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The autobiographies of American opera and concert singers tend to follow a well-worn path: discovery of the voice, early training, rise through the musical ranks --- and then a pedestrian recital of concert triumphs in cities A, B and C, opera productions under superstar maestros D, E and F, and of course, offstage chitchat about big-name colleagues G, H and I, with dollops of praise for those who were "good colleagues" and catty remarks about those who were "difficult." It is the kind of stuff that opera buffs and "canary fanciers" lap up eagerly, but it seldom gives us insight into either character or purely musical matters.
Soprano Shirley Verrett has not entirely avoided this trap in her career memoir, but her candidness, her serious attitude in the face of both musical and racial challenges, and her efforts at honest self-appraisal lift this book several notches above the prevailing level. Verrett comes across as a self-confident and outspoken woman who stood up for herself, learned (after the fact) from her mistakes, and has few if any regrets. She has in fact little to regret, as anyone who heard her as Azucena, Norma or Lady Macbeth, or perhaps on the symphony or recital circuit, can attest.
Born into a black family of devout Seventh Day Adventists in New Orleans, Verrett showed vocal aptitude early. Her first musical experiences revolved around her black church and community. Her church's doctrine frowned upon opera because it dealt so often with immoral stories. Her parents were dubious about such a career for their talented daughter, but eventually they came around and proudly followed her progress.
Verrett adds her quota of evidence to the now well-known indictment of the classical concert world for its hostility to black singers as late as the 1960s. When none other than Leopold Stokowski invited her to sing with the Houston Symphony, he had to rescind his invitation when the orchestra board refused to accept a black soloist. Stokowski later made amends by giving her a prestigious date with the much better known Philadelphia Orchestra. Verrett twists the knife deftly by ironically thanking the Houston board for aiding her career.
The tone of Verrett's book is chatty and conversational, with frequent references to "Tommy" Schippers and "Jimmy" Levine. Her writer-collaborator Christopher Brooks has done a good job of humanizing his subject, though he simply cannot avoid a certain amount of then-I-flew-there-and-sang-this-under-maestro-so-and-so boilerplate. There are however a number of misspelled names and odd inaccuracies (e.g., the late Harold Schonberg of the New York Times is twice identified as music critic of "the New York Times Magazine").
Verrett is honest about herself, confessing when she did or said something dumb, or when her performances fell short of her own standards. She is also forthcoming about her failed first marriage and on the medical problems that assailed her late in her career. Only in the book's last few pages does she get into her philosophy and methods of teaching voice (she has been teaching at the University of Michigan since retirement). One wishes she had gone more deeply into that subject. She tells her students to "get up on that stage and don't bore me." Good advice. We'd like more.
There is enough routine backstage gossip in I NEVER WALKED ALONE to keep happy those who are more interested in personalities than in music. That is a seemingly unavoidable aspect of such books. But there is also a very honest portrait here of a talented singer who knew her own worth and was not about to take guff or shabby treatment from anybody. Those lucky enough to have heard Shirley Verrett sing will recognize her in these pages.
--- Reviewed by Robert Finn (Robertfinn@aol.com)
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