Living Opera

A fascinating collection of 20 wide-ranging interviews with the preeminent opera professionals working on and behind the stage today. 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, enduring topics as how they deal with critics, vocal troubles, and balancing their career and family lives.  Conductors discuss their likes and dislikes about the state of contemporary opera, their own inspirations, and whom they themselves hope to inspire.  World-class directors discuss the complexities involved in staging a successful opera, and how opera can remain relevant today.  Hardcover, 352 p.