Divas and Scholars - by Philip Gossett (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Winner of the 2007 Otto Kinkeldey Award from the American Musicological Society and the 2007 Deems Taylor Award from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers.

Divas and Scholars is a dazzling and beguiling account of how opera comes to the stage, filled with Philip Gossett's personal experiences of triumphant-and even failed-performances and suffused with his towering and tonic passion for music. Writing as a fan, a musician, and a scholar, Gossett, the world's leading authority on the performance of Italian opera, brings colorfully to life the problems, and occasionally the scandals, that attend the production of some of our most favorite operas.

Gossett begins by tracing the social history of nineteenth-century Italian theaters in order to explain the nature of the musical scores from which performers have long worked. He then illuminates the often hidden but crucial negotiations opera scholars and opera conductors and performers: What does it mean to talk about performing from a critical edition? How does one determine what music to perform when multiple versions of an opera exist? What are the implications of omitting passages from an opera in a performance? In addition to vexing questions such as these, Gossett also tackles issues of ornamentation and transposition in vocal style, the matters of translation and adaptation, and even aspects of stage direction and set design.

Throughout this extensive and passionate work, Gossett enlivens his history with reports from his own experiences with major opera companies at venues ranging from the Metropolitan and Santa Fe operas to the Rossini Opera Festival at Pesaro. The result is a book that will enthrall both aficionados of Italian opera and newcomers seeking a reliable introduction to it-in all its incomparable grandeur and timeless allure.

Review Quotes

"I knew Philip Gossett was a great scholar. Now I find out that he is also a tremendous storyteller. "Divas and Scholars" is not only erudite: it's as entertaining and charming as a novel. Singers, conductors, directors, musicologists, real or ideal characters are portrayed here with the right irony (and self-irony). And what a mine of information: for a professional musician such as myself, part two of this book ("Performing the Opera") was a welcome benefit, an indispensable guidebook. In my youth I was a pupil of and assistant to Tullio Serafin. Now in my later years I've found in Philip Gossett my prophet."--Bruno Bartoletti

"Philip Gossett has made a tremendous contribution to the performance practice of Italian operatic repertoire from Bel Canto to Verdi. His research and dedication to the task have enabled him to provide us, the performers, with a depth and breadth of knowledge about how to approach the specific stylistic challenges of this music. In addition to his scholarly integrity, he is also a fine musician who can implement his own research by creating appropriate ornamentation for singers. I would never dream of approaching this repertoire without first consulting and coaching with him. Fortunately, this book provides a reference so now all musicians can benefit from his work."

"This is the book that is indispensable for opera performers, scholars, and lovers. I am thrilled to have mine."--Marilyn Horne

"To call this book 'a labor of love' is simply to confirm expectations: Philip Gossett's capacity for labor is legendary in every corner of the operatic profession, and his love for "ottocento "opera informs every sentence of his extensive writing about it and every bar of his meticulous editions. When some future historian has to describe in a few words the artistic renewal this repertory has enjoyed, I suspect two names will be culled from the hundreds who have contributed: Maria Callas for convincing the public that it was worth taking seriously, and Gossett for showing us all what it would mean to do so. The result has been nothing less than a re-birth for what was once the most popular music in the world, and this book is a wide-ranging and constantly stimulating illumination of the adventure of bringing that about."

"To call this book a labor of love' is simply to confirm expectations: Philip Gossett's capacity for labor is legendary in every corner of the operatic profession, and his love for ottocento opera informs every sentence of his extensive writing about it and every bar of his meticulous editions. When some future historian has to describe in a few words the artistic renewal this repertory has enjoyed, I suspect two names will be culled from the hundreds who have contributed: Maria Callas for convincing the public that it was worth taking seriously, and Gossett for showing us all what it would mean to do so. The result has been nothing less than a re-birth for what was once the most popular music in the world, and this book is a wide-ranging and constantly stimulating illumination of the adventure of bringing that about."

About the Author

Philip Gossett is the Robert W. Reneker Distinguished Service Professor in Music and the College at the University of Chicago. He is the general editor of The Works of Giuseppe Verdi, published by the University of Chicago Press and Casa Ricordi, and The Works of Gioachino Rossini. In 2004 he received one of four lifetime achievement awards given by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and in 1998 he received the Cavaliere di Gran Croce, the highest civilian award given by the Italian government.