The Muses Are Heard
Encyclopedia
The Muses Are Heard is an early journalist
ic work of Truman Capote
. Originally published in The New Yorker
, it is a narrative account of the cultural mission by The Everyman's Opera to the U.S.S.R. in the mid-1950s.
Capote was sent to accompany the Opera as it staged a production of Porgy and Bess
. First published in two parts, it was later released as a short non-fiction book. The book's title comes from a speech given by one of the Soviet cultural ministry staff, who declared, “When the cannons are heard, the muses are silent. When the cannons are silent, the muses are heard.”
waiting in West Berlin
for their visa
s to be returned by the Russian Embassy. They are briefed by U.S. Embassy Staff, and among other questions, ask if they will be under surveillance
, presumably by the K.G.B., during their visit. They also consider political issues and how to answer sensitive questions, especially those about the “Negro
situation” - also whether it is safe to drink the water: the company includes several children. Capote, who is present in the narrative, returns to his hotel room to find a brown paper parcel of anti-Communist pamphlet
s.
After a train ride of several days (the first two without a dining car), the cast and crew arrive in Leningrad
a few days before Christmas
and are dispatched to a hotel
, the Astoria, which boasts, as Capote writes, “a trio of restaurants, each leading into the other, cavernous affairs cheerful as airplane hangars.” The guest rooms are small, over-heated, and over-furnished with “a miasma of romantic marble statuary.” Capote claims that these rooms have been assigned according to each cast member's payroll status. According to Bolshevik
logic, claims Capote, the less you make, the better the accommodations.
Predictably, the production of Porgy and Bess runs into a few snags. Programs are not printed in time for Opening Night. After the show, the directors cannot quite determine the Russia
n audience's response, beyond their appreciation for certain musical numbers and their disapproval of the opera's sexual themes.
, juxtapositions and humor wherever possible. He unapologetically describes the tawdry stores in Leningrad and denizens of the local working class
bar. In true Capote fashion, he chooses the exact detail to set the scene: a cast member's jive talk, the crunchy pillow in the train berth smelling of hay, meals of yogurt and raspberry
soda
, when some had hoped for caviar, the wardrobe lady updating the only available American
flag with three new stars.
While the cultural differences are so obvious, Capote does manage to show the East and West coming together at various times. The cast and crew are truly touched when the cultural ministry sets up a Christmas tree
in the hotel lobby. The atmosphere warms up even more when the cast members commandeer a restaurant band's instruments and play a jumping “Sunny Side of the Street
". Beyond the music, the two sides have one more thing in common; as a Norwegian
businessman observes, they truly yearn for the love and approval of the rest of the world.
Capote's biographer Gerald Clarke states that The Muses are Heard was considered 'mischievous' when it appeared in print; for example, Capote puts into the mouth of another person (Priscilla Johnson) his own opinion of the troupe ('They're such a second-rate company'); his cameos of some of the cast, the entourage, and the Russian Ministry Staff verge on the grotesque. Clarke also reveals that several of the incidents in the story, including the encounter with the Norwegian businessmen, were entirely invented by Capote. This may have been a narrative device used by Capote to intrude his own opinions. John Steinbeck
states that he used this 'third party' method in the journalism collected in his Once There Was A War
.
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
ic work of Truman Capote
Truman Capote
Truman Streckfus Persons , known as Truman Capote , was an American author, many of whose short stories, novels, plays, and nonfiction are recognized literary classics, including the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's and the true crime novel In Cold Blood , which he labeled a "nonfiction novel." At...
. Originally published in The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
, it is a narrative account of the cultural mission by The Everyman's Opera to the U.S.S.R. in the mid-1950s.
Capote was sent to accompany the Opera as it staged a production of Porgy and Bess
Porgy and Bess
Porgy and Bess is an opera, first performed in 1935, with music by George Gershwin, libretto by DuBose Heyward, and lyrics by Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward. It was based on DuBose Heyward's novel Porgy and subsequent play of the same title, which he co-wrote with his wife Dorothy Heyward...
. First published in two parts, it was later released as a short non-fiction book. The book's title comes from a speech given by one of the Soviet cultural ministry staff, who declared, “When the cannons are heard, the muses are silent. When the cannons are silent, the muses are heard.”
