Marvelous Melba: The Extraordinary Life of a Great Diva - Hardcover

Blainey, Ann

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1566638097 ISBN 13: 9781566638098

Publisher: Ivan R Dee, Inc, 2009

Synopsis

"Nobody sings like Melba, and nobody ever will," proclaimed the impresario Oscar Hammerstein in 1908. Like many others of his time, he considered her the world's greatest singer. The wild acclaim showered on her by American fans led to the coining of the word "Melbamania." Year after year she toured America on the "Melba" train, bringing opera and concerts to out-of-the-way cities and towns; thanks to the new gramophone, she could also be heard in the remotest locales. Ann Blainey's beguiling life of Nellie Melba tells the story of a woman who-in an era when no woman was prime minister, chief justice, head of a church or financial firm, or a universal film star-became perhaps the most famous woman in the world. Ms. Blainey's Marvelous Melba punctures many of the myths surrounding Melba's life and career, and offers a new portrait of the great diva.

About this title

Review

"Portrait of the legendary soprano describes an operatic existence . . . Meticulously follows the trajectory of a career that largely soared unimpeded . . . Blainey writes with contagious enthusiasm for Melba and her resplendent world." -- Kirkus "Kirkus Reviews"

About the Author

Ann Blainey, who lives in Melbourne, Australia, has also written Fanny and Adelaide, a biography of the Kemble sisters, and two literary biographies.

Edition details

• Publisher: Ivan R Dee, Inc
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1566638097
• ISBN 13: 9781566638098
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 400