Diva: Great Sopranos and Mezzos Discuss Their Art, by Helena Matheopoulos. 1992, Northeastern Univ. Press, 333 pp, 26 photos, glossary, index. Hardcover BK #15  US$29.95

June Anderson, Josephine Barstow, Hildegard Behrens, Montserrat Caballé, Ghena Dimitrova, Mirella Freni, Edita Gruberova, Gwyneth Jones, Eva Marton, Rosalind Plowright, Lucia Popp, Leontyne Price, Katia Ricciarelli, Renata Scotto, Cheryl Studer, Joan Sutherland, Kiri Te Kanawa, and Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Agnes Baltsa, Teresa Berganza, Grace Bumbry, Brigitte Fassbaender, Christa Ludwig, Tatiana Troyanos, Lucia Valentini Terrani, and Frederica von Stade.

Malcolm S. Cole, reviewing in The Opera Quarterly

"'Opera, through singing, must make one weep, shudder, die,' Bellini once stated. Truly, as Bellini realized so well, the effectiveness of an opera depends chiefly upon the effectiveness of its singers. In Diva: Great Sopranos and Mezzos Discuss Their Art, Helena Matheopoulos delivers exactly what her title promises. Steering a middle course between oral history, on the one hand, and fan gossip, on the other, she presents twenty-six lively, informative, often thought-provoking interviews. Each artist is portrayed photographically in a representative role. Eighteen are sopranos: June Anderson, Josephine Barstow, Hildegard Behrens, Montserrat Caballé, Ghena Dimitrova, Mirella Freni, Edita Gruberova, Gwyneth Jones, Eva Marton, Rosalind Plowright, Lucia Popp, Leontyne Price, Katia Ricciarelli, Renata Scotto, Cheryl Studer, Joan Sutherland, Kiri Te Kanawa, and Anna Tomowa-Sintow. Eight are mezzos: Agnes Baltsa, Teresa Berganza, Grace Bumbry, Brigitte Fassbaender, Christa Ludwig, Tatiana Troyanos, Lucia Valentini Terrani, and Frederica von Stade. The foreword contains the reasons for omitting such notables as Marilyn Home, Jessye Norman, Margaret Price, Maria Ewing, Shirley Verrett, and Kathleen Battle. With the conspicuous exception of Leontyne Price, the author's 'number one favourite soprano in her repertoire,' the singers included were still performing actively when interviewed in the late 1980s.

"Prefacing the interviews are a glossary and an introduction called 'Opera Today,' a revision of an essay first published in 1986. With the interviews, the reader will regularly encounter certain basic components. Included under vocal development are significant teachers, debuts, early successes, and career progress. Unanimously, the artists stress the necessity of finding that one, right teacher. Of her teacher Lola Rodriguez de Aragon, Teresa Berganza observes, 'The bond...is stronger and deeper than that between mother and daughter....My teacher knows more about me than my mother because she knows my artistic side, that dark, inner, mysterious side which nobody else knows.'

"A significant portion of each entry, naturally, is devoted to dramatic and vocal analysis of roles for which the singer is best known. We also learn much about the singers' methods of working. To develop a feel for a part, Joan Sutherland enjoys researching the historical or literary backgrounds of the characters she is to portray. Lucia Popp reads through the entire score, 'because it helps to know what the others are saying!' Berganza passionately advocates textual fidelity. While Gwyneth Jones strives to find the right movements for every role, Montserrat Caballé emphasizes vocal acting. Many stress the importance of pacing. The singers pay heartfelt tributes to the conductors with whom they have collaborated: the nurturing older generation represented by Tullio Serafin, more recent operatic giants such as the frequently and reverentially mentioned Herbert von Karajan, Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Muti, and James Levine. Mentioned warmly, too, are directors such as Jean-Pierre Ponnelle and Franco Zeffirelli and those unseen but invaluable contributors, the vocal coaches. For example, Janine Reiss's strikingly different conception of Carmen persuaded Teresa Berganza to accept the role after avoiding it for years.

"What emerges most from these accounts is the artists' careful, often probing thinking about roles and their articulate discussion of them: Anderson on Lucia, Barstow on Salome, Behrens on Brünnhilde, Dimitrova on Santuzza, Studer on Elsa (a character of an obsessional nature), Te Kanawa on Elvira, Tomowa-Sintow on the Marschallin, and Bumbry on Venus and Elisabeth (two different sides of one woman). The divas, it should be noted, are not necessarily enamored of their characters. Tomowa-Sintow, for example, offers compelling reasons for not particularly liking the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro, since she 'comes across as rather helpless and slightly masochistic.'

"Advice to young singers occurs frequently. Be able to say no if the role is not right for your voice. Sing with your natural voice; never seek to reproduce another's sound. The artists' future plans include venturing new repertoire, teaching, and, for Brigitte Fassbaender at least, directing. The singers explore various aspects of operatic life, ranging from their specializations to the pressures placed upon them by their demanding careers. Indeed, one sometimes detects a certain wistfulness. 'We singers are slaves to our voice,' states Ghena Dimitrova. 'We live in a perpetual state of nervous tension and our life is full of sacrifices and psychological problems....When I retire I shall look back on my life until then with the knowledge that I never really lived. But there is no going back. I suppose it was all worth it.' Many, like Caballé and Sutherland, stress the need for stability and contentment in their personal lives, a condition that others, like Anderson, hope some day to achieve.