Narrative
The book opens with the cast, directors, support personnel and Mrs. Ira GershwinIra Gershwin
Ira Gershwin was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs of the 20th century....
waiting in West Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
for their visa
Visa (document)
A visa is a document showing that a person is authorized to enter the territory for which it was issued, subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry. The authorization may be a document, but more commonly it is a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport...
s to be returned by the Russian Embassy. They are briefed by U.S. Embassy Staff, and among other questions, ask if they will be under surveillance
Surveillance
Surveillance is the monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people. It is sometimes done in a surreptitious manner...
, presumably by the K.G.B., during their visit. They also consider political issues and how to answer sensitive questions, especially those about the “Negro
Negro
The word Negro is used in the English-speaking world to refer to a person of black ancestry or appearance, whether of African descent or not...
situation” - also whether it is safe to drink the water: the company includes several children. Capote, who is present in the narrative, returns to his hotel room to find a brown paper parcel of anti-Communist pamphlet
Pamphlet
A pamphlet is an unbound booklet . It may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths , or it may consist of a few pages that are folded in half and saddle stapled at the crease to make a simple book...
s.
After a train ride of several days (the first two without a dining car), the cast and crew arrive in Leningrad
Leningrad
Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
a few days before Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
and are dispatched to a hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
, the Astoria, which boasts, as Capote writes, “a trio of restaurants, each leading into the other, cavernous affairs cheerful as airplane hangars.” The guest rooms are small, over-heated, and over-furnished with “a miasma of romantic marble statuary.” Capote claims that these rooms have been assigned according to each cast member's payroll status. According to Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
logic, claims Capote, the less you make, the better the accommodations.
Predictably, the production of Porgy and Bess runs into a few snags. Programs are not printed in time for Opening Night. After the show, the directors cannot quite determine the Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n audience's response, beyond their appreciation for certain musical numbers and their disapproval of the opera's sexual themes.
Literary significance and reception
It was hoped that Capote would paint the whole enterprise with a rosy brush, but instead, he highlights the culture shockCulture shock
Culture shock is the anxiety, feelings of frustration, alienation and anger that may occur when a person is emplaced in a new culture.One of the most common causes of culture shock involves individuals in a foreign country. Culture shock can be described as consisting of one or more distinct phases...
, juxtapositions and humor wherever possible. He unapologetically describes the tawdry stores in Leningrad and denizens of the local working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
bar. In true Capote fashion, he chooses the exact detail to set the scene: a cast member's jive talk, the crunchy pillow in the train berth smelling of hay, meals of yogurt and raspberry
Raspberry
The raspberry or hindberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus Rubus, most of which are in the subgenus Idaeobatus; the name also applies to these plants themselves...
soda
Soft drink
A soft drink is a non-alcoholic beverage that typically contains water , a sweetener, and a flavoring agent...
, when some had hoped for caviar, the wardrobe lady updating the only available American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
flag with three new stars.
While the cultural differences are so obvious, Capote does manage to show the East and West coming together at various times. The cast and crew are truly touched when the cultural ministry sets up a Christmas tree
Christmas tree
The Christmas tree is a decorated evergreen coniferous tree, real or artificial, and a tradition associated with the celebration of Christmas. The tradition of decorating an evergreen tree at Christmas started in Livonia and Germany in the 16th century...
in the hotel lobby. The atmosphere warms up even more when the cast members commandeer a restaurant band's instruments and play a jumping “Sunny Side of the Street
On the Sunny Side of the Street
"On the Sunny Side of the Street" is a song with music composed by Jimmy McHugh and lyrics by Dorothy Fields, which was introduced in the Broadway musical Lew Leslie's International Revue, starring Harry Richman and Gertrude Lawrence....
". Beyond the music, the two sides have one more thing in common; as a Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
businessman observes, they truly yearn for the love and approval of the rest of the world.
Capote's biographer Gerald Clarke states that The Muses are Heard was considered 'mischievous' when it appeared in print; for example, Capote puts into the mouth of another person (Priscilla Johnson) his own opinion of the troupe ('They're such a second-rate company'); his cameos of some of the cast, the entourage, and the Russian Ministry Staff verge on the grotesque. Clarke also reveals that several of the incidents in the story, including the encounter with the Norwegian businessmen, were entirely invented by Capote. This may have been a narrative device used by Capote to intrude his own opinions. John Steinbeck
John Steinbeck
John Ernst Steinbeck, Jr. was an American writer. He is widely known for the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden and the novella Of Mice and Men...
states that he used this 'third party' method in the journalism collected in his Once There Was A War
Once There Was A War
Once There Was a War, published in 1958, is a collection of articles written by John Steinbeck while he was a very special war correspondent for the New York Herald Tribune from June to December 1943...
.