The Robin Woman

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The Robin Woman ( or Shanewis) is an opera in one act by Charles Wakefield Cadman with an english libretto by Nelle Richmond Eberhart. Although originally performed under the title Shanewis, the vocal score was published under the title The Robin Woman (Shanewis). The opera was first performed on March 23, 1918 at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Shanewis was performed eight times in two seasons at the Metropolitan Opera. It was the first American opera to be presented there in more than a single season. The opera was later performed in Denver in 1924 and Los Angeles in 1926. At the Denver performance of 1924, the title role was performed by soprano Tsianina Redfeather Blackstone, who provided the semi-autobiographical story of the opera, in her operatic debut.

[edit] Roles

Role	Voice type	Premiere Cast, March 23, 19 (Conductor: Roberto Maranzoni)
Shanewis	Mezzo-Soprano	Sophie Braslau
Mrs. J. Asher Everton	Contralto	Kathleen Howard
Amy Everton	Soprano	Marie Sundelius
Lionel Rhodes	Tenor	Paul Althouse
Philip Harjo	Baritone	Thomas Chalmers
California society people; Oklahoma Indians, half-breeds and whites		Metropolitan Opera Chorus