The American Opera Singer

Author : Peter G. Davis
Publisher : Doubleday Books
Page : 688 pages
File Size : 47,9 Mb
Release : 1997
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : STANFORD:36105019341309

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The American Opera Singer by Peter G. Davis Pdf

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 "NewYork 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.

Author : Victoria Etnier Villamil
Publisher : UPNE
Page : 362 pages
File Size : 43,9 Mb
Release : 2004
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 1555536352

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From Johnson's Kids to Lemonade Opera by Victoria Etnier Villamil Pdf

American baritone Lawrence Tibbett created an overnight sensation at the Metropolitan Opera in 1925 when the audience stopped the performance of Falstaff to honor their compatriot for his exceptional talent. Tibbett's now legendary curtain call foreshadowed a startling new era for classically trained native singers who rarely received the public recognition or respect given to their European colleagues. In this absorbing work, Victoria Etnier Villamil chronicles the extraordinary time from 1935 to 1950 when American artists, who felt intensely inferior to foreign performers, journeyed from being unappreciated in their own country to standing without apology on stages at home and abroad. Drawing on exhaustive primary research and extensive interviews, Villamil tells the remarkable story of a generation of American opera singers whose profession, image, and art were forever altered by the upheavals of World War II, as well as sweeping cultural and technological changes. The author's in-depth look at these breakthrough years explores such defining factors as Edward Johnson's drive to "Americanize the Met" in his first seasons as general manager, the impact of the microphone on singers and singing styles, and the importance of radio and motion pictures in introducing classical music voices to wider audiences. Villamil also considers how travel restrictions imposed on European artists during the war unlocked opportunities for American artists, and the role of political and Jewish refugees in enriching music education and training in this country. In addition, the author discusses thoroughly the founding of the New York City Opera, the rise of regional and smaller opera companies, including the enterprising and popular Lemonade Opera, and advancements for African American classical singers. Brimming with entertaining anecdotes and colorful figures, both famous and little remembered, the fascinating book concludes with an examination of this crucial period's legacy for the American classical music scene in the 1950s and beyond. From Johnson's Kids to Lemonade Opera contains an invaluable appendix that provides biographical sketches of the over 250 opera and radio singers, as well as art song specialists, featured in this illuminating study.

Author : Daniel Bergner
Publisher : Little, Brown
Page : 217 pages
File Size : 50,9 Mb
Release : 2016-09-27
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9780316300650

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Sing for Your Life by Daniel Bergner Pdf

The New York Times bestseller about a young black man's journey from violence and despair to the threshold of stardom: "A beautiful tribute to the power of good teachers" (Terry Gross, Fresh Air). "One of the most inspiring stories I've come across in a long time."-Pamela Paul, New York Times Book Review Ryan Speedo Green had a tough upbringing in southeastern Virginia: his family lived in a trailer park and later a bullet-riddled house across the street from drug dealers. His father was absent; his mother was volatile and abusive. At the age of twelve, Ryan was sent to Virginia's juvenile facility of last resort. He was placed in solitary confinement. He was uncontrollable, uncontainable, with little hope for the future. In 2011, at the age of twenty-four, Ryan won a nationwide competition hosted by New York's Metropolitan Opera, beating out 1,200 other talented singers. Today, he is a rising star performing major roles at the Met and Europe's most prestigious opera houses. Sing for Your Life chronicles Ryan's suspenseful, racially charged and artistically intricate journey from solitary confinement to stardom. Daniel Bergner takes readers on Ryan's path toward redemption, introducing us to a cast of memorable characters -- including the two teachers from his childhood who redirect his rage into music, and his long-lost father who finally reappears to hear Ryan sing. Bergner illuminates all that it takes -- technically, creatively -- to find and foster the beauty of the human voice. And Sing for Your Life sheds unique light on the enduring and complex realities of race in America.

