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(More customer reviews)Hempel was, as her recordings clearly show, one of the century's finest sopranos. It also turns out she was one of its finest autobiographers as well. The book was dictated and checked by the soprano before her death in 1955, shortly after which the German edition appeared and for which she wrote the prefact two days before her death. Remarkably, an English version was written prior to the German version but, for reasons known only to Hemple, was never published. Elizabeth Johnston, the diva's friend, deserves our thanks for her efforts on behalf of the English version.
What makes this book so refreshing, aside from the lack of a ghostwriter, is its highly readible style and worthwhile content. Those, like myself, who are tired of the vacuous, vapid "I sang here", "I sang there" litany will find Hempel a candid writer and one who can write modestly yet entertainingly of her long career that included singing with Caruso and under the baton of Toscanini. Had she not been a remarkable soprano, she would have been an equally fine writer.
The book is highly recommendable to vocal aficianados and anyone who cares to meet a fascinating, great lady.
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Frieda Hempel (1885--1955) was among the greatest sopranos of opera's Golden Age. She created the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier in both Berlin and at the Metropolitan Opera, where she debuted with Caruso in 1912.
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