Opera Singers of the Twentieth Century: Selected Portraits and Biographies

This handsomely designed and printed book contains 50 oil painting portraits of eminent opera singers accompanied by informative biographies. The artist/author, who is a veteran of the U.S. Navy and Foreign Service and retired attorney, has combined his dual interests in opera and painting to produce a book that will delight both opera buffs and the general reading public. Janos Gereben, music critic of San Francisco Classical Voice, wrote the following in his review published in Music News, Aug. 13, 2013: ＂Selecting the 50 from hundreds of stars was difficult, and Crawford is at his usual low-key, modest self, making his caveat [in the introduction to the book]: The world of opera is so rich in international talent that any compilation by a mere enthusiast must necessarily be arbitrary, incomplete, and reflect personal taste and one’s experience with live performances and recordings...Most afficionados would also have a dozen other singers, not portrayed here, in their selection of eminent singers. Crawford’s alphabetic collection runs from Marian Anderson to Fritz Wunderlich, she is portrayed as Ulrica in Un ballo in maschera, he as Valzacchi in Der Rosenkavalier. Sherill Milnes appears as Rigoletto, Rosa Ponselle looks regal as Norma, and Leonard Warren embodies the essence of Macbeth.＂