Never Sang for Hitler

ISBN-13: 9780521873925 / Angielski / Twarda / 2008 / 414 str.

Michael H Kater

Opis

Lotte Lehmann ranks among the most celebrated singers of the twentieth century. She was a favorite of Richard Strauss, and over her lifetime became the friend of other famous men: Bruno Walter, Arturo Toscanini and Thomas Mann. She had a famous encounter with Hermann Goring, in which he claimed to want to make her the foremost singer in Nazi Germany. By the time of her final performance in 1951, she was considered one of the finest singing actresses of all time. Rather than a traditional biography, this book aims to be both a descriptive narrative of Lehmann's life and a critical analysis of the interconnections of the artist and society. Kater describes the varying phases of Lehmann's life, as well as the sociocultural settings in which she finds herself - whether in the Wilhemine Empire, First Austrian Republic, Nazi Germany, or the United States. Kater's use of Lehmann's personal and other papers reshapes much of what is known about her life and career.

Recenzje

'... it not only rivals the type of research-driven tour de force we have come to expect of Kater, but it is also a labor of love. There is no way for the author to hide his admiration for Lehmann's talent, his wonder at her larger-than-life persona, and even at times his disappointment in her professional and personal choices. Kater has once again managed to amaze us, and we can only await with eager anticipation his next magnum opus.' The Journal of Central European History

Spis treści

Part I. Childhood and Apprentice Years: 1. Perleberg and Berlin; 2. Coming out in Hamburg; Part II. Rise to Fame in Vienna: 3. From empire to republic; 4. A prima donna in the Staatsoper; 5. Private times; Part III. Climax and Crises: 6. New challenges in Vienna; 7. Professional life and private affairs; 8. America; Part IV. Between Third Reich Seduction and American Opportunity: 9. Lotte Lehmann, the lion, and the Third Reich; 10. New York; Part V. Between Touring and Teaching, 1940–50: 11. Frances Holden, Santa Barbara and the new world; 12. Professional transformations; Part VI. Triumphs and Burdens of Old Age, 1951–76: 13. The Music Academy of the West; 14. Master pupils; 15. At dusk; Epilogue.

O autorze

Kater, Michael H.
Michael H. Kater (b.1937) has studied history, sociology and music at the universities of Toronto, Munich and Heidelberg. Since 1967, he has taught at York University, Toronto, from 1991 to the present as Distinguished Research Professor of History. Professor Kater has served as Visiting Hannah Professor of the History of Medicine both at McMaster University in Hamilton and at the University of Toronto. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, a Guggenheim Fellow, a Canada Council Senior Killam Fellow, and the recipient of the Konrad Adenauer Research Prize of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. As his main research interest is the culture, society and politics of modern Germany, he is the author of many books, several of them prize-winning. He has been a frequent guest at international conferences and lectured widely at universities and academic functions around the world.