Dr. Erica Levenson

Biography

Erica Levenson researches the music of the baroque era with an emphasis on the transnational circulation of opera, popular songs, and musical theater. Her current book project, 'Playful Enemies: French Song, Satire, Spectacle in Early Eighteenth-Century England,' examines the history of British nationalism in opposition to the multiculturalism of London while attending to the lively presence of French musical comedies on the London stage during a period of political hostility between France and England. The project analyzes the cross-Channel movement of itinerant actors, ephemeral entertainments, and satirical tunes, addressing how local popular music traditions are transmitted and understood across borders in a world of modern global interconnectedness. As an advocate for building collaborations within diverse intellectual communities, Levenson engages scholars from disciplines such as musicology, literary history, and theater history. She has presented her research at national and international conferences, including the International Conference on Baroque Music and the annual meetings of the American Musicological Society and the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies. Currently, she is on the Board of Directors of the Society for Eighteenth-Century Music. Her articles on Anglo-French musical relations have been published in journals such as 'Eighteenth-Century Music' and in edited volumes like 'Music, Myth, and Story in Medieval and Early Modern Europe' (Boydell Brewer Press). Her research is archival-based and has been supported by the American Musicological Society's Jan LaRue Travel Fund and the Society for the Humanities at Cornell University. Levenson teaches courses covering a wide range of topics, including the histories of opera and musical theater, historical performance practice, and the intersections of music with gender and sexuality. As a harpsichordist and organist, she values the integration of performance, teaching, and research.

Research Interests

Experience