Dr. Mary Smart

Biography

Mary Ann Smart specializes in the social dimensions of opera in nineteenth-century Europe. Her book, 'Mimomania: Music Gesture Nineteenth-Century Opera' (2004), utilized textual sources and musical evidence to illustrate the deep connections between musical patterns and physical gesture in the repertoire of French grand operas of the 1830s, Verdi's 'Aida', and Wagner's 'Ring'. Her second major work, 'Waiting for Verdi: Opera and Political Opinion in Nineteenth-Century Italy, 1815–1848' (2018), analyzed the significance of opera to audiences during this turbulent period, revealing the moral dilemmas, emotional responses, and journalistic debates inspired by operatic performances. Smart has co-edited volumes on gender and sexuality in opera, and has written extensively on the public lives of nineteenth-century female singers, as well as contemporary stagings of classical opera. She collaborates with David Levin at the University of Chicago on book series 'Opera Lab' and is currently pursuing several book-length projects that explore trends in opera production.

Research Interests