Leonard Warren: American Baritone

by Mary Jane Phillips-Matz

The great baritone Leonard Warren was history's most notable interpreter of Verdi, making his mark in the title roles of Rigoletto , Macbeth and Simon Boccanegra . Warren's dramatic death over 40 years ago is he collapsed and died onstage at the Met on March 4, 1960 in a performance as Carlo in La forza del destino . In this definitive biography, Mary Jane Phillips-Matz, author of an acclaimed biography of Giuseppe Verdi, offers an intimate portrait of a beloved opera star, based on hundreds of interviews. More than 100 rare photographs capture Warren in his great roles as well as in private moments. HARDCOVER.

520 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2003

About the author

Mary Jane Phillips-Matz was an American biographer and writer on opera. She is mainly known for her biography of Giuseppe Verdi, a result of 30 years' research and published in 1992 by Oxford University Press. Educated at Smith College and Columbia University, she lived for many years in Italy, and even after her return to the United States in the early 1970s spent her summers in Verdi's hometown of Busseto where she continued her exhaustive research into his life.

Reviews

[Donna Belcinski · Rating 3 out of 5]

More a list of accomplishments than a narrative, but the last chapter and the discography are important to any Leonard Warren fan.

[M C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hardcover. Definitive. Charming intro by Tony Randle