The Prima Donna and Opera, 1815–1930
Part of Cambridge Studies in Opera
- Author: Susan Rutherford, University of Manchester
- Date Published: August 2006
- availability: Available
- format: Hardback
- isbn: 9780521851671
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This book is concerned not so much with the 'prima donna' as with prime donne: a group of working artists (sometimes famous but more often relatively unknown and now long forgotten) and the circumstances of their professional lives. It attempts to locate these singers within a broader history, including not only the specificities of operatic stage practice but the life beyond the opera house - the social, cultural and political framing that shaped individual experience, artistic endeavour and audience reception. Rutherford addresses questions such as the multiple discourses on the image of the singer and their impact on the changing profile of the professional artist from figlia dell'arte at the beginning of the era to middle-class woman at the end; the aspect of the 'stage mother' and patronage; issues of vocal training and tuition; professional life in the operatic market-place; and performance (both vocal and dramatic) conventions and practices.
Read more- Examines the lives of a range of female opera singers including Giuditta Pasta, Maria Malibran, Wilhelmine Schröder-Devrient and Emma Calvé
- Locates the singers within a broader history, covering social and cultural aspects
- Will be of interest to graduates in the areas of operatic studies, musicology, theatre history, performance studies and women's studies
Awards
- Pauline Alderman Award of the International Alliance for Women in Music
Reviews & endorsements
Review of the hardback: 'This is a comprehensive and articulate study, intelligently constructed and stylishly written. It's also a valuable corrective to those endlessly gushing descriptions of bouquets, champagne and jewels, many of them the work of the prima donnas themselves. BBC Music Magazine
See more reviewsReview of the hardback: '… this book is a joy. … The names of many about whom she writes may not be widely known today but thanks to her enthusiastic and vivid style of writing, they leap from the pages of a book I cannot recommend too highly.' Classical Music
Review of the hardback: 'Rutherford's interaction with their histories offers a delightful reading of these individuals as both themselves and prima donnas.' Patricia Puckett Sasser, Nineteenth-Century Music Review
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×Product details
- Date Published: August 2006
- format: Hardback
- isbn: 9780521851671
- length: 394 pages
- dimensions: 234 x 161 x 29 mm
- weight: 0.75kg
- availability: Available
Table of Contents
Introduction
1. Sirens and songbirds
2. Superdivas and superwomen
3. Tutors and tuition
4. The supporting cast
5. Professional life
6. The vocal and theatrical landscape
7. The singing actress
Postscript.
Related Books
related journals
also by this author
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