Overview

Blunt, irreverent, and at times wittily subversive, Opera Wars spotlights opera’s colorful and sometimes warring personalities, increasingly fierce controversies over content, and the battles being waged for its economic future. Drawing on interviews with dozens of opera insiders—as well as her own experience as an award-winning librettist, trained vocalist, opera company director, and arts commentator—Caitlin Vincent deftly unravels clichés and presumptions, exposing such debates as how much fidelity is owed to long-dead opera composers whose plots often stir racial and gender sensitivities, whether there’s any cure for typecasting that leaves talented performers out of work and other performers chained to the same roles, and what explains the bizarre kowtowing of opera companies to the demands of traditionalist patrons. Vincent never shrinks from depicting the industry’s top-to-bottom messiness and its stubborn resistance to change. Yet, like a lover who can’t quite break away, she always comes back to her veneration for the artform and in these pages stirringly evokes those moments on stage that can be counted on to make ardent fans of the most skeptical.

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9781668084069

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Reviews

""Caitlin Vincent's approach, fizzy with candid appraisals and delicious insider details, is the opposite of academic. Sometimes irreverent, frequently poignant, and always smart and entertaining, Opera Wars will appeal to anyone who loves opera, disdains it, or yearns to know the intriguing stories behind those soaring notes."" --Mark Campbell, librettist for the Pulitzer Prize-winning opera ""Silent Night""

""A delightful introduction to the workings of one of the world's most exciting and polarizing art forms. From opera's birth pangs more than four centuries ago to the economic, logistical, and cultural challenges it faces today, Opera Wars is a colorful, witty look behind the velvet curtain. The book benefits from Vincent's insider knowledge not only as a singer, but also as an administrator launching her own company. Both beginners and dedicated opera fans will appreciate the clear-headed battlefield coverage of skirmishes between lovers of regietheater and purists, ""the canon"" and new works, and the many, often competing interests behind the scenes."" --Renée Fleming, Metropolitan Opera star, Recipient of the National Medal of Arts, Five-Time Grammy Winner ""Caitlin Vincent's approach, fizzy with candid appraisals and delicious insider details, is the opposite of academic. Sometimes irreverent, frequently poignant, and always smart and entertaining, Opera Wars will appeal to anyone who loves opera, disdains it, or yearns to know the intriguing stories behind those soaring notes."" --Mark Campbell, librettist for the Pulitzer Prize-winning opera ""Silent Night"" ""Think opera is elitist, stuffy and boring? Then delve into Caitlin Vincent's breezy, informative look at the Queen of the Performing Arts. A professional singer, Vincent scrapes away the pretentiousness that too often hangs about the opera house to reveal the toil, the talent, the egos, the risks and, at times, the insanity, that make the opera world so dramatic. Along the way, she reminds us that the great works--old and new--deliver many a sublime night at the theater."" --Michael Riedel, New York Times bestselling author of Razzle Dazzle: The Battle for Broadway ""Engaging...An honest look at what's right and what's wrong in the world of opera...The research is phenomenal."" --Francesca Zambello, Artistic Director of Washington National Opera ""Poignant, honest, funny, and brutal. Vincent rips the curtain from opera's pretensions and shows outsiders what every insider knows: that you cannot love opera without also hating it; that the art form is both magnetic and merciless; and that the business itself is a bureaucratic mess of staggering, operatic proportions."" --Gabe Wyner, former opera singer and author of the bestselling Fluent Forever

""A lively debut [with] sharp insights...Drawing on personal experience and a wealth of interviews, Vincent paints a clear-eyed picture of an art form constrained by massive costs, shrinking audiences, and bygone traditions, while also giving due to its beauty and resilience."" --Publishers Weekly ""A delightful introduction to the workings of one of the world's most exciting and polarizing art forms. From opera's birth pangs more than four centuries ago to the economic, logistical, and cultural challenges it faces today, Opera Wars is a colorful, witty look behind the velvet curtain."" --Renée Fleming, Metropolitan Opera star, Recipient of the National Medal of Arts, Five-Time Grammy Winner ""What a great book! Vincent shows us that opera, like all music, is by, for, and about we the people. She changed my belief that opera lives in a cloistered world; it's been out there with all the other music genres just waiting to be seen and heard. Opera Wars reveals that opera is made by artists reaching for that most common prize: connecting with others. After I turned the last page, I bought my first opera ticket."" --Susan Rogers, Professor, Berklee College of Music, multi-platinum record producer, and coauthor of This Is What It Sounds Like ""Caitlin Vincent's approach, fizzy with candid appraisals and delicious insider details, is the opposite of academic. Sometimes irreverent, frequently poignant, and always smart and entertaining, Opera Wars will appeal to anyone who loves opera, disdains it, or yearns to know the intriguing stories behind those soaring notes."" --Mark Campbell, librettist for the Pulitzer Prize-winning opera ""Silent Night"" ""Think opera is elitist, stuffy and boring? Then delve into Caitlin Vincent's breezy, informative look at the Queen of the Performing Arts. A professional singer, Vincent scrapes away the pretentiousness that too often hangs about the opera house to reveal the toil, the talent, the egos, the risks and, at times, the insanity, that make the opera world so dramatic."" --Michael Riedel, New York Times bestselling author of Razzle Dazzle: The Battle for Broadway ""Engaging...An honest look at what's right and what's wrong in the world of opera by tracing it back to its roots. The research is phenomenal."" --Francesca Zambello, Artistic Director of the Washington National Opera ""A buoyant, accessible, and entertaining guide...Aimed at both operatic novices and veterans, Opera Wars is a portrait of opera in the 21st century that is both brutally realistic and ultimately hopeful."" --Joshua Kosman, former classical music critic, San Francisco Chronicle ""Poignant, honest, funny, and brutal. Vincent rips the curtain from opera's pretensions and shows outsiders what every insider knows: that you cannot love opera without also hating it; that the art form is both magnetic and merciless; and that the business itself is a bureaucratic mess of staggering, operatic proportions."" --Gabe Wyner, former opera singer and author of the bestselling Fluent Forever

Author Information

Caitlin Vincent is an award-winning librettist, trained vocalist, opera company director, and arts commentator. Her librettos have won all three of America’s top opera prizes and her vocal work is featured on the Grammy Award–nominated album 40@40. Vincent was the artistic director of The Figaro Project from 2009 to 2014. She writes frequently on the arts for such outlets as The Conversation and Limelight, and her perspective on opera has been featured in The New York Times. She holds a PhD from Deakin University (Australia), an MM from Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins, and a BA from Harvard. She was born in the US but currently makes her home in Melbourne, Australia. 

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