Sarah Caldwell

"Kessler, a contributor to Opera Quarterly and a lecturer on opera, provides an intriguing look at a recent larger-than-life persona, conductor/director/impresario Sarah Caldwell (19242︣006). One of the first women to head her own opera company and to conduct at the Metropolitan Opera, Caldwell garnered critical and public acclaim for her innovative productions. However, some viewed her as dictatorial and unwilling to delegate. She championed the careers of many American singers and tried to bring magic to the lyric theater while dealing with recalcitrant boards of trustees, intransigent government agencies, and hounding creditors. Kessler relies almost exclusively on secondary sources and supplies scant personal information (probably because of Caldwell's unwillingness to be interviewed). He concentrates on the years of her Opera Company of Boston, from the late 1950s to the early 1990s, including side trips on national and regional tours and her superintending of a few opera recordings. Kessler repeats information and dwells a bit too much on Caldwell's hygiene and her mother's incontinence in her final years. Despite these minor defects, the book is enthralling and provides insights into a person about whom.