Renee Lapp Norris

Renee Lapp Norris, a musicologist and editor, dives into the rich yet complicated history of minstrel music in America. She reveals how minstrel shows used opera parodies to gain respectability and widen their audiences. Norris discusses the structure and instrumentation of these shows, the significance of sheet music, and the cultural implications of using blackface. Highlighting how minstrels aimed to Americanize opera while reinforcing stereotypes, she also addresses the need for critical scholarship on these musical forms and future research directions.