When Divas Confess: Master Opera Singers in Their Leading Roles [Paperback]

Paul Griffiths (Author), Marcia Lieberman (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 30, 1999

What really is opera? Why are we so captivated by opera's stars? What are the protean forces and human archetypes that give rise to great opera? And how does an opera singer internalize these elements, mold them, and then emerge from behind the curtain as a fully developed character? These are the questions that enticed Marcia Lieberman to take her camera to the world's great opera houses to compile this remarkable collection of images and vignettes.

Granted access to the dressing rooms of some of the world's most revered opera performers, including Plácido Domingo, Marilyn Horne, and Renée Fleming, Lieberman seeks images that shed light on the mystique--and on the process of transformation--of an operatic performer. Drawing on the great recurring archetypes--among them the Tyrant, the Magician, the Hero, and the Deceiver--Lieberman invites each opera star to expound on the notions of character and transformation, posing for her camera in full costume and makeup, during stolen moments between acts or just before the curtain goes up at actual performances. Accompanying Lieberman's compelling photographs are insightful and engaging texts by renowned music historian Paul Griffiths, who explores the origins of these operatic characters and the different types of musical sensibilities that inform them.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In Marcia Lieberman's remarkable photographs, opera singers are not onstage, but they're not entirely off, either. She shot them in their dressing rooms during performances--costumed, wigged, and massively made-up, immersed in the characters they were in the midst of playing. Often extreme close-ups, the photos ruthlessly illuminate pores, nostrils, and fake jewelry.

When Divas Confess fulfills its tabloid title only in a metaphoric way. There are no confessions here--the divas, male and female, are not quoted at all. And the epigrammatic morsels of text by music critic Paul Griffiths are beside the point. But the photos draw us into a strange intimacy with their subjects, as if proximity will allow us to enter their skin, even as the singers remain veiled by layers of makeup. Unfailingly vibrant before the camera, they also wear the faces of their characters, behind which they are remote and elusive.

Lieberman's subjects, about 60 of them, range from famous to relatively unknown. The most delicious shots are the most artificial, like James Morris as Boris Godunov, with his blue-tinted eyebrows, beard, and hairpiece plainly glued on. Samuel Ramey as Mefistofele wears red paint with his features outlined in black, like a character out of Kabuki. Felicity Palmer in La Fille du Régiment is admirably lordly despite an orange wig, costume pearls, and maquillage so heavy her eyes are barely visible. Not all the pictures are so theatrical. Dawn Upshaw as Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro gives a straightforward, amiable portrait; Placido Domingo in Un Ballo in Maschera poses graciously, looking more like a king than like someone who plays one.

Tacky trappings and unflattering light in these photos only set off the singers' commitment to the worlds they are creating. Campiness gives way to Lieberman's love for the mysterious alchemy of the stage, which radiates from these pages. --David Olivenbaum

About the Author

Marcia Lieberman is a San Francisco-based photographer who is known for her images of people. She has a deep conviction and interest in people and enjoys reading and researching her subjects. Her work about people in positions of power dates to her first assignment to follow Geraldine Ferraro in the campaign of 1984, demonstrating how women politick. Her next project on Tehuana women included field study with an anthropologist and was exhibited with a commentary by Isabel Allende. In addition to her freelance work she is a lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley.

Paul Griffiths was born in Bridgend, Wales, in 1947. He studied biochemistry at Oxford and was chief music critic of The Times of London from 1982 to 1992. Since that time, he has written for the New Yorker and the New York Times. His first book, A Concise History of Modern Music, was published in 1978, and has been followed by several other musical studies. Among his fictional works are three novels--Myself and Marco Polo, The Lay of Sir Tristram, and a pale hope I--and several librettos, including The Jewel Box (for Mozart), Marco Polo (for Tan Dun), and What Next? (for Elliot Carter).

Perry Lorenzo is the director of education for Seattle Opera. He teaches at Seattle University and lectures frequently on opera in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and the Richard Wagner Festival in Bayreuth, Germany.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Universe (July 30, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0789302594
• ISBN-13: 978-0789302595
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,525,508 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I felt I was entering the inner world of Opera singers., April 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: When Divas Confess: Master Opera Singers in Their Leading Roles (Paperback)

This is a new concept in an approach to Opera, photographs and text designed to allow the reader to enter into the thoughts and meditations of Opera singers as they are waiting backstage to go on. The pictures show the characters (and what a selection of roles and artists!), in physical and emotional readiness as they are backstage in Ms. Lieberman's ready made studio brought to the Opera during actual performances from around the world..the text by Paul Griffiths, (Music critic for the New Yorker and now The New York Times) brings you into their world in an imaginative and knowledgeable fashion, creating an inner dialogue of the performer and character. The book becomes a unique treasure in the combination of the photographer and writer. What a find! [e-mail]

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Book, April 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: When Divas Confess: Master Opera Singers in Their Leading Roles (Paperback)

The book by Ms. Lieberman brings opera divas right into your living room, as if transformed from the stage directly into your home. The pictures are amazingly vivid, and her ability to capture the moment with people is unparalleled. I think this is one of the best opera photo books ever printed! Brava!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Photos, June 15, 2010

By 

James Heagy (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: When Divas Confess: Master Opera Singers in Their Leading Roles (Paperback)

Up close warts and all photos of opera characters in their makeup and costumes; fantastic for anyone interested in opera, makeup or theater. I have purchased several of these books to lend and give to opera friends; they love them. Photographer had no luck getting singers to pose for such up close photos until Sam Ramey agreed; then everyone wanted to be in the book.