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Great Singers on Great Singing: A Famous Opera Star Interviews 40 Famous Opera Singers on the Technique of Singing |
Author: Jerome Hines
Published: 2004-07-01 |
List price: $15.95
Our price: $15.25
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As of: December 01st, 2008 12:38:17 PM
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Customer comments on this selection.
 Fascinating for singers
This has long been one of my favourite books on singing. I lent my copy to a fellow singer and never saw it again. Fortunately I recently managed to buy a second-hand first edition, and this copy is never going to leave my house. If you are a singer, it is one of those books that you will want to read again and again at various points in your career, gaining more insight from it at each reading and as your experience grows. Jerome Hines interviewed a selection of forty opera singers - including Domingo, Pavarotti, Ponselle and Sutherland (to name four of the best known) - and prompted them to voice their opinions, experiences, impressions, sensations, tricks of the trade and routines on what is so often invisible, intangible and elusive about the art of singing. He sensibly chose, for the most part, singers who were well into their years of prime or nearing the end of their careers rather than young stars who might not have acquired enough experience to be suitably analytical about their art. What is so endlessly fascinating about this book is what has to be inferred rather than what is actually stated. The reader is often left to try to imagine what the interviewee could possibly mean when he (in this case Nicolai Gedda) said in response to a question about what he feels when he sings a high note: "I think it's a double kind of movement ... of working of muscles ... even up a little. It's both." This is the kind of stuff that a singer will ponder for many a year, and one wishes that Hines could have been just a little bit more probing at times. Nevertheless I still give him five stars because it was such an original idea for a book. (A similar kind of book by was written in 1998 by Helena Matheopoulos about the current crop of female opera stars, but it is aimed at a wider audience and its focus is more on repertoire and roles and less on the technicalities of vocal production.)
At one level the book is now becoming slightly dated, as many of the forty have passed away. On the other hand, we have recordings of all of them to keep their voices alive, and these interviews will gain in value as they gradually acquire the status of a historical document, especially in the case of those singers who did not write about their art. As good singing is timeless, there is much of interest for serious student of vocal technique, and there is much to glean between the lines. One wonders what other gems Hines might have recorded during those interviews which didn't make it into the book. Sadly, as he died in 2003, we shall probably never know.
Also included are two useful chapters by a speech therapist and a laryngologist.
The Great Book On Great Singers
A book that interviews 40 famous opera singers including well known singers suh as Pavarotti, Domingo, Corelli, Sutherland, Horne, Milnes etc. I think that Jerome Hines( a respected basso singer himself) has left an important work behind. The work is "The Great Singers On Singing." There hasn't been another book like it ever since when it comes to interviewing opera singers. It's a great book to have as a classical vocal student or teacher. The book reveals famous opera singers opinions regarding career, performing, diction, passagio, methods, range and the mental aspects of dealing with singing. Singing is hard to explain, which is why a good teacher will guide you for your own interpretation through appliction . Some of the singers are vague in their descriptions when it comes to explaining a certain vocal matter, and other singers explain clear as a bell. There are also long interviews with Dr Leo P. Reckford and Dr Morton Cooper that are valuable. These Doctors have great knowledge about the throat and vocal cords, and lay down physiological explanations. These kind of interviews along with the famous singers makes this book complete. Another reason why this book is so enjoyable is cause you can feel that Jerome Hines has a strong curiosity of what makes another singer have great vocal production. The questions asked by Hines are questions that singers would ask. He wants to know their secrets, their vulnerabilities, their interpretations, and he actually gets answers more so than he bargained for. It's very hard to find a book, or articles on the internet that gives away singers' opinion regarding their technique. This treasurable book should go for reprint. I have read over a dozen books when it comes to the art of singing. If I had to keep one vocal book this would be it. The reason for it is you'll find that not all singers in this book agree on the approach of what they consider good technique, but the disagreements here are not drastic and that is the reality of singing. Not one book can really show you how to sing. You can only apply the principles to when you actually start practicing. In the journey of becoming a singer you also will find your own opinion about what great singing is. That is why I think this book is valuable cause it interviews singers who went through the process. A great book that is entertaining as well as informative. This is the kind of book that you will re-read a chapter or a paragraph or whatever you are looking for for the rest of your life.
For all aspiring great singers!
This book was recommended by Rebecca Cook-Carter in a master class of hers that I attended. I've loved every page I read! The book is essential for any aspiring singer who wishes to have a better understanding of vocal technique.
A must for students!
I was assigned to read this book and write ten critiques from ten article in this book. I first read this book as a student who loved the great singers of the past. This book is not a how to book in singing great, but it gives different points of view on how to sing well. I got a copy of the book to study it more indepthly. This book is great if you are going to teach students. There are exercises and hints from the great singers on how they warm up, their views on proper breathing and the fundamentals of singing. Each singer has their own point of view so that is also great for a teacher to consider because every one has their own way of explaining what works for them when it comes to singing correctly. Again, a great book for voice teachers and students!
Great Singers on Great Singing
My husband is an opera lover and has loved listening to the human singing voice his whole life. I bought this book for him for his birthday, and he is delighted with it. Any one of your opera-loving friends would enjoy receiving a copy.
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