In this Book
- Lotfi Mansouri: An Operatic Journey
- Book
- 2010
- Published by: Northeastern University Press
summary
Lotfi Mansouri has lived a full life in opera: triumphs and near disasters, divas and divos, moneymen and true artists, he has known them all. In this entertaining and engaging memoir, Mansouri lifts the curtain and invites the reader to see how magic is created on stage. He has lived a storied life: early years in Iran, move to America, long stays in Europe and Canada, directing tasks on several continents, and a brilliant final act as the general director of the San Francisco Opera, all the while continuing to mount productions worldwide. He has known virtually everybody in the opera world over the past fifty years, and has collaborated with some of the greatest. Mansouri was also a central figure in the recent rejuvenation of opera through innovations such as supertitles and, perhaps more important, the staging and commissioning of new works that would appeal to a contemporary audience, such as SFO's production of The Death of Klinghoffer, A Streetcar Named Desire, and Dead Man Walking. Mansouri isn't shy about dropping names and bruising some egos (even his own). Anyone who wants to know what the opera world is really like can now find out in the company of a charming and expert guide.
Table of Contents
Download Full Book
- Acknowledgments
- pp. ix-xiv
- Prologue: Staging My Own Funeral
- pp. 1-12
- 1. Paradoxes in Persia
- pp. 13-28
- 2. Lotfi in La-La Land
- pp. 29-51
- 3. Americans to the Rescue
- pp. 52-60
- 4. The Swiss Connection
- pp. 61-80
- 5. Iranian Intermezzo
- pp. 81-95
- 6. Back on Track
- pp. 96-107
- 7. North of the Border
- pp. 108-122
- 8. The Road Back to Tinsel Town
- pp. 123-129
- 9. From Provincial to World Class
- pp. 130-148
- 10. Open Your Golden Gate!
- pp. 149-164
- 11. Mother Nature Gives an Encore
- pp. 165-199
- 12. Leaving My Heart
- pp. 200-215
- 13. An Operatic Voice for North America
- pp. 216-259
- Epilogue: Still in Progress
- pp. 295-296
- Appendix A: Films and DVDs
- pp. 297-300
- Appendix B: Productions Directed by Mansouri
- pp. 301-308
Additional Information
ISBN
9781555537524
Related ISBN(s)
9781555537067
MARC Record
OCLC
690877390
Pages
348
Launched on MUSE
2012-07-31
Language
English
Open Access
No