"This is the first book of its kind to include interviews with 22 of the famous opera stars whose careers began in the late 1940s right up through the 1970s and beyond. Opera lovers and fans of music in general get a rare glimpse into the world of opera and how the landscape has changed since these pioneers started out on their illustrious careers. The singers represented in this book recall their memories of having either studied or performed with opera legends including Maria Callas and Rosa Ponselle, Beniamino Gigli, Aureliano Pertile, Lydia Lipkowska, Leonard Bernstein and Leonard Warren, among others. Was it easier back then to establish an operatic career? What were the pitfalls these singers faced? The experience of George Shirley, the first African-American tenor to perform on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera, is illustrative of the challenges faced by him and others in the industry. Shirleys is only one such story in this book, which documents the careers of singers from this period and their challenges (and victories) on the American stage and abroad."--Provided by publisher.