The Prima Donna and Opera, 1815-1930(English, Hardcover, Rutherford Susan)

Know about the book -

The Prima Donna and Opera, 1815-1930(English, Hardcover, Rutherford Susan) is written by Rutherford Susan and published by Cambridge University Press. It's available with International Standard Book Number or ISBN identification 052185167X (ISBN 10) and 9780521851671 (ISBN 13).

This book is concerned not so much with the 'prima donna' as with prime donne: a group of working artists (sometimes famous but more often relatively unknown and now long forgotten) and the circumstances of their professional lives. It attempts to locate these singers within a broader history, including not only the specificities of operatic stage practice but the life beyond the opera house - the social, cultural and political framing that shaped individual experience, artistic endeavour and audience reception. Rutherford addresses questions such as the multiple discourses on the image of the singer and their impact on the changing profile of the professional artist from figlia dell'arte at the beginning of the era to middle-class woman at the end; the aspect of the 'stage mother' and patronage; issues of vocal training and tuition; professional life in the operatic market-place; and performance (both vocal and dramatic) conventions and practices.