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One of the most eccentric and interesting artistic partnerships of the 20th century, as WNYC's Sara Fishko tells us, was the collaboration between the composer Virgil Thomson and the writer and poet Gertrude Stein. Together, the two were instrumental in inventing American opera. More, in this episode of Fishko Files.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art's production of The Mother of Us All, 100 years after the 19th amendment, begins Saturday, February 8, with four performances through February 14.

Thanks to Karen Ludwig for her reading of Gertrude Stein's poem "A Substance in a Cushion."

For more on Thomson's years at the Chelsea Hotel, listen to this archival edition of Fishko Files.

The opera's premiere in 1947 was broadcast on WNYC from Columbia University's Brander Matthews Hall. Hear the entire performance, courtesy of Andy Lanset and the WNYC Archives.

Fishko Files with Sara Fishko

Assistant Producer: Olivia Briley
Mix Engineer: Bill Moss
Editor: Karen Frillmann