From struggling to get a career under way to dealing with her own personal doubts, Fleming is wonderfully candid and articulate about her art, childhood influences, formal education, mentors, preparation, and mental and physical discipline.

Reviews

Celebrated American soprano Fleming's book presents a combination autobiography and vocal technique handbook in the tradition of her illustrious operatic predecessors. She begins with her upbringing in upstate New York as the eldest child of two music teachers; education at SUNY at Potsdam, the Eastman School of Music, and Juilliard; experience singing in clubs; and voice study with Patricia Misslin and Beverley Johnson. Revelations of backstage procedure at the Metropolitan Opera are especially delightful, and the author's musings on raising her two daughters as a single mother are both inspiring and affecting. Fleming details her roles and analyzes her performances and perceived shortcomings with skill, while providing insight into the vocal mechanism. She also gives practical suggestions for maintaining vocal health. People seeking gossip should look elsewhere as Fleming steadfastly refuses to engage in negative criticism-apart from a few choice words about divadom wherein she includes herself. Warmly recommended for all libraries. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 7/04.]-Barry Zaslow, Miami Univ. Libs., Oxford, OH Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Calling this candid account "the autobiography of my voice," soprano Fleming details the years of study it took to master the art of vocal production and the discipline that brought her international renown. A former manager deemed her "the single most ambitious singer he has ever known," and given the tenacity with which she faced early setbacks-"I have a noble history of being rejected from a lot of places," she writes-his comment is understandable. After her first big break in 1990 (as the Countess in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro with the Houston Grand Opera), Fleming's rise to the top was steady. But she's quick to point out that the life of an opera star is not always glitter and glamour; the business side of singing-scheduling performances, arranging interviews and recordings, choosing a repertoire and marketing herself-is arduous. Although Fleming offers glimpses into her personal life, touching on her failed marriage and her loving relationship with her two daughters and concluding with a chapter describing what she experiences backstage during a Metropolitan Opera production, this is not a deeply intimate autobiography full of childhood vignettes, personal anecdotes and behind-the-curtains gossip. Instead, it's a realistic portrait of what it takes to succeed and a volume intriguing for its advice and honesty. Agent, Lisa Queen and Alec Treuhaft at IMG. (Nov.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

A revealing account of how an opera career is launched and sustained... Illuminating. ("The Charlotte Observer")