KIRI TE KANAWA: OPERA FOR LOVERS

London, England: Headline Book Publishing, 1996. First Edition. First Printing.. Hardcover. Fine/Fine Dust Jacket.. London, England: Headline Book Publishing, 1996. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. First Edition/First Printing. 288 pages. The diva/author's book-length account on subject. One of the best books on opera of and for our time. The First Hardcover Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only. The First Edition is now scarce. An austerely elegant production by Headline Books: Oversize-volume format. Black hard boards with gilt titles embossed on spine, as issued. Text by Kiri Te Kanawa and Conrad Wilson. Photographs by various contributors. Printed on pristine-white, thick coated stock paper to the highest standards. In pictorial DJ with titles on the cover and spine, as issued. Presents Kiri Te Kanawa's "Opera For Lovers". Opera for opera lovers. That is, for besotted veterans and avid new converts, from the singular point-of-view of one of its greatest - and most beloved - divas. The most celebrated New Zealander since Sir Edmund Hillary, adored for her ravishing voice, Kiri remains a formidable presence on compact discs and opera videos. Now she has also produced a book of thoughts, recollections, and observations on opera woven with her thoughts, recollections, and observations on singers, conductors, and directors. During a career that spanned more than forty-five years (it commenced in 1971 and lasted until the second decade of the 21st century) , Kiri reigned supreme, succeeding and co-existing with the late Montserrat Caballe as one of the two greatest divas of our time. She expanded the song-recital repertoire, encompassing operetta, Liszt, Rachmaninov, Ravel, the Spanish Romantic composers, the Great American Songbook (including Bernstein's "West Side Story" in its entirety) , and the songs of popular culture. The defining aspect of Kiri's career is that her critics hate her for the exact same reason her admirers love her: Her ravishingly beautiful voice. To her detractors, it's all she is. To her fans, it's all that matters. Dame Kiri Te Kanawa's achievement is unsurpassable. An absolute "must-have" title for Kiri Te Kanawa collectors. This copy is very boldly and beautifully signed and inscribed in black pen-marker on the front free endpaper (her preferred page) by the diva: "Best wishes, Kiri Te Kanawa". It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. The couple-recipients, who are named, cannot be named here at their request. This title is a music classic. As far as we know, this is the only such signed and inscribed copy of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. A rare signed copy thus. Lavishly illustrated with color plates. One of the greatest performing divas of the 20th and 21st centuries. A fine collectible copy. . ISBN 0747218609.