Publication Rights
Access
Biography
Preferred Citation
Scope and Contents
Sponsor
unused box numbers
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
Archive of Recorded Sound
Title: Blanche Thebom Collection
Identifier/Call Number: ARS.0059
Physical Description:
87 box(es)
86 boxes and 1 oversize folder
Date: 1934-2003
Physical Location: Stanford Archive of Recorded Sound
Stanford University Libraries Stanford, California 94305-3076
Abstract: The Blanche Thebom Collection has three
major components. The first is scores, correspondence, publicity, production notes, and
media from her post-Met career as teacher and director. Secondly, there are published and
unpublished sound recordings of Thebom. Lastly, the collection also retains Thebom's
extensive archive of printed music.
Material Specific Details: Audio: Tape 3" reels - 2 5" reels -
3 7" reels - 183 10" reels - 7 Audiocassettes - 59 Discs 7" instantaneous discs - 1 10"
instantaneous discs - 3 12" instantaneous discs - 145 10" 78 rpm test pressings - 40 12" 78
rpm test pressings - 6 10" 78 rpm album sets - 2 10" 78 rpm discs - 2 12" 78 rpm discs - 15
Moving Pictures: U-Matic - 14 Sony V-32 - 5 1" video - 1 Ampex 164 - 4 VHS - 4 DVD - 1 1"
film - 1 1/2" film - 2
Publication Rights
Property rights reside with repository. Publication and reproduction rights reside with the
creators or their heirs. To obtain permission to publish or reproduce, please contact the
Head Librarian of the Archive of Recorded Sound.
Access
Open for research; material must be requested at least two business days in advance of
intended use. Contact the Archive for assistance.
Biography
Operatic mezzo-soprano Blanche Thebom was born in Monessen, Pennsylvania in 1915, and began
her formal concert career in 1941. She was a member of the Metropolitan Opera through 1967,
known for her roles in Wagnerian epics. During this period she also toured extensively,
including being the first American to perform at the Bolshoi in Moscow. In 1967 she was
appointed head of The Atlanta Opera Company in Atlanta, Georgia. Following that experience,
Thebom taught at the University of Arkansas in Little Rock. In 1980 she moved to San
Francisco and directed an opera workshop at San Francisco State University, and founded the
Opera Arts Training Program in 1988 in conjunction with the San Francisco Girls Chorus.
Thebom passed away in March 2010 at the age of 94.
Preferred Citation
Blanche Thebom Collection, ARS-0059. Courtesy of the Stanford Archive of Recorded Sound,
Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, Calif.
Scope and Contents
The bulk of the Blanche Thebom Collection contains scores, publicity, correspondence,
notes, and media from her years as a theatrical director. Included are business records and
production materials from the Atlanta Opera Company, production materials from the operas
and puppet shows she directed at the University of Arkansas - Little Rock, and some files
from her stint teaching at San Francisco State University. The largest portion of this
collection is devoted to Thebom's own printed music collection, intact and in the order she
kept it. Outside of some ephemera from her many tours abroad, there is little material from
her time performing with the Metropolitan Opera, nor is there much in the way of personal
correspondence. However, the collection does hold many recordings from this era, including
test pressings from her years recording for RCA (some with unissued takes), as well as
almost 150 unique recordings on fragile instantaneous discs, several from the 1930's. A
collection contents list is available.
Sponsor
This finding aid was produced with generous financial support from the National Historical
Publications and Records Commission.
unused box numbers
Note: box numbers 35 & 43 are not used
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Operas
puppet theater
Mezzo-sopranos
Atlanta Opera Company (Atlanta, Ga.)
University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Thebom, Blanche -- Archives