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A New Melba?
Jeff Brownrigg
其他書名
The Tragedy of Amy Castles
出版
Crossing Press
, 2006
主題
Biography & Autobiography / General
Music / Genres & Styles / Opera
ISBN
0957829191
9780957829190
URL
http://books.google.com.hk/books?id=XnafAAAAMAAJ&hl=&source=gbs_api
註釋
Amy Castles was a simple girl from Bendigo with a rich powerful voice. Nellie Melba was the most conspicuous Australian in 1899. Could Amy displace the world-famous diva? Melba was at the zenith of her career but was yet to return home to Australia when, in 1899, Amy Castles was vigorously promoted to topple her. Even before taking serious lessons to build her technique, Amy was touted as 'the New Melba' and her promoters within the Catholic Church and the Catholic press built for her an image of a virginal convent girl in vivid contrast to the worldly scarlet they attributed to Melba. Non-Catholic papers doubted their boasts, turning an artistic question into a sectarian free-for-all. The Castles boom of 1899 began the Melba bashing that exposed Australia's cultural insecurities. It also condemned Amy to a life of tragically futile efforts to overtake and displace the great diva.