Molto Agitato: The Mayhem Behind the Music at the Metropolitan Opera
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Manufacturer: Nan A. Talese
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 782.1097471
EAN: 9780385481878
ISBN: 038548187X
Label: Nan A. Talese
Manufacturer: Nan A. Talese
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 416
Publication Date: 2001-10-30
Publisher: Nan A. Talese
Release Date: 2001-10-30
Studio: Nan A. Talese
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Editorial Reviews:
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Behind the gold curtains of the Metropolitan Opera House, amidst the elaborate sets, bejeweled costumes, and labyrinth of administrative offices, the Met has traditionally operated in great secrecy. Until now.
Johanna Fiedler, who was the Met’s general press representative for fifteen years, draws upon her insider’s knowledge and rivetingly reveals for the first time the company’s Byzantine inner workings and the personal, social, economic, and artistic struggles that have always characterized the Met.
Molto Agitato is a tale with an appropriately operatic cast of characters_haughty blue bloods, ambitious social climbers, determined administrators, stubborn board members, temperamental artists_all maneuvering to use their power and influence to make the Met conform to their own agendas. Fiedler brings to life the early days of the Met, with the imperious Toscanini arriving from Italy and Caruso filling the house; the post-WW II years, when the unions gained strength and plagued the company with strikes; and the ever present passions of tenors and sopranos, clashing offstage as well as on. But most revelatory are Fiedler’s portrayals of James Levine and Joseph Volpe and their practically parallel ascendancies_Levine rising from prodigy to artistic director, Volpe advancing from stagehand to general manager_and their once strained relationship that was compounded by Volpe’s much publicized firing of the soprano Kathleen Battle.
With its swift-flowing narrative, Molto Agitato is a wonderfully entertaining and thoroughly engaging account not only of one of the world’s most respected and richest music institutions but also of power, politics, ambition, and egos.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Not about music, but the world of opera
Comment: Ms. Fiedler, apart from being the daughter of Arthur Fiedler, has written a fascinating book about the Metropolitan Opera. She writes very well about a subject too little is known about. Not "who sang the best 'Turandot,'" but what went in behind the curtains, so to speak.
The well-known Rudolf Bing is only part of the story; for the famous singers that either made the Met their home, or played there for one season are most of the story.
Very entertaining, and educational. I heartily recommend her book.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Delicious Page-Turner
Comment: When folks sit around and discuss the toughest job in the U.S., you will never hear General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera mentioned. After you read this book, that job will make your short list. Author Johanna Fiedler (daughter of legendary conductor Arthur Fiedler) is well-positioned to write this book, having spent 15 years of her career at the Met.
This book has a lot to offer the opera lover. Fiedler gives us an interesting history of the Met; told not only in terms of dates and events, but in terms of political, social, and economic struggle. All of the power struggles are here, and there are plenty of them. These struggles are between warring factions of Met patrons as well as within the Met administration. If you think that life and death office politics are absent from an artistic institution, think again.
But the real guilty pleasure is all of the backstage stories. Fiedler's style makes you feel as though you are a part of it. Other reviewers noted that, if you live in NYC and keep up with the Met, there is realy nothing new here. But if you're like me and living outside NYC, the stories are very entertaining. The rise and fall of Kathleen Battle was well documented in the media, but reading the whole story from an insider was fascinating and horrifying at the same time. The Met sent a clear message: just because you are fantastically talented, boorish behavior will not be excused. And, not all of the stories are negative. Fiedler paints portraits of some kind, wonderful people that just happen to be elite singers.
Amazon's price for this book is a steal. Highly recommended!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Opera: Inside Edition !!! Opera Lovers Will Relish
Comment: Johanna Fiedler knows opera inside and out and she provides us with the inside scoop on what goes on behind the scenes at the Met, or that is, what went on throughout most of the administration of Rudolf Bing, Anthony Bliss and Joseph Volpe. She's the press representative for the Metropolitan Opera and the daughter of Arhtur Fiedler, the long time conductor of the Boston Pops, now deceased. Yes, this book has been attacked as trashy tabloid yellow journalism material, but at least it's true and raw, not pretending to be something it's not. It's full of juicy gossip but it's written in an insightful, intelligent, human and mannered way so that it is not vulgar or meaingless. In fact, my eyes were open to the myths I had about opera and the artists of the field. She gives proper credit to all her sources. This extensive book should delight the most hardcore of opera fanatics but beware to discover truths behind any illusions you might have. Opera is a dirty business.
