Tenor : History of a Voice

by John Potter

• ISBN13: 9780300168938
• ISBN10: 0300168934
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2010-09-28
• Publisher: Yale University Press

Summary

From its emergence in the sixteenth century to the phenomenon of the "Three Tenors" and beyond, the tenor voice has grown in popularity and esteem. This engaging and authoritative bookthe first comprehensive history of tenor singingpresents fascinating details about the world's great performers, styles of singing in different countries, teachers and music schools, the variety of compositions for the tenor voice, and much more. John Potter begins by surveying the prehistory of the tenor in the medieval period, when Gregorian chant and early polyphony had implications for a voice-type, and proceeds to the sixteenth century, when singers were first identified as tenors. He focuses on many of the greatest tenors-- those who predated the gramophone as well as those whose recorded voices may still be heard--and considers the ways in which each is historically significant. The names range from legendary early figures like Ludwig Schnoor von Carolsfeld (Wagner's first Tristan) to those more familiar like Enrico Caruso, Richard Tauber, Mario Lanza, Roberto Alagna, Ian Bostridge, Andrea Bocelli, Il Divo, and, of course, Pavarotti, Domingo, and Carreras. Admirers of the tenor voice will especially appreciate the book's unique reference section, with bibliographical and discographical/video information on several hundred tenors.

Author Biography

John Potter is reader in music at the University of York. He is also a singer and vocal coach, with a discography of some 150 titles.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	p. viii
Preface	p. ix
The Prehistory of the Voice	p. 1
Handel, Mozart and the Tenor-Castrato Connection	p. 22
Nourrit, Duprez and the Tenorino d'hier	p. 44
The Tenor as Artist	p. 58
Caruso and the Italian Succession	p. 78
The Romantic Tenor Hero	p. 93
Splendid Isolationists? The British Isles in the Twentieth Century	p. 121
France and the Decline of Linguistic Lyricism	p. 136
Russia and the Preservation of Lost Traditions	p. 144
The Twentieth-century Heldentenor	p. 153
Post-war Losses and Gains	p. 169
Notes	p. 193
Biographical List of Tenors	p. 216
Audio, Video and Website Sources	p. 290
Bibliography and Further Reading	p. 292
Index	p. 294
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