Shanewis

opera by Cadman

Also known as: “The Robin Woman”

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Last updated

July 13, 2026

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Shanewis is an opera by American composer Charles Wakefield Cadman, with a libretto by Nellie Richmond Eberhart. It is also known as Shanewis (The Robin Woman).1

Cadman was one of the first American composers to focus on the music and folklore of the American Indian. His opera Shanewis, which premiered in 1918, was the first American opera to have two seasons at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. The opera is based on Native American themes and folklore.1

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Charles Wakefield Cadman
His 1918 opera Shanewis (The Robin Woman) was the first American opera to play two seasons at New York City’s Metropolitan Opera. Other works include the operatic cantata The Sunset Trail (1925) and the operas A Witch of Salem (1926) and The Willow Tree (1931), the first American…
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His 1918 opera Shanewis (The Robin Woman) was the first American opera to play two seasons at New York City’s Metropolitan Opera. Other works include the operatic cantata The Sunset Trail (1925) and the operas A Witch of Salem (1926) and The Willow Tree (1931), the first American…
Read More