Scope and arrangement
The Jean Stein files on Rudolf Von Oertzen and Friedelind Wagner date from 1951 to 1959. They document the aborted production of Von Oertzen’s opera The Odyssey by the Shreveport (Louisiana) Symphony Society, as well as the friendship of Stein and Wagner.
The files on Von Oertzen hold correspondence (some in German) between Von Oertzen and John Shenaut, the Musical Director of the Shreveport Symphony Society, who in 1957 proposed a production of The Odyssey in Shreveport. The project eventually collapsed in 1959. Also present are Von Oertzen’s notes on the resources necessary for the production, a publicity brochure listing Von Oertzen’s compositions, a 1952 photograph of Von Oertzen with Arthur Rubinstein, and an undated photograph of Von Oertzen and his wife.
The file on Friedelind Wagner primarily contains letters from Wagner to Stein dating from 1951 to 1959, the last few of which discuss the attempted production of The Odyssey in Shreveport. It also holds a photograph of Wagner with Stein and her children, and two clippings from April 1959, one picturing Wagner with Stein, and the other picturing Wagner working on the opera.
Arrangement
The collection is in two divisions: Rudolf Von Oertzen's correspondence and photographs, and Friedelind Wagner's letters to Jean Stein.