On Demand
Survival Kit
Sunday, April 25, 2004
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Shirley VerretShirley Verrett
Shirley Verrett would probably feel more at home in La Scala, The Paris Opera or Covent Garden than a cabin in the Yaak Valley. Acclaimed as one of the worlds greatest opera stars, both as a mezzo-soprano, and as a soprano, she’s sung the roles of Carmen, Norma, Medea, Aida, Tosca, Princess Eboli, Lady Macbeth, and many others, in all the major opera houses of the world. The Italian press even dubbed her "The Black Maria Callas." But she has graciously agreed to imagine a retreat far from the drama and glamour of the opera world, and to reveal the contents of her cultural survival kit.
HER LIST:
*Harvard Classics (at least 5 books)
*Hottentot Venus by Barbara Chase Riboud
*Philosophies and Opinions by Marcus Garvey
*Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. DuBois
*Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Champion of Freedom, by Conrad Black
*tapes of young African-American singers that I have not had time to hear (Denyce Graves, Harolyn Blackwell, Indra Thomas...)
*Singing in Czech, by Dr. Timothy Cheek -- "I wish to learn to sing arias in Czech, "Song to the Moon" being the first
*electric keyboard
*LLL machine -- to give myself treatments (low level laser)
*Snow shoes, and other gear
*Harvard Classics (at least 5 books)
*Hottentot Venus by Barbara Chase Riboud
*Philosophies and Opinions by Marcus Garvey
*Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. DuBois
*Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Champion of Freedom, by Conrad Black
*tapes of young African-American singers that I have not had time to hear (Denyce Graves, Harolyn Blackwell, Indra Thomas...)
*Singing in Czech, by Dr. Timothy Cheek -- "I wish to learn to sing arias in Czech, "Song to the Moon" being the first
*electric keyboard
*LLL machine -- to give myself treatments (low level laser)
*Snow shoes, and other gear