Interpreters

"Interpreters" by Carl Van Vechten is a set of insightful writings about famous opera singers and their skills, written in the early 1900s. The book looks at the lives and work of different singing artists, especially Olive Fremstad, Geraldine Farrar, and Mary Garden. It explains their difficulties, who they were as people, and the little details in their performances, which gives a peek into the opera world as things were changing. The beginning of the book is about Olive Fremstad, talking about her hard times as a singer, her problems with her voice and acting, and all the effort she put into playing her characters. It describes how she dealt with criticism and struggled with some roles, but her great talent still came through. This beginning part shows what the book is like, which is a great respect for performing and all the hard things the artists faced, showing both their personal problems and their amazing successes in the world of opera.