Somewhere in the middle of the last century, the distinction between high and low culture passed into history under a tidal wave of modern communication. The distinction may have done more harm than good anyway as art cannot be so neatly categorized.
Take for example, a very young Joseph Campbell (1904-1987), who in 1910, met Buffalo Bill (William F. Cody, 1846-1917) at his Wild West Show in the old Madison Square Garden in New York. This trip to what was considered a decidedly “low culture” event nonetheless introduced Campbell to a life of scholarship. Late in life, Buffalo Bill wanted to portray the culture and complexity of Native American life. At the show, a ten-year old Campbell became enthralled with Native Americans and their culture.
There is no telling what a cultural event will do.
Attending La Fanciulla del West at the Metropolitan Opera this past weekend reminded me of the connection between Buffalo Bill and Joseph Campbell. The opera, based on a play by David Belasco, was staged the same year of their meeting — 1910. It was the first opera commissioned by the Met. The “old west” setting was exotic for urban opera audiences and the production was not received as well in Europe as it was in the United States.
The Met’s production rounded out the centenary celebration of La Fanciulla del West.
I thank CFA Professor Deborah Burton and the BU Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center for their work in this celebration.
Buffalo Bill in 1910, the year he met Joseph Campbell. Buffalo Bill performed in Boston 20 times between 1873-1916. Wikimedia photo. Public Domain.
