Opera Lives

Linda Kitchen (Author), Nobby Clark (Illustrated by)

9781910151716

Hardback, published 18 December 2018

272 pages
25.8 x 17.2 x 2 cm, 0.642 kg

"An intriguing and richly-detailed insight into the minds, routines, concerns and joys of being an opera singer. A must-read for all performers." —Martin Duncan, Opera and Theatre Director

"Linda Kitchen has done a great job curating a fascinating insight into the professional lives of some of our best-loved singers and sure to be of interest to a next generation of young artists." —Lynne Dawson, Head of the School of Vocal Studies and Opera, Royal Northern College of Music.

What makes an opera singer?

And where in the making of a performance is the identity of the singer themselves?

Linda Kitchen goes behind the scenes with prominent voices who have valuable insight about the world of opera, discussing what it means to be a performer, how they got into the profession and how who they are affects how they perform.

Illustrated with photos of the artists in places that lend meaning to their lives by renowned photographer Nobby Clark.

• Biographies - La favorite, Donizetti
• Prologue - Noises, Sounds &
  Sweet Airs, Nyman
• Act One ‘
  Shoving us from the jetty’
  
• Scene One - Family background
• Scene Two - School days
• Scene Three - Defining moment
• Scene Four - Singing study
• Scene Five - Preparing
• Act Two ‘
  Carry on –
  it’
  s going very well’
  
• Scene One - The unfolding
• Scene Two - Learning the score
• Scene Three - Warming up
• Scene Four - The feeling of singing
• Act Three ‘
  No good playing Mime as if you’
  re Brad Pitt’
  
• Scene One - Character, text, drama
• Scene Two - Body work
• Scene Three - The essence
• Scene Four - Problems
• Scene Five - Humour
• Intermission - by Thomas Allen
• Act Four ‘
  Goodies and Baddies’
  
• Scene One - People around you
• Scene Two - Composers
• Scene Three - Conductors
• Scene Four - Directors
• Scene Five - Designers
• Scene Six - Agents
• Scene Seven - Reviewing reviewers
• Act Five ‘
  Bowls of sushi on a conveyor belt’
  
• Scene One - Changing paths
• Scene Two - Legacy
• Scene Three - Family
• Scene Four - Life beyond the job
• Scene Five - The future
• Scene Six - Advice
• Epilogue - Hä
  nsel und Gretel, Humperdinck