Diva: The New Generation

Helena Matheopoulos

ISBN 10: 1555533582 / ISBN 13: 9781555533588

Published by Northeastern University Press, 1998

Missing dust jacket; Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less. Seller Inventory # G1555533582I3N01

Synopsis:

In an illustrated follow-up to her 1992 book, Diva: Great Sopranos and Mezzos Discuss Their Art, more than thirty of today's most prominent divas discuss their musical and personal challenges and successes, alongside the author's commentary. UP.

Reviews: According to Matheopoulos (Diva: Great Sopranos and Mezzos Discuss their Art), the 1990s has been a "bumper decade" for high-quality female singers. In this intriguing book she interviews 14 sopranos, including Barbara Bonney, Renee Fleming, Angela Gheorghiu, Galina Gorchakova, Catherine Malfitano and Carol Vaness, and seven mezzos, including Cecilia Bartoli, Olga Borodina and Jennifer Larmore. Weaving their comments together with her own perceptive observations, she lets them describe their training; their vocal strengths and weaknesses; their career plans; the demands of their roles; their relationships with conductors, directors and other singers; and the work of balancing professional and private lives. Some of the most revealing statements have to do with the singers' insights into the personalities of the characters they play. For example, Bonney views Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier as a spoiled brat who will eventually lose Octavian; Vaness notes that while Verdi's ladies tend to be rather uncomplicated, Bonney tries to make them more so, for example, making Desdemona a fighter, not just a victim; Dolora Zajick learned how to portray Lady Macbeth from watching Bette Davis in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane. Matheopoulos's aim is to show that while contemporary female singers from around the world have as much glamour as the divas of the past, they are also intelligent, self-aware and imbued with a good measure of common sense. If these savvy ladies are typical, she proves that today's divas are indeed "artists first and divas second." Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Matheopoulos, journalist and director of vocal projects for London's Philharmonic Orchestra, profiles 14 sopranos and seven mezzo sopranos from the 1990s. In contrast to the 1980s, when there was a dearth of good female voices, the present decade is blessed with them. The key ingredient in the success and development of these divas is their resilient combination of gift, determination, and hard work; it doesn't hurt that they are all svelte, good looking, and good actors to boot. Of interest is the careful steps singers take in order to protect their talent; roles are chosen at specific stages in their careers to fit their voices without harm. Matheopoulos knows her opera, and her profiles are intriguing. Aspiring young opera singers and opera fans may also want to read her Diva: Great Sopranos and Mezzos Discuss Their Art (LJ 7/92). Recommended for academic and public libraries.?Kathleen Sparkman, Baylor Univ., Waco, TX
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Bibliographic Details

Title: Diva: The New Generation
Publisher: Northeastern University Press
Publication Date: 1998
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: Good
Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket