Having been a professional singer for about five decades and having grown up with, and studied the early recordings of operatic singers for just as long, I feel that I am in an unusual position when it comes to analyzing their art. The ability to describe a singer’s voice on paper is a unique challenge but one that I enjoy solving–especially since each voice is a law unto itself. When done correctly, analysis like this should make the reader want to go and find the recording so that they can listen for themselves. This is especially true for my expanded Kindle version of Early 20th Century Opera Singers.
I wrote
Early 20th Century Opera Singers: Their Voices and Recordings from 1900-1949
J.B. Steane’s massive book, over 600 pages, is one of the most comprehensive books on historical singers ever written. My copy is riddled with text underlining and notes in the margins. His evaluations of singers are always honest, but fair. I have read this book at least 3 times and have re-read sections many more times. It invaluable.
Before the gramophone could do justice to an orchestra, it was able to reproduce the human voice with comparative fidelity. Steane examines the great mass of singing on record and follows the fortunes of modern singers as well as old, in song, opera, and choral singing. This corrected second edition includes a preface and bibliography.
A remarkable tracing of the evolution of singing throughout the decades. Occasionally Scott is dismissive, (sometimes of the most famous singers) but his remarks are always intriguing and thought-provoking. Through his text, Scott causes one to re-evaluate some of the most famous singers and the reason for their fame.
One of the greatest series of books ever written about the early years of live broadcasting from the Metropolitan Opera. Jackson’s detailed analysis of the existing broadcasts is informative and fascinating. Even better they can be read by themselves, or even better, when listening to the actual broadcast. The amount of information in this series (3) is unbelievably vast and fascinating. All three are recommended.
(Amadeus). In this first of three volumes, Paul Jackson begins a rich and detailed history of the early years of the Metropolitan Opera broadcasts, bringing to life more than 200 recorded broadcasts.
Herman Klein wrote for the magazine, Gramophone during the 1920s and his reviews of the then-current 78 r.p.m. recordings are among the best you can read. This book from Amodeus Press contains all his reviews and articles for that magazine and is a fascinating, essential read. This is another book that I have read and re-read over the years, scribbled in the margins, and quoted from in my own writing.
From Klein's comments on early recordings that remain available today, the reader can get a glimpse of what legendary singers such as Patti and Lind sounded like more than a century ago. The essays of Herman Klein that appeared in The Gramophone from 1924 until 1934 are indispensable sources of information on the singers of the Golden Age.
This series of 3 books traces the recordings of various operas from the infancy of recording through modern-day recording and is another fascinting read. Making this even more interesting is the fact that each opera is taken on by a different writer so you always get a fresh view on the works being discussed.
Hear and see what you are reading about—as you read.
Listen to and see world-famous opera singers you haven’t seen in person, their talents described by a three-books opera author, himself a trained professional singer and performer. Over 700 Internet links and 200 hours of performances by artists Limansky evaluates—their biographies, history, performances, and voices described in technical detail. Limansky explains why critical listening is vital. He analyzes and describes the recordings of previous generations in comparison to the present, telling you their technical singing qualities and abilities. Limansky provides information about where, how, and on which labels given recordings can be found, providing the histories of the labels on which these past artists recorded. Beginners will find great interest in this far-ranging book.
