Classical Singers of the Opera and Recital Stages: A Bibliography of Biographical Materials, Vol. 42
Have you ever tried to find information on your favorite classical singer, past or present? If you have, you know the frustrations involved. Now, for the first time under one cover is a comprehensive listing of all known published and unpublished material of a biographical nature about classical singers of the opera and recital stages. No current reference work or periodical includes more than a fraction of the material found here. This book will save the reader countless frustrating hours...
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Have you ever tried to find information on your favorite classical singer, past or present? If you have, you know the frustrations involved. Now, for the first time under one cover is a comprehensive listing of all known published and unpublished material of a biographical nature about classical singers of the opera and recital stages. No current reference work or periodical includes more than a fraction of the material found here. This book will save the reader countless frustrating hours tracking down sources by indicating exactly where to look. For anyone with a serious interest in classical singers, this new publication is a MUST. Quite simply put, there is nothing comparable available. If you own any or all of the current basic references on opera and singing, this represents a worthy and indispensable companion to each of them.Classical Singers of the Opera and Recital Stages is a comprehensive listing of biographical materials about 1,532 famous and not-so-famous vocalists. Materials from 30 languages and language variants are annotated including cross-references to 24 major dictionaries, encyclopedias, and reference works as well as 12 important periodicals. In addition to this body of information, 157 collective titles and 283 related books are also cross-referenced. It even includes references to works such as the American National Biography which is currently in publication. All of this material is organized into five easy-to-use coded categories, and the codes remain standard throughout the work. A special feature is a complete index to all vocalists accorded an entry in The New Grove Dictionary of Opera (1992). Some 323 classical vocal artists, whodo not appear in Grove-Opera, are included here. Cowden's monumental reference lists thousands of sources for obscure artists as well as for the legendary ones from the 17th century to 1993. Each reader will find sources of information previously unknown thus saving countless hours tracking down biographical information about a particular artist. An indispensable supplement to even the most recent published reference works in the field of the vocal arts, Classical Singers of the Opera and Recital Stages should remain a standard work for years to come. Booknews A comprehensive listing of all known published and unpublished material of a biographical nature about classical singers of the opera and recital stages. Sources range from the early 17th century to 1993, and include some 30 languages or language variants. Many of the titles are annotated. The work is divided into three major sections. Collective Titles: Books on Singers includes 157 books devoted entirely or primarily to classical vocalists. Collective Titles: Related Books includes 283 books with additional material on many of the singers. Individual Singers, A-Z includes 1,532 vocal artists. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
IntroductionBibliographical AbbreviationsPt. ACollective Titles: Books on Singers3Pt. BCollective Titles: Related Books31Pt. CIndividual Singers, A-Z69Appendix I: Additional Artists449Appendix II: Grove-Opera Index461Index of Authors, Compilers, and Editors489
\ Nearly a decade has passed since the appearance of Cowden's "Concert and Opera Singers: A Bibliography of Biographical Materials" (Greenwood, 1985). Since then, more than 150 additional collective works and related titles have appeared. In this new work, Cowden has heavily reworked and expanded the earlier effort to account for these new titles and, in the process, has once again produced a superb reference tool "Classical Singers" is divided into three major sections. Section 1, "Collective Titles: Books on Singers," lists 157 books devoted entirely or primarily to classical vocalists. Section 2, "Collective Titles: Related Books," includes 283 books with additional material on many of the singers. The main body of the volume is section 3, "Individual Singers," in which bibliographic entries are listed under the names of the singers, who are arranged alphabetically. Here, too, will be found brief factual data about each artist. Appendix 1 ("Additional Artists") includes material uncovered too late in the process to include in the original entry. Appendix 2 is a listing of singers who are accorded an entry in "The New Grove Dictionary of Opera" (Grove Dictionaries, 1992). A master index of authors, compilers, and editors completes the work Any discussion of biographical bibliographies of classical vocalists must also note Andrew Farkas' "Opera and Concert Singers: An Annotated International Bibliography of Books and Pamphlets" (Garland, 1985). Farkas provides entries for only 796 singers compared with 1,532 in Cowden. However, Farkas does provide some unique material (lengthy annotations for many of the works he has included, citations to unpublished manuscripts, and an entry for Mme. Blanche Arral, for example). Farkas is still in print, but at the current price ($65) only comprehensive collections need to consider the purchase of Farkas in addition to Cowden Cowden's "Classical Singers of the Opera and Recital Stages" is highly recommended for academic libraries and any collections serving music scholars and aficionados of serious vocal music.\ \ \ \ \ BooknewsA comprehensive listing of all known published and unpublished material of a biographical nature about classical singers of the opera and recital stages. Sources range from the early 17th century to 1993, and include some 30 languages or language variants. Many of the titles are annotated. The work is divided into three major sections. Collective Titles: Books on Singers includes 157 books devoted entirely or primarily to classical vocalists. Collective Titles: Related Books includes 283 books with additional material on many of the singers. Individual Singers, A-Z includes 1,532 vocal artists. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)\ \
