THE ART OF SINGING
By
W. J. Henderson at his death was the outstanding New York critic on opera, and this is a record of his observations over a span of fifty years. These critical articles, combined with the reprinting of his The Art of the Singer, provide a virtual history of opera for half a century. The Art of the Singer contains essays on the artist and the public, breathing, tone formation, all technicalities from the recitative to Wagner: the second part contains his interesting appraisals of the singers he has heard up to Flagstad. With his intellectual and emotional response to great music, his ability to evaluate, his mellow irony, he provides worthwhile reading for the musician as well as the layman.