Marilyn Horne: The Song Continues (Great Voices 8) [Hardcover]

Marilyn Horne (Author), Jane Scovell (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Baskerville Publishers (February 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1880909715
• ISBN-13: 978-1880909713
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #887,261 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars INSIDE THE CONTINUING SONG, March 10, 2004

By 

Susan Terry "Sue Terry" (Los Angeles, California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Marilyn Horne: The Song Continues (Great Voices 8) (Hardcover)

An update of the autobiography Marilyn Horne wrote 20 years ago with Jane Scovell, this book is a must for fans of the great Diva. It has a CD - a collection of arias and songs that demonstrate why Marilyn Horne has been said by critics to be the greatest opera and classical singer of the 20th Century. The unusually large photo section has wonderful pictures, some very personal. I highly recommend this very open and personally insightful journey through the life of the incomperable Metropolitan Opera star.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars General Horne came, sang, and conquered, March 18, 2005

By 

E. A. Lovitt "starmoth" (Gladwin, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Marilyn Horne: The Song Continues (Great Voices 8) (Hardcover)

I'm listening to the CD that came with this book as I write my review. It contains rare live recordings of Marilyn Horne singing all over the fach from a 1963 'Traviata' (with Jan Peerce) of her early 'lirico spinto' days to the darker trouser-role of Arsace in "Semiramide," including an excerpt ("Und ist kein Betrug") from the part that brought her to the attention of the world: Marie in "Wozzeck."

I had read the original version of her ghosted biography, "Marilyn Horne: My Life," (1983) and I wondered if she would repeat the controversial blow-by-blow of her master class with Lotte Lehmann--yes, it's in "The Song Continues," too, where Lehmann blasts Horne for her bad German. In Lehmann's obituary, Martin Bernheimer ("Los Angeles Times:" September 5, 1976) speaks of the German soprano's master classes: "She commanded the stage, even in a classroom, with uncanny force. She was not particularly flexible, however, when it came to developing and encouraging an interpretation that might have conflicted with her own."

I think it was inevitable that these two strong-willed singers would clash. Marilyn didn't get her nickname, 'General Horne' just from the military trouser-roles she played. Her biography refers to her as "one of the few singers ever who could be both charmingly unaffected and magisterial." Most operatic biographies are repetitions of the theme, 'I came, I sang, I got rave reviews' but Marilyn Horne is a real human being in this book--warts, marital woes, and all. She manages to balance the 'General' with something her father once told her: "Whenever you think that you are getting too big for the people around you, remember all that separates you from the guy sitting next to you is a little piece of gristle in your throat."

She has been called "probably the greatest singer in the world" (Opera News, 1981). She is, without a doubt, one of the great 20th century mezzo-sopranos and one of 'the' Rossini interpreters of our time. She sang and recorded for over 40 years, partnering with three generations of 'Semiramides' in her illustrious career: Joan Sutherland; Montserrat Caballé; and June Anderson. Her instrument is powerful, agile, beautiful, and secure in every register. Just like a Stradivarius, she has a unique, opulent voice (one of my favorite opera authors accuses her of concealing a trombone in her chest). If you'd like to hear her sing before you purchase this biography, she has an extensive discography. Two of my own favorites are the Scimone "L'Italiana in Algeri" (Erato - 1980) and the famous 1980 Aix-en-Provence live performance of "Semiramide" with Montserrat Caballé and Samuel Ramey. The latter has all of the problems you might expect from the recording of a live performance, but my god, the singing!

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Mezzo Soprano American Diva In Her Own Words, July 29, 2005

By 

Rudy Avila "Saint Seiya" (Lennox, Ca United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Marilyn Horne: The Song Continues (Great Voices 8) (Hardcover)

Mezzo-sopranos are not the leading ladies in opera, the soprano is, but American-born Marilyn Horne became as big a star as any dramatic soprano diva. Her career span the 60's, 70's and 80's, she sang in all the leading opera houses- Met, Covent Garden, La Scala, etc and was an artist who upheld the most consummate musicianship. Her voice was not as dark or deep as say the voices of such mezzos as Giuletta Simionato, Fiorenza Cossotto, Grace Bumbry and Shirley Verrett. Hers was a voice that had a brassy, dramatic ring to it though she was clearly in her element as Rossini heroines- Neocle in Semiramide, Rosina in Barber of Seville, La Cenerentola - and she sang Carmen and Adalgisa in Norma opposite Joan Sutherland. She sang trouser roles like Cherubino. Not being in the spotlight was at first a struggle for Horne, but she overcame this by her dedication and sheer vocal artistry. Her voice is beautiful and BIG, a mezzo with lyric bravura and coloratura to boot. In her candid autobiography, she is warm and frank about all details of her career and her life. Marilyn Horne is still a very loved American singer and any mezzo-soprano who wants to win fame and not remain simply a mezzo can benefit immensely from this book.