Author : Oscar Thompson
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 502 pages
File Size : 44,9 Mb
Release : 1937
Category : Opera
ISBN : UCAL:B3130077

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The American Singer by Oscar Thompson Pdf

Author : Laura Williams Macy
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 649 pages
File Size : 54,7 Mb
Release : 2008
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9780195337655

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The Grove Book of Opera Singers by Laura Williams Macy Pdf

Covering over 1500 singers from the birth of opera to the present day, this marvelous volume will be an essential resource for all serious opera lovers and an indispensable companion to the enormously successful Grove Book of Operas. The most comprehensive guide to opera singers ever produced, this volume offers an alphabetically arranged collection of authoritative biographies that range from Marion Anderson (the first African American to perform at the Met) to Benedict Zak (the classical tenor and close friend and colleague of Mozart). Readers will find fascinating articles on such opera stars as Maria Callas and Enrico Caruso, Ezio Pinza and Fyodor Chaliapin, Lotte Lehmann and Jenny Lind, Lily Pons and Luciano Pavarotti. The profiles offer basic information such as birth date, vocal style, first debut, most memorable roles, and much more. But these articles often go well beyond basic biographical information to offer colorful portraits of the singer's personality and vocal style, plus astute evaluations of their place in operatic history and many other intriguing observations. Many entries also include suggestions for further reading, so that anyone interested in a particular performer can explore their life and career in more depth. In addition, there are indexes of singers by voice type and by opera role premiers. The articles are mostly drawn from the acclaimed Grove Music Online and have been fully revised, and the book is further supplemented by more than 40 specially commissioned articles on contemporary singers. A superb new guide from the first name in opera reference, The Grove Book of Opera Singers is a lively and authoritative work, beautifully illustrated with color and black-and-white pictures. It is an essential volume--and the perfect gift--for opera lovers everywhere.

Author : Clyde T. McCants
Publisher : McFarland
Page : 410 pages
File Size : 50,7 Mb
Release : 2004-07-23
Category : Music
ISBN : 0786419520

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American Opera Singers and Their Recordings by Clyde T. McCants Pdf

This book focuses on American opera singers and what their recordings say about their artistry. It is not a book about all American opera singers, since many who had important careers on stage, made few, if any, recordings. And many of those who did make recordings, did so prior to the introduction of electrical recording in 1925 (and the resulting advances in the reproduction of the human voice). Opera enthusiasts can only imagine the sound of Farinelli's voice or read what his contemporaries have written about it, but with almost any famous or near-famous singer of recent years, enthusiasts do not have to imagine. Their voices are available through the technology of sound recording. There are 53 entries, one each for 52 singers and a composite entry for a group of Hollywood vocalists. Each entry contains biographical information and is followed by a discography of operatic recordings to be used in conjunction with the critical commentaries. The entries are in alphabetical order by the singer's last name and provide critical analyses of key recordings and of the artists' gifts and limitations.

Author : Franklin Mesa
Publisher : McFarland
Page : 474 pages
File Size : 47,9 Mb
Release : 2015-05-07
Category : Music
ISBN : 9781476605371

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Opera by Franklin Mesa Pdf

This encyclopedia includes entries for 1,153 world premiere (and other significant) performances of operas in Europe, the United States, Latin America and Russia. Entries offer details about key persons, arias, interesting facts, and date and location of each premiere. There is a biographical dictionary with 1,288 entries on historical and modern operatic singers, composers, librettists, and conductors. Fully indexed and with a bibliography.

Author : Wallace Cheatham
Publisher : Scarecrow Press
Page : 208 pages
File Size : 47,9 Mb
Release : 1997
Category : Music
ISBN : 0810831473

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Dialogues on Opera and the African-American Experience by Wallace Cheatham Pdf

Conversations with ten prominent African-American operatic artists.

Author : Kathleen Howard
Publisher : Good Press
Page : 160 pages
File Size : 52,8 Mb
Release : 2019-12-10
Category : Fiction
ISBN : EAN:4064066222307

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Confessions of an Opera Singer by Kathleen Howard Pdf

Confessions of an Opera Singer by Kathleen Howard is about the musings and dreams of an upper-class girl who was brought up with an early love of opera. Excerpt: "I WAS very young and I was engaged to be married. We had just lost our money in a rather dramatic fashion, and we were all doing what we could to supply the sudden deficit. My sister began to prepare herself to be a teacher, my brother left his boarding school and came home to go into a friend's office, and I—well, I accepted the hand and heart of the young man in our set with whom I had had most pleasure in dancing in winter and sailing in summer."

