|
|
Article: Marvelous Melba: The Extraordinary Life of a Great Diva
- Article from:
- Opera News
- Article date:
- August 1, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright Metropolitan Opera Guild, Incorporated Aug 2009. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
|
Marvelous Melba: The Extraordinary Life of a Great Diva By Ann Blainey Ivan R. Dee, Publisher, 400pp. $28.95
Dame Nellie Melba biographies have been a publishing staple ever since her own selective memoir in 1926, and the reasons are not hard to find. The Australian soprano reigned supreme in Paris, London and New York for nearly four decades, and she shared, or contested, the limelight with other legends such as Caruso and the de Reszke brothers at a time when opera was mainstream, mass-market entertainment. She worked with Massenet, Gounod, Mascagni, Leoncavallo, Puccini, Tosti and lesser composers, and she took dramatic coachings from Sarah Bernhardt. She toured widely, became one of the ...