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Chargement... The Last Prima Donnas (1982)par Lanfranco Rasponi
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Google Books — Chargement... GenresClassification décimale de Melvil (CDD)782.1The arts Music Vocal music Operas and related dramatic vocal formsClassification de la Bibliothèque du CongrèsÉvaluationMoyenne:
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Though the subject of this book will probably only appeal to opera fans—and truly, the vocabulary is such that it would almost make it unreadable to the uninitiated—the stories that it tells are deeply human. Of particular interest to me were the ways in which World War II affected many of these singers' lives: Kirsten Flagstad, who had been singing in America at the time, was separated from her family, the wonderful Elisabeth Grummer lost her husband in an air raid, and most fascinating of all, French soprano Germaine Lubin actually met Hitler and was later accused of being his mistress. I don't have my copy with me, but I found the book filled with many such fascinating tidbits. I remember especially liking Elena Nicolai, who described herself as a Bulgarian wolf and won a battle of wits with Maria Callas upon their first meeting; the two later became good colleagues. I could not help but laugh at Ebe Stignani, the famous contralto, who during the interview insisted on referring to herself in the third person; "it seemed we were speaking of a mutual acquaintance," Rasponi writes. And I believe it was coloratura Margherita Carioso who, upon being complemented for her youthful appearance, asked, "Don't you know nightingales never grow old?"
In Rasponi's book, nightingales and Wagnerians alike are immortalized for the ages. ( )