And So I Sing: African American Divas Of Opera and Concert

Black women bring a host of influences and ideologies with them to opera -- as well as their spirituality, their strengths and passions. The exclusion of blacks from opera for so many generations impoverished both the artists and the artistic world from which they were barred. Imagine if Leontyne Price had been born 50 years earlier, during a time when she would not have been allowed on an American opera stage. This book not only supplies portraits of the greatest artists for future generations of students of black art and culture, but also rescues from history's shadows the lost legacies of geniuses born too soon. Photos.

This well-planned, carefully researched, and smoothly written book covers a group of performers generally neglected in print, going back to Elizabeth Taylor-Greenfield, born in 1820. In early cases biography is culled from skimpy sources and framed by the racial and cultural contexts of the times, with flashes of fascinating illumination for us today. For much of the book Story has varied the length and format of each singer's history, but sections in the second half contain rows of short vignettes that tend to a lock-step sameness in style. Chapters and discussions on the role of black churches, black voice quality, ethnicity in opera, and the influence of the Harlem renaissance add valuable background. Recommended for music libraries and music collections in school and general libraries.
- Philippa Kiraly, Cleveland
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.