How Opera Inspired Walt Whitman's "Leaves of Grass"

How Opera Inspired Walt Whitman's "Leaves of Grass"

The New York Times, 9.29.17

Before becoming an opera house regular, Whitman was a fan of lighter fare, in particular the Hutchinson Family Singers and minstrel shows. His changed his mind about opera once he saw just how democratic performances really were, said David S. Reynolds, a professor at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and the author of "Walt Whitman's America."