The Opera Fanatic: Ethnography of an Obsession Paperback – July 15, 2011

Benzecry makes false statements with regard to the "Opera Fanatic" radio show, Opera Fanatic magazine and the Opera Fanatic film:I never claimed that "the American soprano Aprile Millo was the bastard daughter of John Fitzgerald Kennedy." (Millo's mother did claim that.) Benzecry doesn't cite a source for his contention, but he easily could have checked the facts since the Millo issue of Opera Fanatic magazine still is available from Bel Canto Society for $3.95.Benzecry declares that I "shut down [radio] listeners who didn't agree with [me]." In the 12 years the show was on the air I never, ever did that. Not once. Benzecry fails to cite an example or a source.I interviewed 89 celebrity guests on the radio show, Rudy Giuliani (who is an opera fanatic and who appeared twice), Franco Corelli (who appeared 11 times), Schuyler Chapin (who appeared twice) and Alfredo Kraus among them. Benzecry claimed Jackie Callas appeared on the show. Would that she had, but so far as I know she was in Greece. Guest lists are posted on the Stefan Zucker and Bel Canto Society sites.With regard to the Opera Fanatic film Benzecry contends, "Following the fetishistic dictum of opera fanatics, he [Zucker] pointed to whether [divas] sang with a chest voice as a marker to distinguish them from expressive singers of the idealized past." The film has been shown on TV in over 40 countries in part because it can be understood by the general public. Nevertheless Benzecry misconstrues a basic point: Chest voice has been and is used by some divas to express certain emotions. Phrases such as "Un gel mi prende" (Norma) lack impact without it. Benzecry could have downloaded the free 48-page booklet Opera Fanatic: Biographies, Opinions--and Dish from the Bel Canto Society site, in which I discuss chest voice and its history in further detail.Let me digress from Benzecry's deplorable book to discuss chest voice and the Opera Fanatic film a little bit here: The divas I interview in it divide into two groups. The first group strove not to vary tone color for dramatic expression but to maintain consistency of tone color for the sake of musical line. Half the divas--Barbieri, Cerquetti, Cigna, Pobbe and Simionato--belong to this group (as do virtually all singers today). From their point of view, a change in tone color compromised musical line as much as a break in legato. That they didn't vary tone color didn't prevent them from being emotionally intense. They relied on good diction and musicianship to serve librettists and composers.For the second group, varying tone color for dramatic expression was paramount. Adami Corradetti (as a performer but not as a teacher), Frazzoni, Gavazzi, Gencer and Olivero are in this group. To my ears, these performers succeeded in changing tone color without damaging the musical line and thereby heightened emotional impact. The singers in the first group acted with their faces and bodies. The singers in the second group also acted with their voices.One can find counterexamples. Frazzoni and Gencer didn't always come alive interpretively. Cerquetti sometimes inflected her tone, most notably on a live recording of Ballo. Cigna on some occasions colored hers as well.To return to Benzecry's book, he appropriated the name "Opera Fanatic" although it has been trademarked by Bel Canto Society, and the trademark long since has reached "incontestable" status. In addition to the above uses of the name, the society maintains a separate site called "Opera Fanatic," devoted to CDs on the Opera Fanatic label. The society also published Opera Fanatic's Catalog, which was magazine-like and sometimes reached 128 pages, and still publishes Opera Fanatic's Mini-Catalog, found enclosed with its videos. For a number of years the society presented Opera Fanatic's Gala, a series of concerts in New York City at various major concert halls with stars of the Met and other major companies, Lucine Amara and Jerome Hines among them. Also for a number of years the society offered Opera Fanatic Webcasts and published the newsletter "Opera Fanatic in the News." In addition the society licensed "Opera Fanatic" to the German film company PARS Media, for use as the title of the film.We began to use "Opera Fanatic" in 1984, for the radio show. (For several years the program was called "The Opera Fanatic," but we shortened it to "Opera Fanatic" because newspapers and magazines frequently called it that.) The name "Opera Fanatic" symbolizes our goodwill.Benzecry is exploiting 27 years of equity we have built up in the name. Accordingly we are considering our legal options.Benzecry's thesis is that for opera fanatics, opera is life's principal joy--something I said in Opera Fanatic magazine and from time to time on my own and other people's radio shows. That Benzecry takes 223 pages of small type and murky, ungainly, numbing prose to make this point is ridiculous. One wonders what induced the University of Chicago Press to publish the book.------------------------------------Even if--as apparently is the case, Dunamis--you are indifferent to the trademark issues involved in Benzecry's use of the title "Opera Fanatic," what about his made-up claims about me and his lack of sourcing? Is it not reasonable to suspect that he invented at least some additional and perhaps many or even most of the assertions in his book?You are hiding behind an alias. Still, are you really prepared to defend his claim to scholarship? Keep in mind that this book, he has written, was his dissertation at NYU; therefore it probably was the basis for his being hired by the University of Connecticut.I had hoped to limit my activities to counter his book to posting on some sites, but seeing the efforts by his friends to obstruct my post--eleven votes against it in a day!--has persuaded me that some whistle blowing may be needed.Stefan ZuckerPresidentBel Canto Society

Dr. Benzecry's thoughtful ethnography of opera fans in Buenos Aries is detailed, rich, and thought provoking. As I read about entranced listeners who cast aside other sources of self-worth and personal values to rush headlong into the arias and wonder of the opera, I felt that I was right there, along with them at the Colon, witnessing Rigoletto. We learn about everything from the seating arrangements to the political strikes that swirl around the field. Reading this book brings you closer to understanding opera, yes, but it also brings you to the heart of seemingly irrational love to get a sense for other forms of fandom as well. The book mentions the big stars and figures, but Benzecry speaks of the people in the upper decks as well: Luis, Irma, and Franco. Maria Callas and the big names are there, but it's the experiences and feelings of Luis, Irma, and Franco that gives The Opera Fanatic it's heft. Bravo.

The point of Benzecry's book is not to simply talk about opera fanatics or give examples of them. Instead, Benzecry explains opera fandom. His astute ethnography, which emerges from years of field work in the Colon Opera House, explains to the reader how and why opera, slated as a 'dying' art, has continued to generate a fan base. He does this not by cataloging 'great operas', but rather, for example, by showing 1) how the social disposition of fandom is cultivated and supported, particularly as "passion" in the upper decks of the opera house and 2) the relationship of the social history of opera in Buenos Aires to the cultivation of this disposition. In this sense, there is not a more thorough EXPLANATION and INTERPRETATION of opera fandom. Anyone interested in any form of fandom would benefit from Benzecry's perceptive and intellectually rigorous analysis.

A unique dissection of the love, the passion, fans feel for opera. Carefully researched, superbly argued, beautifully written ... who could ask for more?

I came across this book in a store and started thumbing through it. I'm always interested in ethnographies and never considered the Opera world's many layers before. So I bought this book and found it to be intelligent, engaging, and an overall excellent read. You would not be disappointed.

This book, like many others, is reprinted by Amazon, which they don't tell you until you receive the book. The print quality is very poor. The plastic on the lid comes off very quickly. Amazon should explicitly say which books are reprinted by them!