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Paperback The American Opera Singer: The Lives & Adventures of America's Great Singers in Opera & Concert from 1825 to the Present Book

ISBN: 0385421745

ISBN13: 9780385421744

The American Opera Singer: The Lives & Adventures of America's Great Singers in Opera & Concert from 1825 to the Present

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Book Overview

In America today, opera has never been more popular, and one reason for this is, no doubt, that American opera singers are fixtures on every leading opera stage throughout the world. In this lively and engrossing account, Peter G. Davis, music critic for New York magazine and a leading opera authority, tells the story of how these plucky, resilient and supremely talented American singers have transformed this venerable European-born art form and made it their own.

Starting with opera's arrival in America in the early nineteenth century, Davis shows how American singers grew in sophistication and stature along with the country. From the nineteenth-century pioneers who crashed the gates of Europe's elite opera circles, to the glamorous singers of the early twentieth century who were also Hollywood stars and publicity magnets, to the highly professional singers since World War II who not only have gained European acceptance but now dominate the industry, this lively and highly readable account chronicles the extraordinary lives and adventures of these larger-than-life personalities. Included are Maria Callas, Beverly Sills, Richard Tucker, Leontyne Price, Marilyn Horne, Lawrence Tibbett, and a galaxy of others whose stories are as dramatic and compelling as the roles they sang on stage.

Full of prima-donna antics, hilarious backstage anecdotes, and performance lore, The American Opera Singer will delight anyone who has felt the magic of opera, and will provide a new canon of American singing sure to provoke spirited debate among aficionados.

Trained as a musician and composer, Peter G. Davis has been writing about music for over thirty years in such publications as the New York Times, The Times of London, High Fidelity, and Opera News. He is currently music critic for New York magazine and lives in New York City.

Experience the artistry of America's supremely talented singers on RCA Victor Red Seal's The American Opera Singer, a companion 2-CD set to this book, now available in record stores.

Customer Reviews

customer rating | review

Rated 5 stars
Excellent Collection of Stories/Opinions of Opera Singers

I really appreciated the quality of this book. Mr. Davis presents American singers in such a way that encouraged me to stick with the book and read the passages carefully. I carried it with me everywhere for three weeks, genuinely excited to read story after story. What I like the best is that I did not feel for a moment that he was insulting my intelligence as a reader (like lots of popular books on opera do) but rather...

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Rated 5 stars
Comprehensive and opinionated

Peter G. Davis' definition of "American" in this volume is quite broad, encompassing singers born abroad who made a significant contribution to the American operatic scene, as well as native-born artists who, for one reason or another, spent much of their artistic lives overseas. Thus, he discusses singers as diverse as Callas and Sills, Astrid Varnay and Helen Traubel, Claire Watson and Roland Hayes. With singers whose most...

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Rated 4 stars
A hard-nosed look at singing and singers

This book is not for the faint-hearted, nor is it for those who cannot abide anything other than unadulterated praise for their pet singers. Peter G. Davis has long been one of most brutal, but often insightful, of American critics, as those who read "New York" magazine will know. Both the brutality and the insight are on display here.Davis provides a fascinating and comprehensive review of the "American" singer - which...

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Rated 5 stars
Fabulous, witty & entertaining with plenty diva drama!

This book provides both the seasoned opera fan and newcomer the inside information on the stars of American Opera. It's comprehensive, funny and thought provoking.The only additions I can recommend would be the inclusion of a glossary of opera terminology, placement of the photos near the stories and a cronology of American opera singers (listing) by their career dates and birth/death dates.Highly recommend this for...

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Rated 5 stars
A good history of American singing

It is generous of Mr. Dizikes to review this book so favorably, since his own (Opera in America) is so much better. Nevertheless, the focus of the two is different. Dizikes focuses on institutions, Davis on individual singers. The popular press has overplayed Davis's assessment of today's singers (less than 100 pages). It's a solid history by one who has listened carefully to many records and read (it appears) every contemporary...

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