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Living Opera [Hardcover]

Joshua Jampol (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)

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Book Description

May 4, 2010
Living Opera is a fascinating collection of 20 wide-ranging interviews with the preeminent opera professionals working on and behind the stage today.
Joshua Jampol invites opera-lovers to listen in as performers such as Renee Fleming, Natalie Dessay, Rolando Villazon and Placido Domingo speak in exceptionally frank terms about their strengths and weaknesses, and address such hard-hitting, enduring topics as how they deal with critics, vocal troubles, and balancing their career and family lives. We hear conductors such as James Conlon, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and Kent Nagano discuss their likes and dislikes about the state of contemporary opera, their own inspirations, and whom they themselves hope to inspire. World-class directors such as Robert Carsen and Patrice Ch�reau discuss the complexities involved in staging a successful opera, and how opera can remain relevant today. Jampol has unprecedented access to these major singers, conductors, and directors, and the table of contents reads like a "who's who" of the global opera world. Each interview highlights a distinctive voice, and Jampol brings immense knowledge and a wonderful flair to these conversations. He allows his subjects to follow their thoughts wherever they lead, and reveals in the process a more intimate, reflective side of the emotional and extravagant world of the lyric arts.
For anyone wanting to know more about the people behind the performances--what they think, how they feel, and who they really are--Living Opera is full of delights and surprises.

Frequently Bought Together

Customers buy this book with Life in Opera Truth, Tempo, and Soul: Encounters with Stars, Innovators, and Leaders of Todays Opera World $16.49

Living Opera + Life in Opera Truth, Tempo, and Soul: Encounters with Stars, Innovators, and Leaders of Todays Opera World


Editorial Reviews

Review


"Opera lovers will be delighted by the biographical tidbits, personal reminiscences, and candid assessments of the state of opera today... An entertaining and illuminating book; highly recommended." --Library Journal


"Living Opera provides a graphic sense of the brains and dedication needed to sustain a career on the lyric stage." --Opera News


About the Author


Joshua Jampol is a freelance journalist and regular contributor to the "Ear for Opera" series in the International Herald Tribune. Jampol has also routinely written for publications such as Time Magazine and The Hollywood Reporter in the US, and The Guardian and The Times (London) in the UK. He lives in Paris, France.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (May 4, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0195381386
  • ISBN-13: 978-0195381382
  • Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.6 x 1.1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #962,678 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Remarkably gripping, May 19, 2010
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This review is from: Living Opera (Hardcover)
"Gripping" probably isn't the sort of term one uses for a book about interviews of various opera personalities. Nevertheless, there are moments when you really cannot put it down, especially if you're a trained musician and really know what each person is talking about.

Not only does Jampol interview opera singers, asking penetrating questions about everything from daily life to vocal technique, but he interviews conductors, managers and directors as well. It's truly about opera as a whole, not only the vocal aspect of it, though naturally that dominates the book's content. Therefore, one gets a very good look at a wide variety of aspects in opera, and often one gets to read firsthand the difficulties each person has or has had. And since it's "living" opera, each person interviewed is currently engrossed in that world professionally.

The vocalists Jampol interviews often give tantalizingly brief insights to vocal technique that other singers will enjoy. For example, Renee Flemming gives a wonderful account of how she uses imagery to blend different registers. I personally enjoyed reading about how conductors prepare themselves in tackling opera. Insightful, too, were the remarks from directors and managers.

Even if opera isn't necessarily your thing, I cannot see how any trained musician cannot read this book and at least walk away with a few useful bits here and there. For the lover of opera, this book serves as a sort of behind the scenes look at this complex world of opera. Indeed, for anyone who reads this book, they'll probably come away with a much greater appreciation of this art form.
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