Living Opera

by Jampol, Joshua

• ISBN13: 9780199896271
• ISBN10: 0199896275
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-05-01
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

In Living Opera, Joshua Jampol presents a fascinating collection of 20 wide-ranging interviews with the preeminent opera professionals working on and behind the stage today. Opera lovers are invited to listen in as performers such as Renee Fleming, Natalie Dessay, Rolando Villazon and Plácido Domingo speak in exceptionally frank terms about their strengths and weaknesses, and address such hard-hitting, enduring topics as how they deal with critics, vocal troubles, and balancing their career and family lives. We hear conductors such as James Conlon, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and Kent Nagano discuss their likes and dislikes about the state of contemporary opera, their own inspirations, and whom they themselves hope to inspire. World-class directors such as Robert Carsen and Patrice Chéreau discuss the complexities involved in staging a successful opera, and how opera can remain relevant today. Each interview highlights a distinctive voice, and Jampol brings immense knowledge and a wonderful flair to these conversations. He allows his subjects to follow their thoughts wherever they lead, and reveals in the process a more intimate, reflective side these stars of the emotional and extravagant world of the lyric arts.

Author Biography

Joshua Jampol is a freelance journalist and regular contributor to the "Ear for Opera" series in the International Herald Tribune. He also writes for CNBC Business Magazine and has written for Time and The Guardian (London). He lives in Paris.

Table of Contents

or "The Incorruptible"	p. 7
or building the bridge between head and heart	p. 77
or truth, opera, and the director: In Wagner's footsteps	p. 33
or going for baroque	p. 45
or surrendering your soul	p. 67
or healing the sick voice	p. 79
or the wider connection	p. 99
or Olympics for the voice	p. 115
or balancing on the high wire	p. 131
or functioning as a filter	p. 145
or the emotional fitness center	p. 161
or a workingman talks about traffic control	p. 177
or the sweatshirt must fit	p. 193
or sopranoed-with children	p. 211
or remaining relevant	p. 227
or the art of managing the orchestra	p. 245
or the lion at twilight	p. 261
or new opera and festival opera	p. 279
or humility, the elite, and the caddies	p. 289
or the paradox of the performer	p. 303
Index	p. 319
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