Template:Did you know nominations/Nelle Richmond Eberhart

Nelle Richmond Eberhart

 * ... that Nelle Richmond Eberhart wrote the first opera commissioned for American radio?

Created/expanded by Penny Richards (talk). Self nominated at 13:36, 21 July 2013 (UTC).


 * I'm in the process of reviewing this. SlimVirgin (talk) 02:25, 24 July 2013 (UTC)


 * Date created is good, article and hook length are good. The Early life section needs a source. I can't see most of the sources, so I'm taking them on good faith. A point about the hook: it says that she wrote "the first opera commissioned for American radio." The source for the hook says it was "the first opera commissioned for radio." Do you know which is correct, and if it's for American radio, is there a source to that effect? SlimVirgin (talk) 02:49, 24 July 2013 (UTC)


 * Here's what I know: Wikipedia has a list of operas commissioned for radio--according to that, The Willow Tree (libretto by Nelle Richmond Eberhart) was fourth ever, first for American radio (the earlier three were two for German radio and one for BBC).  I'm not an opera expert, though, so maybe someone who knows more can say for sure.  I'll add sources for the Early Life section, must have just forgot to insert them (most of the sources for this article are online, I just don't always know how to link them--I can work on that too).Penny Richards (talk) 14:39, 24 July 2013 (UTC)Penny Richards


 * Her Pittsburgh Press obituary says "co-author with Charles Wakefield Cadman of the first radio opera." I'll keep looking around. Penny Richards (talk) 15:24, 24 July 2013 (UTC)Penny Richards


 * A much shorter obituary in the Milwaukee Journal has "Mrs. Eberhart wrote the first radio opera for the National Broadcasting Co. in 1932." Guess that can be read various ways? Penny Richards (talk) 15:26, 24 July 2013 (UTC)Penny Richards


 * The New York Times had a much longer obituary than the above two, with the headline "Nelle Eberhart, A Noted Lyricist; Collaborator of Charles W. Cadman is Dead--Wrote First Opera for Radio" (November 16, 1944, p. 23). So now we have three obituaries that say "first opera for radio," but Wikipedia's chart has three earlier ones!  I wonder if her family didn't know about the other three when the obituaries were compiled? Penny Richards (talk) 15:58, 24 July 2013 (UTC)Penny Richards

I took a look at this dissertation, later published as a book (you have to sign in to see the whole thing) – Radio, rubble, and reconstruction: The genre of Funkoper in postwar occupied Germany and the German Federal Republic, 1946-1957 – and it confirms that there were earlier radio operas. It also makes the point that not all of these were regarded as radio operas at the time; they were at first placed in other genres. That could account for the discrepancy between sources, or it could be, as you say, that some sources simply didn't know about the earlier ones (they didn't have access to Wikipedia!). So your hook is probably the safest thing: "the first opera commissioned for American radio." I see you've added the other sources, so this looks good to go. SlimVirgin (talk) 22:04, 24 July 2013 (UTC)


 * Hooray! Thanks so much for taking the time with this DYK. I'm consistently impressed with the process here at Wikipedia (this is my first time self-nominating, was curious how it worked, and now I know). Penny Richards (talk) 22:31, 24 July 2013 (UTC)Penny Richards


 * You're very welcome, Penny. SlimVirgin (talk) 23:03, 24 July 2013 (UTC)