The Inner Voice : The Making of a Singer by Renee Fleming Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Inner Voice : The Making of a Singer
Book Review: Part memoir, part career guide, part soapbox
Summary: 4 Stars
Renee Fleming sang a memorable Countess in The Marriage of Figaro with the Houston Grand Opera in 1990. I was there and can attest that the hype has a solid basis in fact--in her book she mentions the very place in the score, the pianissimo reprise in her big aria, "Dove sono," that convinced me and my operagoing companion that here was a future star. Since then she has fulfilled all predictions and risen to become the reigning operatic soprano of the day.
Fleming refers more than once to herself in "The Inner Voice" as a good student who always did what she was told. It seems perhaps that someone told her that divas of her stature ought to write a book, and so she has dutifully produced this volume (without a ghostwriter, to her credit). Since it's a bit early for the singer to look back, being in her vocal and career prime, there's not a great deal of personal detail beyond her childhood and student days--full of interest, incidentally, particularly recountings of meetings with such greats as Leontyne Price and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf--and no backstage gossip or tell-all bitchery; she's just not that kind of person. Instead Fleming offers detailed advice about vocal and career matters based on her own experience, and shows herself willing to admit to failures, hesitations and uncertainties along the way. The solid training she received during her formative years is evident in her detailed grasp of vocal technique, impressive though apt to lose a non-singer. One cannot help but wonder whether this propensity for self-analysis might be responsible for the occasional accusations of over-interpretation that have been leveled at her performances; but, though opera queens will be disappointed at the lack of dish in "The Inner Voice," other fans and musicians will find much to ponder and enjoy.
Book Review: The Making of ANY Singer
Summary: 3 Stars
If you are a singer, opera or not, you should read The Inner Voice by Renee Fleming. The book is informative as well as interesting, and Ms. Fleming's good sense of humor makes the book really fun to read.
The first chapter of the book, Family, talks about Ms. Fleming's past, before her eyes were absolutely set on opera singing. This chapter makes things look more realistic. She wasn't always a star, you know. And for all those aspiring young singers out there, this chapter lets you know, hey, this IS possible. After all, Renee wasn't born with her name on the marquee.
We don't all have to go to Julliard to get the best musical education. Renee Fleming didn't go there until she was in graduate school. The chapter Education not only shows us how inspiring teachers can be, it also presents the process and techniques used in and of singing. This chapter is funny and educational in itself.
The rest of the book follows suit, with inspiring messages and funny expierences. Teachers that care, and the hard work put into being a singer. The only part of the book I didn't like was the Business section, because I'm not a technical person. I like to see the glamorous side of things rather than how it's scheduled, etc. If you want to be a manager, then go for it, this section is for you. But for those who don't care how much money is put into recording a CD, don't bother reading the chapter Business.
Overall, I loved the book, and for anyone who is interested in singing (especially opera) in the modern-day world, this book will provide a good background, and an interesting read.
Book Review: The Heady Singer
Summary: 3 Stars
Years ago, with next-to-no voice training, I stumbled into the chorus of a regional opera company that had bigger aspirations. At the first dress rehearsal of "Samson and Dalila," the great tenor Jon Vickers stepped over my prostrate body, opened his mouth, and began singing in full voice. That experience of a lifetime sent me scurrying to take voice lessons, hooked me on five years spent as a singing monk/conspirator/Venetian diplomat at the edge of the stage, and eventually led to an essay recounting my experiences -- a worm's eye view of how truly beautiful music is made -- which I published in "The American Scholar." Through it all, my little bit of singing experience immeasurably deepened my appreciation of how difficult it is for truly accomplished professional singers to sing well.
Renee Fleming's book "The Inner Voice: The Making of a Singer" demonstrates the same proposition with page after page of heady analysis of vocal technique, the sort of analysis that vocalists and their teachers will understand but whose complexity mere enthusiasts may only marvel at. Ms. Fleming, once a dutiful child and straight-A student, evidently brought the same inclinations and discipline to studying and skillfully refining the production of sound through her great instrument. Never a natural performer, uncertain in her audition technique, and plagued with a modicum of self-doubt, she developed relatively late as a world-class soprano, only as she painstakingly uncovered and resolved her weaknesses.
She wrote this book, she says, when it became clear that she had something to say. That turns out to be quite a lot. "The Inner Voice" is an abbreviated biography of a loving, unaffected, decent middle-class girl from upstate New York who grew up to be a single mom with two young daughters, a couple of assistants, a publicist, a manager, couturiers donating ball gowns, a hair stylist on staff, a home in Connecticut and a second home in Paris, and a year-round performance schedule. Ms. Fleming describes her formal education, the paths to breaking into a singing career, and how to go about learning on the job; pays homage to her mentors; reflects on master classes, the selection of repertoire, diet and "singing in the zone," and the business (and future) of classical music (she sometimes feels, she says, like Renee Fleming, Inc., building her brand through carefully timed publicity, product endorsements, recordings, and -- one might add -- book contracts); and gives the reader a day in the life of a really nice singer performing as Violetta at the Met.
The book is short on opera anecdotes even as it is generous with praise and brief character studies of classical music figures (Georg Solti, Leontyne Price, Joe Volpe) every opera fan will know. Similarly, while Ms. Fleming is unusually candid in describing the uncertainties that have occasionally affected her (stage fright verging on panic attacks, self-worth issues, growing apart from and then divorcing her actor-husband), some readers -- warming to her kindness and openness -- may wonder whatever happened to her divorced parents, whether the girls now have horses of their own, and whom, if anyone, Ms. Fleming now chooses to date. These, it appears, are facts for a future memoir.
I read this book while listening to Ms. Fleming's live recording of "Manon." The recording -- all of her recordings in fact -- will have broader appeal than this chronicle of an education and set of intelligent, well written views. "The Inner Voice" will be most appreciated by voice students and die-hard opera fans. Robert E. Olsen
Book Review: Outstanding and Relevant
Summary: 5 Stars
I enjoy singing, but I've had no vocal training other than in diction. I was amazed to learn about the amount of physical training and discipline required for operatic singing. Opera lovers will find even greater appreciation for the enormous preparation and dedication of singers--particularly for the author. Her stories perfectly illustrate her teaching points. The result is a compelling autobiography that foremost wants to instruct/mentor singers with lessons learned by one whose successful career commands respect. Book Review: should be required reading for all musicians
Summary: 5 Stars
Before reading Renee Fleming's book "The Inner Voice," my admiration for her stemmed solely from her glorious voice--what tone, what shading, what warmth--truly a god-inspired instrument. I have always appreciated her interpretations of Strauss, Mozart, and Handel, so it was with great eagerness that I picked up her new book. I couldn't it put it down. Page after page revealed candid and luminous insights into everything from vocal technique to the recording industry to inspiring teachers to her mentors and fellow musicians that continue to inspire her. The prose is lucid, and her honesty and candor are astonishing, describing her trials to become a world-class musician, and how aspiring musicians might follow a similar path. She even touches on the difficult moments in her life, in which she contemplated quitting her operatic career, and how she overcame such obstacles. For anyone who knows how difficult the musical life can be, constantly running to catch the next plane and the lonely isolation that is sure to ensue, Renee Fleming's words are inspiring. Yet, Fleming refuses to indulge in sentimentality, instead moving from personal insights to the excitement of performing at the MET to her concert career and work with the greatest conductors, pianists, and orchestras. Any lover of music can appreciate her insights into the music world and its fascinating people. Having finished her book, I now not only appreciate Fleming's talent and extraordinary vocal abilities, but also her unique and wonderful personality. What a treasure of the music world!