The George A. and Eliza Gardner Howard Foundation

Lucy Caplan is Assistant Director of Studies and Lecturer on History and Literature at Harvard University. She holds a Ph.D. in American Studies and African American Studies from Yale University. Her first book, High Culture on the Lower Frequencies: African Americans and Opera in the Early Twentieth Century, is under contract with Harvard University Press. It tells the story of how Black performers, composers, and critics redefined the genre of opera as a wellspring of antiracist activism, collective sociality, and aesthetic innovation. Lucy’s writing has appeared in the Journal of the Society for American Music, Women and Music, American Studies, and several edited collections. The recipient of the Rubin Prize for Music Criticism, Lucy also writes frequently for public audiences. Her essays have been published in The New Yorker online and Opera News, among others, and her program notes have been commissioned by Boston Lyric Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Seattle Opera, and Lincoln Center.