Letters To Madame Viardot


Book Description

Letters to Madame Viardot by Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev: Delve into the captivating exchange of letters between Ivan Turgenev, the renowned Russian author, and Madame Pauline Viardot, a celebrated opera singer. Experience a unique bond of friendship, intellect, and artistic appreciation, as these letters unveil the depth of their connection and the cultural milieu of the time. Key Aspects of the Book "Letters to Madame Viardot": Intellectual Exchange: The letters showcase the profound intellectual discussions between Turgenev and Viardot, touching upon literature, music, and broader cultural topics. Artistic Collaboration: Discover the fascinating synergy between the literary world and the world of opera as the two luminaries discuss their respective artistic endeavors. Insight into History: The letters offer a glimpse into the 19th-century cultural landscape of Europe and the significant figures who shaped it. Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev was a Russian novelist, playwright, and poet, born in 1818. His works often explored themes of love, nature, and social issues, earning him recognition as a prominent literary figure of his time. The letters exchanged between Turgenev and Madame Viardot provide a valuable window into the world of art and intellectual pursuits during the 19th century.




Letters and Speeches


Book Description







The Diaries of Giacomo Meyerbeer: 1840-1849


Book Description

Volume 2 covers the 1840s, a period designated as the Prussian Years. From 1846 Meyerbeer's journal becomes a consistent daily record, resulting in one of the most sustained depictions of a contemporary artistic, theatrical, and musical milieu ever kept by a famous composer. Illustrated.










The Diaries of Giacomo Meyerbeer: The years of celebrity, 1850-1856


Book Description

Volume 3 covers a time span that preeminently represents the period in the composer's life known as The Years of International Fame (1850-56). Confirmed as the major figure on the operatic scene, and freed from the more onerous duties of his official position, Meyerbeer was able to enjoy his most remarkable period of stability and renown, as the detailed and absorbing diary entries reveal. These years saw the composing, rehearsing, and staging of L'Etoile du Nord (1854), and his personal supervision of major productions in London, Dresden, Stuttgart, and Vienna.










An Unofficial Marriage


Book Description

For Fans of Alexander Chee's best-selling novel, The Queen of the Night and opera fans everywhere. Set against the backdrop of the tumultuous events of 19th century Europe, An Unofficial Marriage dramatizes the equally tumultuous real-life love affair of two great artists—the famous Russian author, Ivan Turgenev, and the celebrated French opera singer, Pauline Viardot. From the moment he encounters her on the St. Petersburg stage, Ivan falls completely for Pauline. Though Pauline returns his feelings, she is bound by her singular passion for her art and her devotion to her gentle, older husband, Louis. Nevertheless, Ivan pursues Pauline across countries and continents—from Russia to France to Germany to Prussia—and in the decades that follow their fateful meeting, the lives of Pauline, Ivan, and Louis remain permanently intertwined as the lovers face jealousy, separation, the French Revolution of 1848, the cholera epidemic of 1849, the Franco-Prussian War, Turgenev’s arrest in Russia, Louis’s heartbreak and resignation, and the highs and lows of their artistic careers. “You know those unofficial marriages,” Turgenev would write almost thirty years after meeting Pauline, “They sometimes turn out more poisonous than the accepted form.” With beautiful and compelling prose and employing multiple perspectives, Joie Davidow (who herself has a background in opera) illuminates not only the interior lives of these two intensely passionate artists, but also the grand historic moments that Pauline and Ivan experienced and the celebrated figures who moved in their circles—including George Sand, Leo Tolstoy, Frédéric Chopin, Franz Liszt, and Ary Scheffer—providing insight into the dynamic worlds of 19th century opera, literature, art, and politics. Epic in the tradition of the Russian writers whom we encounter, and as romantic and tragic as the operas that Pauline Viardot performs in, An Unofficial Marriage brings to life with great scope and great humanity this captivating story from the past and explores timeless questions about the relationship between art and passion and the complex workings of the human heart.