Here is a fascinating collection of 20 wide-ranging interviews with the preeminent opera singers, conductors, directors, and designers working on and behind the stage today. In Living Opera, Joshua Jampol invites opera-lovers to listen in as performers such as Renee Fleming, Natalie Dessay, Rolando Villazon and Placido Domingo speak in exceptionally frank terms about their strengths and weaknesses and address such hard-hitting topics as how they deal with critics, vocal troubles, and balancing their career and family lives. We hear conductors such as James Conlon, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and Kent Nagano discuss their likes and dislikes about the state of contemporary opera, their own inspirations, whom they hope to inspire, and how opera can remain relevant today. World-class directors such as Robert Carsen and Patrice Chereau discuss the complexities involved in staging a successful opera. Jampol has unprecedented access to all the major singers, conductors, and directors, and the table of contents reads like a "who's who" of the global opera world. Each interview highlights a distinctive voice speaking about his or her career path, first break, colleagues, major influences, audiences, critics and all the diverse professions making up the emotional and extravagant world of the lyric arts. Jampol brings immense knowledge and a wonderful flair to these conversations, allowing his subjects to follow their thoughts wherever they lead and revealing in the process a more intimate, reflective side of such stars as Pierre Boulez, William Christie, Joyce DiDonato, Seiji Ozawa, Samuel Ramey, and many others. For anyone wanting to know more about the people behind the performances--what they think, how they feel, and who they really are--Living Opera is full of delights and surprises.

About the Author
Joshua Jampol is a freelance journalist and regular contributor to the "Ear for Opera " series in the International Herald Tribune. Jampol has also routinely written for publications such as Time Magazine and The Hollywood Reporter in the US, and The Guardian and The Times (London) in the UK. He lives in Paris, France.

Reviews
He's a skilful interviewer who deftly captures the personalities of his subjects. * Classic FM Magazine *


Awards
Winner of Named one of the Best Music Books of 2010 by ^IThe Independent^R.



Book Information
ISBN 9780195381382
Author Joshua Jampol
Format Hardback
Page Count 352
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 642g
Dimensions(mm) 239mm * 162mm * 30mm