Demented: The World of the Opera Diva
by Ethan Mordden
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Book Summary Information
Author: Ethan MorddenEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1990-03
ISBN: 0671668005
Number of pages: 310
Publisher: Fireside
Book Reviews of Demented: The World of the Opera Diva
Book Review: A devouring talent
Summary: 5 Stars
Sometimes singers find more in an operatic role than even the composer could have imagined. Soprano Wilhelmine Schröder-Devrient "inspired Wagner to implement his impossible dream of a titanic ritual-theatre when she was playing Beethoven's Leonore." Great operatic roles inspire great divas, and they in turn, inspire audiences. What opera fan does not secretly want to tear up the Covent Garden stage with a flamboyant Carmen, or stun a La Scala audience with Elvira's taxing "Qui la voce" mad scene in "I Puritani"?
Speaking of mad scenes, there are many truly demented roles in opera: Lady Macbeth, Médée, Azucena, and of course, Lucia of the blood-stained dagger and nightgown. Even basses and tenors go crazy now and then (I'm thinking of Assur in Rossini's "Semiramide" and Qin Shi Huang in Tan Dun's "The First Emperor"). However, "Demented" is about great divas--from Nellie Melba to Maria Callas (this book was published in 1984)--so we'll ignore the divos for the length of this review.
Ethan Mordden culls the merely competent sopranos (and the occasional mezzo) from the operatic flock, and concentrates his energy, wit, and impressive learning on the greatest of the prima donnas. These are the ladies who could take to the stage and hold it against Hurricane Katrina. They have the voice, the musicianship, the temperament, and the commitment to their roles that keep audiences not merely entertained, but enthralled. Some readers may disagree with Mordden's emphasis on Maria Callas, but I don't think anyone could argue with his overall choices. He is not merely writing a survey or a set of biographies, but attempting to explain the innermost nature of great divas, and why we are attracted to them. It's not just the music. Sometimes it's the melodrama both on and off of the stage.
When a great Brünnhilde dies, so do the onlooking gods.
This author is a pleasure to read, and "Demented" is packed with witty anecdotes about the divas, their stage directors, maestros, and impresarios. One of Mordden's dictums for divas is "Demented devours" which is the ultimate fate of many great singers in this book. Their talent devoured them. Like this book, their penultimate chapter is "Fall" and their ultimate chapter is "Immortality."
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