"Against these basic themes numerous episodes are counterpointed: the artist's relationship with the audience, opera in translation, and the satisfaction of lieder singing. Throughout the book, quotations from additional sources—laryngologists, critics, biographers—supplement the author's interviews. The Callas legacy looms large, as a profound influence on many of the singers. Berganza warmly recalls Callas as the 'tenderest, in fact the only real colleague in my career.' Occasionally, a specific vocal technique is cited, such as the one formulated by the versatile nineteenth-century singer, composer, and teacher Manuel Garcia. Among the numerous references to performance practice: should verismo singing be cleaned up? Yes, advises Scotto; no, counsels Dimitrova. In addition Lucia Valentini Terrani's informative discussion of the Rossini revival suggests a genuine scholar-performer.

"Some have identified so closely with particular roles that the fictional character has influenced the singer's real life: Eva Marton and Tosca, Christa Ludwig and the Marschallin. Carmen so liberated Berganza's thinking that she divorced her husband. Often the subjects of criticism, singers here turn the tables, and offer opinions on a variety of topics, from Jones's comments on the rudimentary nature of Italian librettos such as Il trovatore to Bumbry's belief that Lady Macbeth's part is awkwardly written musically and poorly paced dramatically. Brigitte Fassbaender criticizes not only the role of Countess Geschwitz in Berg's Lulu, but also the now-available three-act version of the opera (Berg would have cut it drastically, she believes). Frequently encountered are thought-provoking comparisons of national styles (Italian versus French) and of composers (Verdi versus Puccini). Finally, numerous remarks add spice. Freni, surprisingly, 'cannot read music and learns her roles by ear.' Others are probing: Price on Aida and ethnicity, Bumbry on the 'Black Venus scandal.' Framing the life cycle are Plowright on singing and childbirth, and Ludwig on singing and menopause.

"Diva invites enjoyable reflections and fruitful comparisons. A singer's thoughts about a role can vividly recall productions that the reader has seen live or on film, such as Anderson's Lucia, Jones's Turandot, Berganza's Rosina. As a singer's career progresses, she sometimes comes to evaluate a character differently. Lucia Popp, for example, having moved from Sophie to the Marschallin, 'can't think why I used to love Sophie so much.' Similarly, individual singers perceive the same role in strikingly different ways. Berganza and von Stade adore Cherubino, while Fassbaender finds him one-dimensional. Likewise, Fassbaender and von Stade love Octavian, but Ludwig intensely dislikes him. Regarding ensembles, Popp believes that Susanna and the Countess should be physically and vocally similar, sage advice from which many productions could profit. Finally, for performers and opera scholars a character can elicit responses that sometimes clash and sometimes resonate. For the former, Cheryl Studer's traditional view of Don Giovanni as 'an overwhelmingly powerful, electrifying personality, almost a laser beam' contrasts with Wye J. Allanbrook's challenging interpretation of him as 'No-Man.' For the latter, Susan McClary's feminist interpretation of Carmen supplements Berganza's view without contradicting it.

"Helena Matheopoulos lives and works in London. Written with passion and enthusiasm, Diva is her third book for the general music lover. Whether in its minor themes, like the singers' zodiac signs, or its major themes—Mozart is the most difficult and yet most rewarding composer—it is revealing, insightful, and positive. In various ways, the singers communicate the almost obsessional commitment necessary for their calling. In hushed tones, they speak of the voice as a gift from God (see Berganza), and sometimes as a demanding, semi-autonomous being (see Price). Perhaps unintentionally, a tinge of nostalgia colors some interviews, because 'die Zeit, die ist ein sonderbar Ding.' Time passes, and so do careers. Still, the overriding impression conveyed by the artists is intense joy from the realization that they are doing something for which only a chosen few possess the requisite talent, temperament, and drive. Through the performer's eyes, we experience vicariously those fulfilling Sternstunden, the 'magical moments' that crown a career. We sense the energy that can glow from a great opera score through a great conductor to a great singer. With Eva Marton, we can believe that 'the true aim and function of theater is to shake people up.' We are touched by Caballé's humility: 'I have always done my best...to serve my country, my career, my music, in order to feel proud and walk through life feeling clean.' Above all, we agree with Joan Sutherland: 'It is primarily for the sound of singing that people come to the opera....Them's my sentiments anyway.' To this, a host of readers would say, 'Amen!'"

From Choice

"Interviews with sopranos and mezzo-sopranos who have been prominent on international opera house stages serve as the basis from which Matheopoulos (Divo, 1986, and Maestro, 1983) infers the present state of being an opera singer. The particular pitfalls that emerge are the dearth of fine teachers, shortened periods of technical study, the necessity for some of learning parts rapidly, chronic fatigue from travel, and conductors uninterested or untrained in working with singers. On the other hand, many of the singers point to wise training, careful pacing. extraordinary help, rich family lives, and a lot of good luck. Each discusses her most successful roles and the vocal problems inherent in them. Both a loving and a dignified introduction to favorite singers of the author, Diva will be of interest to all opera lovers and will encourage the sale of recordings and compact discs. Brief citations, most from popular opera journals, appear in the body of the text. Valuable for undergraduate and public libraries; of interest to graduate students and faculty. Pictures."—M. S. Roy, Pennsylvania State University