Confessions of an Opera Singer

audiobook

Confessions of an Opera Singer

by Kathleen Howard

EN·~5 hours·26 chapters

Chapters

26 total

FOREWORD

2:20

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

0:16

CHAPTER I - THE WAY IT ALL HAPPENED

9:35

CHAPTER II - A STRUGGLE AND A SOLUTION

11:06

CHAPTER III - PARIS AT LAST

11:12

CHAPTER IV - PENSION PERSONALITIES

14:17

CHAPTER V - OPERATIC FRANCE VERSUS OPERATIC GERMANY

11:37

CHAPTER VI - PREPARING RÔLES IN BERLIN

9:48

CHAPTER VII - MY FIRST OPERATIC CONTRACT SIGNED

12:19

CHAPTER VIII - MY ONE LONE IMPROPOSITION

11:15

Description

The memoir opens with a young woman whose comfortable New York life is upended by a sudden financial crash. Engaged to a modest businessman, she stitches towels and dreams of domesticity, yet an inner voice—both literal and metaphorical—whispers that her destiny lies elsewhere. A childhood steeped in music, with her father's nightly improvisations, turns melody into a first language. This quiet revelation pushes her toward an operatic career.

She heads to Paris and then Germany, where conservatories and opera houses become a micro‑cosm of society. The book paints the pomp of officers in Metz, backstage friendships, and the clash between French lyricism and German rigor, all while exposing the daily sacrifices a singer must make. Vivid anecdotes of costumes, rehearsals, and the unglamorous grind offer a human portrait that will intrigue anyone curious about life behind the curtain.

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Details

Language

en

Duration

~5 hours (327K characters)

Publisher of text edition

Project Gutenberg

Credits

Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from scanned images of public domain material at The Internet Archive.)

Release date

2010-06-26

Rights

Public domain in the USA.

About the author

Kathleen Howard

Kathleen Howard

1884–1956

A celebrated contralto who later became a memorable Hollywood character actress, she moved with ease from grand opera stages to the screen. Her life joined musical prestige, sharp wit, and a second career that introduced her to a much wider audience.

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