An Embarrassing Position#The opera

Chopin wrote An Embarrassing Position while living in St. Louis, Missouri. She submitted it to the New York Herald drama competition, but did not win.{{cite book|author=Kate Chopin|title=The Complete Works of Kate Chopin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lOR6ImcNDikC|year=1970|publisher=LSU Press|isbn=978-0-8071-4960-7}} It appeared in the St. Louis Mirror on December 19, 1895.{{cite book|author=Bonnie James Shaker|title=Coloring Locals: Racial Formation in Katie Chopin's "Youth's Companion" Stories|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rdVq6Gidb24C&pg=PA97|date=1 April 2005|publisher=University of Iowa Press|isbn=978-1-58729-428-0|pages=97–}} Later, interest in her work grew, and in 1970 the play was published as part of Kate Chopin: Complete Novels and Stories by the Library of America.Zell, Martin Allen. [http://press-street.com/stray-leaves-portrait-of-the-artist-with-two-heads/ "Stray Leaves: Portrait of the Artist with Two Heads"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140912080338/http://press-street.com/stray-leaves-portrait-of-the-artist-with-two-heads/ |date=2014-09-12 }}. NOLA Book and Literary News

The play has been studied as an example of early American literature; for example, it is included in Yvonne Collioud Sisko's book Looking at Literature: 12 Short Stories, a Play, and a Novel.

After Dan Shore rewrote Chopin's play as a comic opera, An Embarrassing Position was first produced by the New England Conservatory in 2010,The Morning Call (March 5, 2011). [https://web.archive.org/web/20140912071940/http://articles.mcall.com/2011-03-05/entertainment/mc-artsnews-0306-20110305_1_valley-arts-news-gallery-one-curators-and-collectors "Allentown Native Wins Big Easy Award"]. Retrieved July 30, 2013. and went on to win a Big Easy Entertainment Award[http://www.bestofneworleans.com/gambit/classical-arts-awards/Content?oid=1571463 "Classical Arts Awards"]. Gambit: the Best of New Orleans.{{cite news|last=Coviello|first=Will|title=Classical Arts Awards|url=http://www.bestofneworleans.com/gambit/classical-arts-awards/Content?oid=1571463|accessdate=July 28, 2013|newspaper=Gambit Weekly|date=February 15, 2011}} and the National Opera Association's Chamber Opera Competition.{{cite web|title=Chamber Opera Competition|url=http://www.noa.org/competitions/chamber-opera-composition.html|publisher=National Opera Association|accessdate=July 28, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130902174324/http://www.noa.org/competitions/chamber-opera-composition.html|archive-date=September 2, 2013|url-status=dead}} The opera has been praised for its lyricism{{cite news|last=Vella|first=Christina|title=Xavier Opera Workshop and Shore|url=http://www.thestbernardvoice.com/|newspaper=The St. Bernard Voice|date=November 12, 2010}} and its evocation of turn-of-the-century New Orleans.{{cite news|last=Mahne|first=Theodore|title=Gershwin's 'Blue Monday' and contemporary 'An Embarrassing Position' charm at Marigny Opera House|url=http://www.nola.com/arts/index.ssf/2013/07/gershwins_blue_monday_and_cont.html|accessdate=July 28, 2013|newspaper=New Orleans Times-Picayune|date=July 26, 2013}}

The opera was favorably reviewed in The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate in New Orleans.[http://www.nola.com/arts/index.ssf/2013/12/theater_year_in_review_no_audi.html "Theater year in review: N.O. audiences had much to applaud in banner season"]. New Orleans Times-Picayune. and Gambit magazine.Coviello, Will. [http://www.bestofneworleans.com/gambit/review-blue-mondayan-embarrassing-position/Content?oid=2235017 "Review: Blue Monday and An Embarrassing Position "]. Gambit: The Best of New Orleans.

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• {{cite book|author=Kate Chopin|title=The Complete Works of Kate Chopin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lOR6ImcNDikC|year=1970|publisher=LSU Press|isbn=978-0-8071-4960-7}}

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Category:1895 plays

Category:Works by Kate Chopin