Many of the circus clowns (who often performed in blackface in the early part of the century) were also minstrel performers or later became minstrel performers. There was a significant overlap in the music, too. Foster, yes, but many, many other composers as well. And opera was one of the favorite targets of post-bellum blackface minstrel parody. Sharon ________________________________ From: Alan Kitty <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] Sent: Sun, March 17, 2013 8:56:41 AM Subject: Re: Horse Opera Presume the music one might hear at a circus of the period might have been c= alliope music by Stephen foster? It's a guess based on Twain's love of the e= asily played minstrel tunes by the composer. Sent from my iPhone On Mar 16, 2013, at 7:22 PM, Robert E Stewart <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > In the first known article signed " Yours, dreamily, Mark Twain," referenc= e=20 > is made by Twain of his playing the piano. He wrote: "I sat down to the=20= > piano and sang - however, what I sang is of no consequence to anybody. It = =20 > was only a graceful little gem from the horse opera. " >=20 > A dictionary today says Horse Opera is "A film or other theatrical work=20= > about the American West; a western" >=20 > The first written "westerns," often later called "Dime Novels" or "Dime =20= > Westerns" made their appearance in about 1860. But of course, no western =20= > movies until a long time after that. So what was the music Twain was play= ing on=20 > the ivory keys at former California governor J. Neely Johnson's party in=20= > Carson City?=20 >=20 > The Sheboygan Journal of May 21, 1857, page one, col. three says ". . . t= o=20 > the circus, more tastefully termed the 'horse opera,' which last is=20 > patronized to a greater extent in this city than any other place of amuse= ment." I=20 > found a few other newspaper references confirming it as a mid-1800s term=20= > for a Circus. >=20 > Twain, taught piano by his sister, was tinkling out a piece of circus=20 > music of the period. >=20 > Bob Stewart >=20