 11, no date
Item 82: Ullgemeine Weltgefchichte vol. 12, no date
Item 83: Ullgemeine Weltgefchichte vol. 13, no date
Item 84: Ullgemeine Weltgefchichte vol. 16, no date
Item 85: Whose Who in America vol.15, 1928 - 1929
Item 86: Ledger, 1926
Item 87: Ledger, 1925
Item 88: Ledger, 1922
Item 89: Ledger, 1921
Item 90: Ledger, 1925 & 1926
Item 91: Ledger, 1925
Item 92: Ledger, 1926
Item 93: Ledger, 1927
Item 94: Ledger, 1923
Item 95: Ledger, 1920
Item 96: Ledger, 1924
Item 97: Ledger, 1923
Item 98: Ledger, 1921
Item 99: Ledger, 1924 - 1925
Item 100: Ledger, 1919
Item 101: Trial Balance Ledger [HWB B 300 written on cover], no date
Item 102: Trial Balance Ledger [HWB 400 2 written on cover], no date
Item 103: Ledger, no date
Item 104: Ledger, no date
Item 105: Scrapbook, no date
Item 106: Our Continent Magazine [weekly illustrated magazine] vol. 1 no. 1 [oversized], Feb 15, 1882
Item 107: Issue of Le Theatre no. 19 [oversized], 1899
Item 108: La Tapisserie Gothique exhibition book [oversized], 1928