Rosa Ponselle - A Centenary Biography (Hardcover) (Opera Biographies (Amadeus)) [Hardcover]

James A. Drake (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2003 | Series: Opera Biographies (Amadeus) (Book 9)

Published in celebration of the 100th anniversary of her birth, this book presents a candid portrait of Ponselle, "the Caruso in petticoats," contrasting the singer's own words, from interviews with the author and others, with the recollections of friends, family members, and colleagues.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The centennial of the great American soprano's birth brings a gossipy yet affectionate biography. Comments by associates paint Rosa Ponselle as a classic diva, capricious in business dealings (most notably when she abruptly retired in 1937), capable of responding with fury to perceived disloyalty, bitingly honest in her assessment of her own and others' work. Reprints of interviews with Ponselle reveal her enormous charm and offer an intimate glimpse of the creative process employed to interpret Aida, Norma, and other signature roles. A performance chronology, discography, and photographic portfolio round out this delicious volume.

From Booklist

Rose Ponzillo started singing professionally in vaudeville but later auditioned successfully for the Metropolitan Opera. Her Met debut, with Frenchified monicker, came on November 15, 1918, in La forza del destino; in Norma on December 26, 1931, she helped inaugurate the Met's famous radio broadcasts. When she could not get her way, she retired from the Met in 1937, and she bowed out of public performance in 1939. She married the son of a mayor of Baltimore, and she actively supported the Baltimore Opera, recruiting promising singers for it. Drake wrote an approved biography of Ponselle in 1982; this book contains interviews with her and some close friends' and colleagues' recollections that are great fun because the real Rosa comes through in them. Also including new commentary based on the written record of Ponselle's career, this enlightening centenary tribute to a great diva will give opera fans much joy, not least in its gallery of pictures of Ponselle in her greatest roles. Alan Hirsch

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 534 pages
• Publisher: Amadeus Press (March 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1574670190
• ISBN-13: 978-1574670196
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.3 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #983,643 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A superb biography of a superb singer., May 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Rosa Ponselle - A Centenary Biography (Hardcover) (Opera Biographies (Amadeus)) (Hardcover)

James Drake's previous biography of Rosa Ponselle (styled an "autobiography," but in fact written entirely by Drake), was an excellent book and, until this new offering, served as the only biogrqaphy of an artist many consider the greatest opera singer America has produced, and one of the greatest, of any nationality, of all time. Prof. Drake's new book on Ponselle is not merely a rehashing of his earlier effort, but in fact entirely supersedes it. Unorthodox in organization, it gives us a complete picture of Rosa Ponselle, both as artist and woman. Prof. Drake has given us one of the finest biographies of an opera singer ever written.

Each chapter in the book is divided into four sections. First, there is an introductory overview, by Drake, of the period of Ponselle's life covered in that chapter. Next comes "The Interview," which is a transcript of interviews Ponselle gave to various persons (including the author) in the later years of her life, again dealing with the period of her life covered by the chapter. Here, Ponselle herself speaks. Then follows an account by some other person closely associated with Ponselle, dealing with the same events - her manager, Libbie Miller; her secretary and longtime companion, Edith Prilik Sania; her husband, Carle Jackson; and a close friend, Lena Tambourini. Finally, there is "The Written Record," which looks at what was actually written about Ponselle at the time of the events in question - reviews, articles, interviews, etc.

The overall effect of this sequence is to give a full, well-rounded and sometimes conflicting account of Ponselle's life. Not infrequently, Ponselle's own spoken recollections will be contradicted either by the recollections of others or by the written record. Perhaps the most important contribution of this book is to scrutinize - and in part, explode - the "Cinderella" myth surrounding Ponselle's "discovery" by Caruso and her subsequent engagement by the Met. Edith Prilik Sania's account gives a fascinatingly different perspective on these events. (She was there when they happened.) Another example of a fresh and varied perspective is the account of Ponselle's relationship with her manager early in her operatic career, William Thorner. Ponselle always maintained that Thorner never gave her any voice lessons ("I wouldn't have let him touch my voice!"), contrary to his own claims, and she downplayed Thorner's role in her engagement by the Met. Ponselle's recollections were no doubt colored by her personal antipathy to Thorner. (She later sued him, and one gets the impression that she never forgave him for steering her to Columbia records, rather than to Victor, where she would have been able to record with Caruso). What the written record and Edith Prilik's recollections show, is that Thorner may in fact have given Ponselle some voice lessons (he was a well-known vocal instructor at the time), and he had a lot more to do with Ponselle's "discovery" than she later let on.

Perhaps the major difference between Prof. Drake's old book and the new one, is the extent to which this new book gives us an unblinking look at Ponselle's personal defects, only hinted at in the "autobiography." Ponselle was apparently a very high-strung, almost neurotic individual. She could be petty, mean, greedy, and very difficult to live with. (Admittedly, not uncommon caracter traits among opera singers generally.) She also had many positive qualities, including loyalty to her family (she supported most of them), and she obviously inspired considerable devotion in her friends.

