Opera Theatre of St. Louis became a not-for-profit corporation in March, 1964. In August of that year, it merged with St. Louis Grand Opera Guild and subsequently, in September, 1967, with August Opera Festival. Opera Theatre continues as the surviving corporation and name.
The St. Louis Grand Opera Guild was formed in 1937 as the active arm of the St. Louis Grand Opera Association and received official charitable corporation status in 1939. The Guild encouraged area singers at the non-professional level by presenting a series of operas, sponsoring the Metropolitan Opera Company auditions, and providing an educational program of lectures, movies, and workshops. From 1952-1957, the Guild affiliated with Washington University's Opera Workshop and provided scholarships and financial assistance for performances of opera under the direction of their Department of Music.
Dedicated to the production of opera in English, the St. Louis August Opera Festival formed in 1959 as St. Louis Festival Society. It has produced three to four different operas each August since then, first at Washington University and later at John Burroughs Outdoor Theatre. The August Opera Festival has also encouraged local singers, most notably Grace Bumbry and Eugene Holmes.
The collection documents the history of opera in St. Louis from 1939, including the opera productions, metropolitan opera auditions, the finances involved and the efforts to raise the public's interest in
grand opera. The collection is divided into five series: St. Louis Grand Opera Guild records; General Correspondence; Legal Documents and Lists; Financial Records; and Publicity and Programs.
SERIES DESCRIPTION
SERIES 1 - ST. LOUIS GRAND OPERA GUILD RECORDS, 1939-1957
Correspondence, minutes, legal documents, and members' lists of the predecessor to Opera Theatre of St. Louis.
SERIES 2 - OPERA THEATRE OF ST. LOUIS, GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE, 1964-1970
Includes minutes of meetings and correspondence of presidents and board members, in particular Luella Sayman, Harold Blumenfeld, Dorothy Ziegler, Stanley Chapple, Homer Sayad, Elihu Hyndman, and Stuart M. Chambers.
SERIES 3 - LEGAL DOCUMENTS AND LISTS, 1941-1968
Includes Plan of Merger, St. Louis Grand Opera Guild and Opera Theatre of St. Louis; by-laws and articles of incorporation, St. Louis Grand Opera Guild, St. Louis Grand Opera Association, American Opera Theatre, and Opera Theatre of St. Louis; and lists of officers, guarantors and members of advisory board and board of directors.
SERIES 4 - FINANCIAL RECORDS, 1964-1970
Includes budgets, proposals, profiles, and ledgers, including proposals for Arts and Education Council and Missouri State Council of the Arts.
SERIES 5 - PUBLICITY AND PROGRAMS, 1939-1980
Includes newsletters, programs of operas, fact book, and scrapbooks.
FOLDER LIST
BOX 1 - ST. LOUIS GRAND OPERA GUILD GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE
1. St. Louis Grand Opera Guild, 1939-40.
2. St. Louis Grand Opera Guild, January-September, 1941.
3. St. Louis Grand Opera Guild, October-December, 1941.
4. St. Louis Grand Opera Guild, January-July, 1942.
5. St. Louis Grand Opera Guild, August-December, 1942.
6. St. Louis Grand Opera Guild, 1943.
7. St. Louis Grand Opera Guild, 1944-45.
8. St. Louis Grand Opera Guild, Correspondence, Jan.-Oct., 1946.
9. St. Louis Grand Opera Guild, November-December, 1946.
10. St. Louis Grand Opera Guild, January-March, 1947.
11. St. Louis Grand Opera Guild, April-December, 1947.
12. St. Louis Grand Opera Guild, 1948.
13. St. Louis Grand Opera Guild, January-May, 1949.
14. St. Louis Grand Opera Guild, June-December, 1949.
15. St. Louis Grand Opera Guild, 1950.
BOX 2
16. St. Louis Grand Opera Guild, Guarantee Fund, 1950-51.
17. St. Louis Grand Opera Guild, Correspondence, 1951.
18. St. Louis Grand Opera Guild, Correspondence, 1952.
19. St. Louis Grand Opera Guild, Correspondence, 1953.
20. St. Louis Grand Opera Guild, January-June, 1954, Correspondence.
21. St. Louis Grand Opera Guild, Correspondence, July-Dec., 1954.
22. St. Louis Grand Opera Guild, Correspondence, 1955-56.
23. St. Louis Grand Opera Guild and Opera Theatre of St. Louis,
Correspondence, 1957.
24. St. Louis Grand Opera Guild, Correspondence, 1958-59.
25. St. Louis Grand Opera Guild, Correspondence, 1960-61.
26. St. Louis Grand Opera Guild, Correspondence, 1962-63.
27. St. Louis Grand Opera Guild and Opera Theatre of St. Louis,
Correspondence, January-June, 1964.
28. St. Louis Grand Opera Guild and Opera Theatre of St. Louis,
Correspondence, July-December, 1964.
29. Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Minutes, 1964-65.
30. Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Correspondence, January-June, 1965.
31. Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Correspondence, July-December, 1965.
32. Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Correspondence, 1967-1968.
33. Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Correspondence, January-June, 1969.
34. Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Correspondence, July-September, 1969.
35. Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Correspondence, October-Dec., 1969.
36. Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Correspondence, Jan.-March, 1970.
37. Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Correspondence, April-May, 1970.
38. Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Correspondence, June-Dec., 1970.
39. St. Louis Grand Opera Guild and Opera Theatre of St. Louis,
Legal Documents, 1964.
40. List, Board of Directors, Officers, 1941-1968.
41. Budgets, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, 1964-65.
42. Budgets, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, 1967-68.
43. Budgets, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, 1968-70.
44. Budget: Arts & Education Council Proposals, 1969-1970.
45. Opera Theatre of St. Louis: August Finances, Financial Profile, 1959-69.
46. Budget: Golden Rod Showboat, 1968-70.
47. Budget: Missouri State Council on the Arts, 1968-70.
BOX 3
48. Opera Theatre of St. Louis Record Book, 1968-70.
49. Newsletters, 1967-80.
50. Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Programs, 1939-79.
51. Opera Theatre of St. Louis, August Opera Festival Programs, 1959-1970
52. Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Season Programs. 1976-79.
53. Opera In St. Louis Fact Book.
54. Scrapbook, 1964-67.
55. Scrapbook, 1968.
WESTERN HISTORICAL MANUSCRIPT COLLECTION
222 THOMAS JEFFERSON LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-ST. LOUIS
8001 NATURAL BRIDGE ROAD
ST. LOUIS, MO 63121
(314)516-5143
whmc@umsl.edu