<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: More than a coffee-table volume
Review: This history of the early years of the Dallas Opera covers the period from 1957, when the Dallas Civic Opera was inaugurated by Lawrence Kelly and Nicola Rescigno, to 1976, two years after Kelly's death. If nothing else, the profusion of production photographs, many rarely seen, would make this book worth perusal. Ronald L. Davis is a professor of history who has written about opera before. His workmanlike writing style cannot entirely avoid the occasional feeling of simply plodding through descriptions of the productions, with these singers, that producer, that director, et al. Still, overall, he manages to convey the excitement of these years, when the Dallas company brought stars of the caliber of Callas, Sutherland and Zeffirelli, in operas that the Met and other mainstream companies wouldn't touch, such as Alcina, Medea and L'Italiana in Algeri. The brashness and charm of Lawrence Kelly, whose vision started the company and whose charm and persuasiveness often kept it going through financial crises that would have sunk other organizations, emerges clearly as well.
<< 1 >>
|