Here's an inside look at life at the Met, the power struggles, the artists and their issues and every single high and low that happened through the 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's. Opera is the Hollywood of the arts and never is this more true than in this book that captures the temperament of everyone involved in the world of opera- from agents, to conductors, to singers to producers and artistic directors. I was very surprised to discover that my favorite tenor Placido Domingo genuinely envied Luciano Pavoratti and were actually rivals at one point, long before they made it as The Three Tenors when Jose Carreras came into the picture. Carrerras, too, like Domingo and Pavoratti cheated on his wife at one time with his co-artist Katia Ricciarelli (what is it with the Three Tenors and sex ?) While I still love Domingo, it is a bit shattering to discover the fallible nature of tenors! Domingo was and always will be the more intelligent and consummate artist but it was a bit sad to hear that he was unfaithful to his wife and that he was nearly crazy with jealous of the Pavoratti phenomenon. It's like Salieri being jealous of Mozart. Pavoratti has the big voice and the presence but Domingo was the better actor. Pavoratti, too, had issues, also cheating on his own wife and being very lazy, selfish, spotlight hogging and hypocritical. Sopranos too have their issues and this book lavishes us with all the diva antics. Kathleen Battle, unlike the more exemplary African American singers- Leontyne Price, Grace Bumbry, Shirley Verrett and Jessye Norman, behaved unprofessionally, showing up late to rehearsals, being rude to costumers and co-artists. She was fired from the Met in 1994, after an incident in which she even lashed out at esteemed and experienced mezzo soprano Rosalind Elias. The incident with Carol Vanness is also noteworthy. Another diva was Renata Scotto, who didn't always have the perfect voice and ruined herself trying to emulate Maria Callas. Conductors/directors and their clashes with singers who have their own ideas is also a big part of this book. Rudolf Bing dared to fire Maria Callas and did not allow Beverly Sills to debut at the Met until late in her career because he had considered her singing beneath the standard of the Met. In 1980, violinist Helen Hagnes was brutally murdered and raped during an intermission and the investigation of the crime revealed that some folks were using the back wings and hidden rooms of the Opera for sex and drug use. Performances of Verdi's Macbeth are never staged at the Met because it is "cursed". In two seperate incidents, tragedy and horror erupted, at one time even a man committed suicide.
While there is too much to dish out in a summary, let me say that Miss Fiedler is very accurate, suffusing her work with integrity and vivid, life-like narrative. Plus, there are a number of black and white photos of the forces behind the Met like Rudolf Bing, James Levine, Franco Zefferelli and James Levine. The Met opened its doors for the first time in 1883 with a production of Faust. Since then the Met has been an opera within itself, full of colorful, dramatic characters. They're all here, more human than operatic- Maria Callas (she's a character) Beverly Sills (who struggled hard to get where she is now, as Chairman and other big positions at the Met though now she is really retired) Joan Sutherland and her husband conductor Richard Bonynge, Roberto Alagan and Angela Gheorghiu who are opera's sexiest couple and look like Bonnie and Clyde to some. Birgit Nilsson had a sense of humor and was once a simple farm girl and all the other forces that brought opera to the Met for a long time. Things are probably less scandalous now though now and then something comes up- recently, mezzo Debora Voight was denied a role because she was "too fat" for the Twiggy-super model version of Ariadne of Naxos. Go figure. We love soap operas and opera is one.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Fun But Could Have Used More History
Comment: Johanne Fiedler, in Molto Agitato, tells the behind the scenes history of the Metropolitan Opera, from its earliest origins until the very recent years. The first half of the book is the most fascinating as the stories of the first eighty or so years are not as familiar. Perhaps too much of the remainder of the book is on the Volpe/Levine years which, though very important and interesting on their terms, will be familiar to many readers. Also the story from the management side, both artistic and business, gets mixed in with the story of many of the later stars singing at the Met as the book progesses, beyond those stories strictly set at the Met, whereas in the beginning the book is much more focused. Still, it is a thoroughly entertaining read.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Wonderful reading
Comment: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Very entertaining! You can't go wrong with this one.
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