What there is no dispute about by anyone in this book is Ponselle's greatness as a singer. Her magnificent voice, unique in its dark, voluptuous timbre, apparently conquered all who heard it, and her recordings, technically primitive though they are (and which Ponselle herself disliked), are her passport to operatic immortality. Prof. Drake's excellent new book gives us a good look at the life and career behind the indescribably beautiful sounds one hears from a Ponselle recording. "Rosa Ponselle: A Centenary Biography" is fully worthy of its glorious subject.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jim Drake is one of the best musician biographers ever!, July 27, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Rosa Ponselle - A Centenary Biography (Hardcover) (Opera Biographies (Amadeus)) (Hardcover)

If Flaubert was in love with Emma Bovary, surely James Drake must be in love with Rosa Ponselle. He has made her live for us, just as Flaubert made Emma flesh and blood. For me, opera singers are made of glass; they shine, and they may even seem transparent, but rarely do they seem human. Through the clear, admiring eyes of James Drake, Rosa could be our next-door neighbor. The dignity of Drake's writing, his clear love and respect for his subject makes her life shimmer like crystal. This book one of the best of the summer

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A superb biography of a superb singer., May 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Rosa Ponselle - A Centenary Biography (Hardcover) (Opera Biographies (Amadeus)) (Hardcover)

James Drake's previous biography of Rosa Ponselle (styled an "autobiography," but in fact written entirely by Drake), was an excellent book and, until this new offering, served as the only biogrqaphy of an artist many consider the greatest opera singer America has produced, and one of the greatest, of any nationality, of all time. Prof. Drake's new book on Ponselle is not merely a rehashing of his earlier effort, but in fact entirely supersedes it. Unorthodox in organization, it gives us a complete picture of Rosa Ponselle, both as artist and woman. Prof. Drake has given us one of the finest biographies of an opera singer ever written.

Each chapter in the book is divided into four sections. First, there is an introductory overview, by Drake, of the period of Ponselle's life covered in that chapter. Next comes "The Interview," which is a transcript of interviews Ponselle gave to various persons (including the author) in the later years of her life, again dealing with the period of her life covered by the chapter. Here, Ponselle herself speaks. Then follows an account by some other person closely associated with Ponselle, dealing with the same events - her manager, Libbie Miller; her secretary and longtime companion, Edith Prilik Sania; her husband, Carle Jackson; and a close friend, Lena Tambourini. Finally, there is "The Written Record," which looks at what was actually written about Ponselle at the time of the events in question - reviews, articles, interviews, etc.

The overall effect of this sequence is to give a full, well-rounded and sometimes conflicting account of Ponselle's life. Not infrequently, Ponselle's own spoken recollections will be contradicted either by the recollections of others or by the written record. Perhaps the most important contribution of this book is to scrutinize - and in part, explode - the "Cinderella" myth surrounding Ponselle's "discovery" by Caruso and her subsequent engagement by the Met. Edith Prilik Sania's account gives a fascinatingly different perspective on these events. (She was there when they happened.) Another example of a fresh and varied perspective is the account of Ponselle's relationship with her manager early in her operatic career, William Thorner. Ponselle always maintained that Thorner never gave her any voice lessons ("I wouldn't have let him touch my voice!"), contrary to his own claims, and she downplayed Thorner's role in her engagement by the Met. Ponselle's recollections were no doubt colored by her personal antipathy to Thorner. (She later sued him, and one gets the impression that she never forgave him for steering her to Columbia records, rather than to Victor, where she would have been able to record with Caruso). What the written record and Edith Prilik's recollections show, is that Thorner may in fact have given Ponselle some voice lessons (he was a well-known vocal instructor at the time), and he had a lot more to do with Ponselle's "discovery" than she later let on.

Perhaps the major difference between Prof. Drake's old book and the new one, is the extent to which this new book gives us an unblinking look at Ponselle's personal defects, only hinted at in the "autobiography." Ponselle was apparently a very high-strung, almost neurotic individual. She could be petty, mean, greedy, and very difficult to live with. (Admittedly, not uncommon caracter traits among opera singers generally.) She also had many positive qualities, including loyalty to her family (she supported most of them), and she obviously inspired considerable devotion in her friends.

What there is no dispute about by anyone in this book is Ponselle's greatness as a singer. Her magnificent voice, unique in its dark, voluptuous timbre, apparently conquered all who heard it, and her recordings, technically primitive though they are (and which Ponselle herself disliked), are her passport to operatic immortality. Prof. Drake's excellent new book gives us a good look at the life and career behind the indescribably beautiful sounds one hears from a Ponselle recording. "Rosa Ponselle: A Centenary Biography" is fully worthy of its glorious subject.