First Night Fever the Memoirs of Herman Prey

English, German (translation)

In this, the only book about him, Prey, one of Europe's leading classical singers, has done himself a disservice, presenting himself as a self-absorbed workaholic. This is not a book of philosophy, insight, or ideas but a flatly written narrative with "laundry lists" of performances, songs, and famous people interspersed with occasional vignettes of family life (again centered around himself). Prey's sense of humor surfaces in the book's liveliest anecdote, which concerns a hilarious dialogue with a bridge worker on San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridgea man who suspects him of being a would-be suicide. Prey devotes two chapers to analysis of favorite song cycles. Lay readers can skip over technical terms, but the discussions are too brief to benefit singers much. This book is for fans only. Philippa Kiraly, Cleveland
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.