Queen's Throat: Opera, Homosexuality And The Mystery Of Desire

by Wayne Koestenbaum

Overview

This passionate love letter to opera, lavishly praised and nominated for a National Book Critics Circle Award when it was first published, is now firmly established as a cult classic. In a learned, moving, and sparklingly witty melange of criticism, subversion, and homage, Wayne Koestenbaum illuminates mysteries of fandom and obsession, and has created an exuberant work of personal meditation and cultural history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780306810084
Publisher:	Hachette Books
Publication date:	04/05/2001
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	280
Sales rank:	180,582
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Wayne Koestenbaum is professor of english at CUNY's Graduate School and is the author of several books of criticism, essays, and poetry. He lives in New York City.

Table of Contents

	Introduction	1
1	Opera Queens	9
2	The Shut-in Fan: Opera at Home	46
3	The Codes of Diva Conduct	84
4	The Callas Cult	134
5	The Queen's Throat: Or, How to Sing	154
6	The Unspeakable Marriage of Words and Music	176
7	A Pocket Guide to Queer Moments in Opera	198
	Notes	243
	List of Illustrations	257
	Index	259

Editorial Reviews

Koestenbaum, who is gay and teaches English at Yale, calls himself an ``opera queen'' because he is addicted to opera, fetishizes records, tries to befriend divas and keeps lists of his opera ``highs.'' A literate amalgam of speculation, gossip, reminiscences and historical lore, his confessions are one fan's passionate love letter to the opera, illustrated with photographs and memorabilia. But Koestenbaum ( Ode to Anna Moffo and Other Poems ) strains to find reasons for the reputed affinity of gay men for opera. He views singing as analogous to gays' coming out of the closet and relates the diva's body movements, vocal attack and public persona to ``a style that gay people, particularly queens, have found essential . . . a camp style of resistance and protection.'' He presents 12 psychosocial explanations for the ``gay cult'' of Maria Callas. One chapter, ``A Pocket Guide to Queer Moments in Opera,'' analyzes 28 opera highlights from a gay perspective. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Initially, The Queen's Throat reminded this reviewer of the author's earlier work, Ode to Anna Moffo and Other Poems ( LJ 9/15/90), which also had an operatic theme. Here, everything from opera trivia to serious analysis is blended in the context of the author's personal experience, with results that are at times humorous. Koestenbaum's innovative ideas reflect a gay point of view that will be startlingly different and refreshing for some readers. As an example, the author reads the autobiographies of long-gone divas looking for the words queer or gay and then interprets each diva's words from his personal perspective. An appropriate book for the 1990s. Recommended for collections in opera or gay studies.-- James E. Ross, Seattle P.L.

Library Journal