Top C-Turvy

Covent Garden 1947. After acknowledging the applause following her spectacular debut performance of Salome, Bulgarian soprano Ljuba Welitsch made her way back to her dressing-room. As she was changing her costume there came a knock on the door: a small group of male admirers had gathered outside to pay their compliments. Taken completely by surprise the startled diva, whose English at the time was, to say the least, somewhat limited, called out: "Don't come in yet poys: I'm still dressed!" It's anecdotes like these that add sparkle and fun to the topsy-turvy world of opera - hence the title. The author has spent about three years collecting more than three hundred anecdotes about operas, singers, composers, conductors and impresarios. Arranged from A to Z for easy reference, the reader will find an amusing account of the man who, after seeing a performance of Aida in Parma, wrote to Verdi demanding his money back; stories about Callas, Caruso and other celebrated singers as well as such composers as Rossini, Puccini and Straus (not a typo: it's spelt with one s); about the World's Greatest Tenor and the various claimants to that illustrious but contentious title; composers who sang; the hidden dangers of opera in translation; prima donnas and their tantrums; and the activities of that unseen body, the claque. If you'd like to test your knowledge of matters operatic check the opera quiz. There's also the story of a little fox terrier, who despite his humble pedigree, can claim to be the world's most famous dog, mainly thanks to opera.