Author : Michael J. Maher
Publisher : McFarland
Page : 233 pages
File Size : 55,7 Mb
Release : 2015-01-24
Category : Music
ISBN : 9780786483877

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John Charles Thomas by Michael J. Maher Pdf

Buoyant, irrepressible and hot-tempered, John Charles Thomas captivated audiences worldwide with his incredible voice. The son of a minister, he studied voice at the Peabody Conservatory under the tutelage of Adelin Fermin, one of the few voice teachers in America capable of training Thomas in the French operatic style. By 1915, Thomas had become a leading performer on Broadway, and ten years later had embarked on a trans-Atlantic career in opera and concerts. At the height of his popularity from 1934 through 1946, he was a popular star of radio, phonographs, and the Metropolitan Opera, a favorite of both popular and classical audiences. His decision to leave opera and focus on his radio career during the Second World War cost him his reputation as a serious artist. The singer who introduced "Home on the Range" and launched many other American standards has been largely forgotten today. This thorough biography details Thomas's life and career. Beginning with his school days at the Peabody, it traces his Broadway career as the star of Step This Way and Maytime and his highly successful career as a concert, recording, and opera star. Appendices provide a discography of his recordings, a list of operatic appearances in Brussels and the United States, and the songs he performed on radio broadcasts from 1934 to 1948.

Author : Oscar Thompson
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 426 pages
File Size : 49,9 Mb
Release : 1969
Category : Opera
ISBN : OCLC:17704512

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The American Singer by Oscar Thompson Pdf

Author : Pearl Yeadon McGinnis
Publisher : Scarecrow Press
Page : 351 pages
File Size : 55,8 Mb
Release : 2010-08-12
Category : Music
ISBN : 9780810869165

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The Opera Singer's Career Guide by Pearl Yeadon McGinnis Pdf

Any singer longing to have a career in opera, particularly in Europe, should be familiar with the European system of classifying voices know as Fach. The Opera Singer's Career Guide: Understanding the European Fach System presents valuable information to help readers learn, understand, and use the Fach system to their professional advantage. More than just soprano, alto, tenor, or bass, students and professionals alike should know the 25 different Fach categories fully defined here, along with the examples of roles, audition arias, and European opera houses and agents provided. Based on careful research and personal experience, singer and teacher Pearl Yeadon McGinnis describes the features, characteristics, and benefits of the Fach system, including voice categorization and classification and using Fach to train the young voice. She provides practical information on maintaining a career in opera, such as the different types, procedures, and pitfalls of opera auditions; types of opera contracts and contract negotiations; and the value of networking. She explains the different styles of European opera houses and gives an example of life in a state level German opera house, including the various performance spaces, the makeup and responsibilities of an ensemble, and the jobs and functions of opera house personnel. A glossary and several appendixes supply tools for auditioning, such as newly classified roles for Children, Lyric, and Beginner singers; roles for the established Fach categories; lists of opera agents and houses in the German speaking countries; and suggested audition arias by Fach. In addition, practical details are offered about establishing and maintaining residency in Europe, obtaining permission to live and work in Europe, and helpful hints about customs and travel.

Author : Gustav Kobbé
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 100 pages
File Size : 41,9 Mb
Release : 1906
Category : Musicians
ISBN : UIUC:30112050648945

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Opera Singers by Gustav Kobbé Pdf

Author : Elizabeth Sleeman
Publisher : Psychology Press
Page : 728 pages
File Size : 54,5 Mb
Release : 2001
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 1857431227

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The International Who's Who of Women 2002 by Elizabeth Sleeman Pdf

Over 5,500 detailed biographies of the most eminent, talented and distinguished women in the world today.

Author : Thomas S. Hischak
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 958 pages
File Size : 41,9 Mb
Release : 2008
Category : Musicals
ISBN : 9780195335330

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The Oxford Companion to the American Musical by Thomas S. Hischak Pdf

An authoritative reference for this highly popular genre, this book covers Broadway, Hollywood and television in one volume. With more than two thousand entries, this book offers a wealth of information on musicals, performers, composers, lyricists, producers, choreographers, and much more.