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Diva, The New Generation: The Sopranos and Mezzos of the Decade Discuss
Their Roles, by Helena Matheopoulos. 1998, Northeastern Univ. Press,
372 pp., 35 photos, index. Hardcover. BK #14 US$29.95 Charles D. Parsons, reviewing in American Record Guide "Music maven and journalist Matheopoulos has already published Diva: Great Sopranos and Mezzos Discuss Their Art. Since then a new generation of divas has emerged, and in her new book she takes on 21 of today's most important artists: Barbara Bonney, Jane Eaglen, Renée Fleming, Barbara Frittoli, Angela Gheorghiu, Galina Gorchakova, Maria Guleghina, Elena Kelessidi, Catherine Malfitano, Karita Mattila, Deborah Polaski, Ruth Ann Swenson, Carol Vaness, Veronica Villarroel (Alessandra Marc and Deborah Voigt are omitted). Mezzos: Cecilia Bartoli, Olga Borodina, Susan Graham, Denyce Graves, Vesselina Kasarova, Jennifer Larmore, Dolora Zajick. A very impressive lineup of divas! "Matheopoulos does make observations about the ladies, but mostly lets them reveal their own personalities through their own words, describing their musical training, careers, roles, their relationships with other artists, and the difficulty of balancing professional and private lives. Quite often this degenerates into a parade of 'my next triumph was' as the divas describe the progress of their careers, but it does make for a fascinating record. "Malfitano is refreshingly candid in describing some vocal difficulties and even the traumatic experience of being booed at the Paris Opera in 1989. Delightfully charming is Larmore's joy in speaking of her home ('The Resort'), her husband (bass-baritone William Powers) and miniature Schnauzer (Sophie). In general this is an attractive introduction into the backstage world of the opera complete with photos of all the ladies interviewed." From Publishers Weekly "According to Matheopoulos the 1990s has been a 'bumper decade' for high-quality female singers. In this intriguing book she interviews 14 sopranos. Some of the most revealing statements have to do with the singers' insights into the personalities of the characters they play. For example, Bonney views Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier as a spoiled brat who will eventually lose Octavian; Vaness notes that while Verdi's ladies tend to be rather uncomplicated, Bonney tries to make them more so, for example, making Desdemona a fighter, not just a victim; Dolora Zajick learned how to portray Lady Macbeth from watching Bette Davis in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane. Matheopoulos's aim is to show that while contemporary female singers from around the world have as much glamour as the divas of the past, they are also intelligent, self-aware and imbued with a good measure of common sense. If these savvy ladies are typical, she proves that today's divas are indeed 'artists first and divas second.'" |
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