The Prima Donna and Opera, 1815–1930 (review)

As Susan Rutherford points out early in her book, this is not a study of the great individual prima donnas or a book of anecdotes. It is also not a coffee table book for the average opera lover. Instead, it is a history of the working prima donna with an emphasis on little known singers who were the backbone of operatic life during this period. Putting these singers in their social, historical and political framework rather than just their artistic milieu gives a new and interesting perspective on this relatively unexplored aspect of operatic life during the 115 years that Rutherford has studied. By centering her study on several relatively unknown singers whose lives and careers can be adequately documented, we are given a more complete portrait of what it meant to be a prima donna in the second tier of singers rather than the prima donna assoluta who ruled the opera world. Letters and diaries not only of the singers but of various members of society help to fill out the portrait. Newspaper reviews and articles including society page items further the range of information which Rutherford uses to argue her point of view.

There is a basic feminist premise throughout this book that implies that for all of the power these prima donnas held, they were still dominated by the men in charge of most institutions during this period. This point of view is basic to our understanding of the material presented by Rutherford and the form of her conclusions. She points to the mad scenes and deaths of the leading ladies in the serious operas of Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, Verdi, Mayr, Paër, and others as an example of defining women as frail and helpless. However a look at lesser known operas, such as Donizetti's Torquato Tasso or even Verdi's Nabucco, provides examples of mad scenes for leading male characters, and male characters certainly die as often as women in the serious operas of this period. Many of the perceived abuses of opera management that were perpetrated on women were also evident in the treatment of male singers, a point that Rutherford does not acknowledge. Rather than a gender problem, it is a reflection of the attitude that theatrical performers were, for the most part, second-class citizens and often of questionable moral character. Rutherford does fill out the picture of the prima donna by giving valuable portraits of the people surrounding them, including teachers, composers, companions, agents, and society figures who could make or break the careers of any artist.

Rutherford traces the change in the place of the prima donna in operatic life as musical styles and public expectations changed from 1815 to 1930. As the century progressed and the right of the singer to insert a favored aria into any opera disappeared and the composer's score became law, the responsibilities of the performer changed from an emphasis on the voice and vocal display to the expectation that acting and stage demeanor were an integral part of any performance. Rutherford views this as a loss of power for the prima donna, which is offset during the period by women beginning in general to achieve more power in the business and political arenas. Along with the increased emphasis on stage presence and the negotiation of more complex stage settings, there was an ever expanding need for more vocal power, not just in the Wagnerian music dramas and the operas of Richard Strauss, but also in operas by French composers Reyer and Chausson, and even in the Italian school of the late Verdi, Ponchielli, Mascagni, and certainly in the Puccini of La fanciulla del West and Turandot. As the power of the conductor, stage director and set designer increased, the dominance of the singer eroded to the point that in our own era the applause greeting the set upon curtain rise...