Voices of opera, 1950s-1970s : interviews with 22 singers / Tony Villecco.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Villecco, Tony, 1956- Author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Singers--Interviews.

Singers.

Opera--20th century.

Opera.

Genre:

interviews.

Biographies.

Interviews.

Physical Description:

x, 180 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Jefferson, North Carolina : McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, [2025]

Summary:

"This is the first book of its kind to include interviews with 22 of the famous opera stars whose careers began in the late 1940's right up through the 1970's and beyond. Opera lovers and fans of music in general get a rare glimpse into the world of opera and how the landscape has changed since these pioneers started out on their illustrious careers. The singers represented in this book recall their memories of having either studied or performed with opera legends including Maria Callas and Rosa Ponselle, Beniamino Gigli, Aureliano Pertile, Lydia Lipkowska, Leonard Bernstein and Leonard Warren, among others. Was it easier back then to establish an operatic career? What were the pitfalls these singers faced? The experience of George Shirley, the first African-American tenor to perform on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera, is illustrative of the challenges faced by him and others in the industry. Shirley's is only one such story in this book, which documents the careers of singers from this period and their challenges (and victories) on the American stage and abroad." -- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Tenor Luigi Alva : a voice of "elegant, refined style"

Soprano Lucine Amara : much more than a house soprano

Soprano Martina Arroyo

Tenor Daniele Barioni : "America gave me everything"

Welsh tenor Stuart Burrows

Mezzo-soprano Fiorenza Cossotto

Bass-baritone Richard Cross

Bass-baritone Justino Diaz

Soprano Marisa Galvany

Tenor Giorgio Lamberti

Mezzo-soprano Adriana Lazzarini

Tenor William Lewis

A voice like velvet : remembering contralto Jean Madeira

French baritone Robert Massard

Soprano Johanna Meier

Mildred Miller : the Met's unstoppable mezzo

Baritone Sherrill Milnes

Baritone Rolando Panerai : an extraordinary career

Soprano Jeanette Scovotti : Cinderella of the Metropolitan Opera

Tenor George Shirley

Helen Vanni : the Met's invaluable trouper

Soprano Virginia Zeani.

Notes:

Includes discographies and index.

ISBN:

9781476689135

147668913X

OCLC:

1483814369

Publisher Number:

90103237729