Fortissimo: Backstage at the Opera with Sacred Monsters and Young Singers

by William Murray

Book Overview

H. L. Mencken declared that "the opera is to music what a bawdy house is to a cathedral." It was not meant as a compliment, but to William Murray, former New Yorker staff writer and aspiring opera... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1400053609
• ISBN13: 9781400053605
• Release Date: September 2005
• Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY)
• Length: 273 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.8" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

Wonderful

Wonderfully written. A great insight into the world of opera for those who don't know and those who do. Beautiful

donnasfriend

This is an enjoyable journey through the Chicago Lyric Opera. You get an intimate glimpse into the behind the scenes opera world.

The subtitle says it all.

Basically, I agree with J. Scott Morrison. Murray, a former Gigli wannabe, knows his onions about singing technique and the ways singers can knot themselves up, all trying to do something "naturally." He also shows us something of how a great opera company (the Chicago Lyric Opera, in this case) continues -- and successfully -- in a country where the majority has no use for or love or knowledge of the form. Opera is a minority taste. In the age of the dumb-down, the minority may get even smaller. Murray writes elegant, entertaining prose (he was a New Yorker staffer for a number of years), and each chapter takes on the tone and the depth of one of that magazine's "fact" pieces. His eye for detail is all you expect from his pedigree. For me, it's the details that make the book. The one quibble I have stems from the fact that Murray died soon after completing the manuscript. The editing job on the book could have been better. In addition to the flubs mentioned by Morrison, more irritating are the passages of pure repetition a zealous writer like Murray would have caught and excised. For those who want more dirt, there are other books. Nevertheless, Murray doesn't gloss over the more fractious personalities. His mission was to report in depth on an opera program for young artists that seemed to work, and he found many reasons for its success. He is also clearly in love with great singing and great acting, and since he actually logged time on stage in his youth, he is cannier than most about what it takes to do something as difficult as singing opera. I think any young singer with ambitions in that direction ought to read this book to get some sense of the difficulties -- economic, physical, and emotional -- of trying to establish a career. No one over the emotional age of six goes into opera with the idea of making money. They are there for love of the form, for love of singing, for the need to devote themselves to a difficult art. Because of this and because of the market, the more successful of them make a modest living for a few years. The rest become writers, doctors, and clerks.

Very Informative, yet entertaining

I picked this book up without expectations. I simply wanted to have somethying to read while travelling to see my family over the holidays. I'm glad to say that this book turned out to be a wonderful read from cover to cover. Bill Murray did an excellent job taking us behind the scenes of the Chicago Lyric Operas young artists program. It is a very honest, yet loving look at todays' business of Opera and how it can, and will, take it's toll on the young artist seeking a career in this demanding and financially unrewarding art form. Murray not only succeeds in bringing the various characters of the Chicago Lyric and it's young artists to life, but he also delves into the world of professional opera and it's "scared monsters", past and present. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is curious about what goes into becoming an opera star, and the business end of it all.

A Thoughtful and Enjoyable Look Backstage at the Opera

For the operaholics among us (I am one) "Fortissimo" is an entertaining and interesting look at what goes on backstage at the opera. Author Murray was given unprecedented access to Lyric Opera of Chicago's Opera Center for American Artists during the 2003-2004 season. This is Lyric Opera's training ground for young artists. Murray follows this group of twelve singers through coaching sessions, rehearsals, auditions and performances to give the reader a close-hand look at the rigorous intensity of this most glorious art form. Interspersed with this are chapthers which fill out the picture of what it takes to succeed in opera. There is a chapter devoted to the comprimario - singers who specialize in secondary characters. Another chapter is devoted to Pavarotti, a warning of what can happen when one achieves what Murray dubs 'sacred monster' status. A sacred monster, superstar, Pavarotti was undone at the end of his career by his enormous ego. This book is a wonderful gift for those opera lovers on your Christmas list this season.