The past eight years have seen the renaissance of the Diva, with the rise to prominence of a number of female singers who are capable of drawing mass audiences as well as delivering performances to rival those of the stars of the past. The divas analyze their roles, both vocally and dramatically, discuss choices in repertoire and reflect on their lives and careers. Matheopoulos interweaves her narrative with insightful and critical commentary, and peppers her profiles with remarks from conductors, directors, voice teachers, coaches and, on occasion, famous colleagues from the past. She also highlights changes in the opera scene, including the appearance in recent years of many talented Russian singers and the prominence of American-born divas during the last decade.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Each chapter in Diva, the second collection of interviews with sopranos and mezzos conducted by Helena Matheopoulos, is an uncanny reflection of how effective the singer is in the opera house. Stage animal Catherine Malfitano tells us why Madame Butterfly is not a victim, explains how Salome might have acted differently if only John the Baptist had made a simple gesture, and prefers characters whose simple dreams can't compare with reality. The superb Swedish soprano Karita Mattila defines the differences between singing Strauss, Verdi, and Mozart, describes how performing Wagner changes the voice, and finds the single moment when Don Carlos changes course. Cecilia Bartoli, with a sure sense of what is and is not suitable for her voice, is expanding her repertoire backward into the baroque rather than forward into Verdi and verismo. On the other hand, Ruth Ann Swenson has nothing of interest to say (except for a complete misapprehension of Mozart performance practice), and the chapter on Renée Fleming passes without incident.
If there's a common thread among the 21 interviews, it's how down-to-earth the divas are. Jane Eaglen loves wrestling and e-mail, and she once fell asleep on Brünnhilde's rock. Dolora Zajic, during a bad period, was sleeping in Central Park. Denyce Graves witnessed a shooting in her native Washington, D.C. The glaring exception is Angela Gheorghiu, whose unprofessional demeanor is on full display. Despite lapses in editing, Diva provides a good short course in the state of opera stardom today. --William R. Braun
From Publishers Weekly
According to Matheopoulos (Diva: Great Sopranos and Mezzos Discuss their Art), the 1990s has been a "bumper decade" for high-quality female singers. In this intriguing book she interviews 14 sopranos, including Barbara Bonney, Renee Fleming, Angela Gheorghiu, Galina Gorchakova, Catherine Malfitano and Carol Vaness, and seven mezzos, including Cecilia Bartoli, Olga Borodina and Jennifer Larmore. Weaving their comments together with her own perceptive observations, she lets them describe their training; their vocal strengths and weaknesses; their career plans; the demands of their roles; their relationships with conductors, directors and other singers; and the work of balancing professional and private lives. Some of the most revealing statements have to do with the singers' insights into the personalities of the characters they play. For example, Bonney views Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier as a spoiled brat who will eventually lose Octavian; Vaness notes that while Verdi's ladies tend to be rather uncomplicated, Bonney tries to make them more so, for example, making Desdemona a fighter, not just a victim; Dolora Zajick learned how to portray Lady Macbeth from watching Bette Davis in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane. Matheopoulos's aim is to show that while contemporary female singers from around the world have as much glamour as the divas of the past, they are also intelligent, self-aware and imbued with a good measure of common sense. If these savvy ladies are typical, she proves that today's divas are indeed "artists first and divas second." Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Between two stools,
By
This review is from: Diva: The New Generation (Hardcover)
I found this book interesting to read once, but I don't think I would read it a second time - in contrast with Jerome Hines' book on Great Singing which was published in the early 1980s and which I reread regularly.
Helena Matheopoulos has done a lot of research and gone to a great deal of trouble to gather as much information as she can about her subjects and their careers (in this case 14 sopranos and 7 mezzos), but it's hard to see who the book is going to please. The focus is on roles and repertoires, but singers and singing students will find themselves frustrated because in the discussions by the singers on their vocal technique there is not enough meat and too much padding of the type "It almost sings itself, and feels so good while you're singing it". Some of the singers are better than others at giving useful information; nevertheless, the book's author may not have been the best person to judge which bits of information should best be included in a book of this type, which can easily become boring if the mundane or irrelevant isn't edited out. I suspect that the other category of readership, opera goers and fans, will be frustrated for the opposite reason: too much boring technical stuff and not enough anecdotal or biographical information. They will also wish that there were more photographs.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Aw come on SBF, it's better than that,
By JR-1844 (Royal Oak, MI United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Diva: The New Generation (Hardcover)
I gave this book five stars to up the average from SBF's cruelty as much as the math will allow. Yes, the book needed editing. The author twice puts the words "North Carolina" into Jennifer Larmore's mouth when any Atlanta native would have had to have said "South Carolina." Notwithstanding, the personalities of the singers come through, and that's worth the read.
4.0 out of 5 stars
hmm,
This review is from: Diva: The New Generation (Hardcover)
The book was an interesting read, especially on how the performers explained their interpretations of their most notable roles. Fairly light reading, but if you don't delve in with high expectations, you'll be fine.
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