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Rosa Raisa: A Biography of a Diva with Selections from Her Memoirs

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I am a big nut about singer biographies. I think they are
invariably revealing, sometimes not for what they do reveal but for what
they do not. But it's a rare occasion to find a biography as well-written
and thoroughly researched as Charles Mintzer's "Rosa Raisa."
In a way Mintzer was lucky. Unlike many opera singers there was never
anything `unrespectable' about her early career - she studied, she sang, the
audience loved her, and that was that. She also had a good memory and most
of her recollections seem supported by the `hard' evidence, give or take one
or two years. Thus Mintzer's use of Rosa Raisa's own unpublished memoirs is
not frustrating but revealing. No shocking lapses in long-term and
short-term memory are `necessary' for this diva. Mintzer is lucky in other
ways. Raisa is a sympathetic subject. And even though she was born almost
110 years ago, modern readers will no doubt identify with facets of her
life. Victims of discrimination, racial, religious, or otherwise, will
identify with the difficulty Raisa had in remaining true to her `roots' and
becoming a more `mainstream' celebrity. One of the most chilling passages in
the book relates how Raisa once sang for Hitler, who was unaware this
Italian diva was in fact a Russian Jew born in a Polish ghetto. People in
interfaith marriages might be interested in how Raisa balanced her loyalty
to her husband and her own religious convictions. Celebrities who were

`advised' the change their name into something more ostensibly marketable
will understand the pain Raisa felt in dropping her birth name, Raitza
Burchstein. Raisa's efforts to balance a career and family will strike a
cord with many working women. And Raisa is just a funny, engaging, lively
person. You like the gal.
On the other hand, the same things that make Raisa such a sympathetic
subject are drawbacks as well. Raisa isn't a `typical' diva. She did not
make outrageously critical remarks of her colleagues, she did not feud
openly with conductors/managers/other singers, she did not have scandalous
affairs and secret love-childs. Thus, those looking for catty gossip and
juicy backstage tales will be disappointed. It simply wasn't her style.
Although the book relates Raisa's dislike of Mary Garden, there are no grand
proclamations of deep undying hatred for Garden, only some subtle
passive-aggressive comments that can be construed in different ways. For
instance, Raisa's comments that Garden was well-suited to be an impresario
can either be taken as genuine or a backhanded compliment about Garden's
personality. And Raisa was generally happy in her personal life. Wonderful,
but perhaps a biography needs some unhappiness for `juice.' I mean, let's
face it, part of reading a Callas biography is her disastrous affair with
Onassis, part of reading about Lillian Nordica is the fascination from her
unhappy personal life. Likewise one reads a Melba biography not only for
tales of her success but also for her imperious, unique, somewhat bitchy
personality, and her many feuds with her colleagues. There's none of that
here, except for the eternal argument with Maria Jeritza over "Who did
Puccini write Turandot for?"
This book is copiously researched. Part of the biography's strength is how
it has `testimonials' from many other witnesses. It does not simply rely on
Raisa's own colorful tales of her glorious career. There are countless
reviews, not all of which are uniformly positive, and some of which are
hilarious: one critic wryly noted "Emotion is not properly expressed by
frenzied rolling of the eyeballs." There are also accounts by people who
`were there.' This is especially important, because it's generally agreed
that Raisa's recordings are not a fair representation of her art. Thus
reading so many reviews of Raisa's performances gives the reader a better
idea of Raisa's qualities as a performer, both positive and negative. It
seems Raisa relied more on pure voice and good looks than any deep
characterization or acting ability. But again the live reviews are
conflicting and fascinating to read. There are many wonderful pictures of
Raisa in all stages of her life. She's not bad on the eyes either. There's
also a chronology of performances, discography, and a critical appraisal of
her problematic records to round out the biography.
I highly recommend this book, and I highly recommend getting Ward Marston's
three CD set of Raisa's recordings as a companion. Besides listening to the
voice itself, there is also an interview at the end of the set, where the
aged Raisa reminisces about her life and career. She sounds funny,
delightful, a great woman. I thought she'd be maybe fun to party with. She
was not a crotchety, cranky lady at all in the interview. (Compare her
upbeat style to many of the relentlessly negative, self-absorbed, bitter,
divas in Rasponi's Last Prima Donnas to see what I mean). Rosa Raisa always
complained that her recorded legacy did her no justice. But with the
wonderful book and comprehensive set of her recordings, I really feel like I
`know' this first-ever Turandot.

The soprano Rosa Raisa had an extremely important career from her debut in 1912 to her retirement in the late 1930s. Because she was not a Metropolitan Opera artist and because her records didn't adequately capture the glorious voice about which reviewers raved, she is not well known today - her contemporary Rosa Ponselle, who had a much smaller repertory and career, is far better known.

Raisa also had a fascinating life: born in a Jewish family in Bialystock, she fled pogroms at 12 and emigrated with a cousin to Italy. There, her beautiful voice won her the support of a wealthy family, and she became a conservatory student. Great things were foreseen for her, and she made her debut at 19. Among other accomplishments, she went on to create important roles in Puccini's "Turandot" and Boito's "Nerone," and became the prima donna of the Chicago Opera.

Charles Mintzer, who has been researching her life for 40 years, tells her story gracefully and compellingly in this fine biography. His work is interspersed with selections from Raisa's unpublished memoir, lending the volume great immediacy. He includes a very fair and interesting assessment of Raisa the singer and a review of her discography, as well as a chronology of her opera and concert performances. Moreover, the book is copiously illustrated with photographs from his collection, and they explain some of Raisa's impact as a stage performer, as she was a strikingly beautiful woman.

This wonderful book will be of great interest to anyone interested in operatic or recent Jewish history.

Charles Mintzer has given us a labour of love. Whereas Rosa Ponselle's life and art is amply documented, Rosa Raisa's was largely forgotten. A pity, as Raisa had the more interesting life, being Jewish at a time when that was not whithout danger. And Raisa definitely had the more interesting career than Ponselle, singing a more unhackneyed repertoire and crowning it with the glory of being the first Turandot (and spoiling it by not recording one single note). Mintzer painstakingly reveals it all, profiting of course from his decades-long acquaintance with the soprano's relatives. He easily passes the most important test for this kind of biography: the reader's urgent need to play Raisa's records which however, even in Marston's fine reissue, will disappoint a little as Raisa's huge voice didn't record too well.