True tales from the mad, mad, mad world of opera

An insider’s view of the opera world from one of its greatest figures. Everything about opera is larger than life, but the bigger the art form, the bigger the potential for disaster. When things go wrong at the opera house, they really go wrong. No one has a greater or more intimate knowledge of such moments than Lotfi Mansouri. Over the course of a career that has spanned five decades, Mansouri has directed nearly 500 productions at major opera houses around the globe. Mansouri has gathered a collection of discrete vignettes that recount unforgettable and revealing moments at the opera as personally experienced or witnessed by him. From unbelievable snafus to unfortunate mishaps to astounding coincidences, these vignettes feature some of the biggest names in opera, as well as prominent figures from politics and more. From the hilarious to the bizarre, this is a reader-friendly look at what is often thought of as an overly serious, even mysterious form of art. Overture: Lotfi in the Underworld -- The Temple Shall Not Fall Tonight -- Prompting the Prompter -- Those Wacky Wagnerites -- Have You Seen Lotfi's Violetta? -- The Unkindest Cut of All, Part I -- Wasn't that Better, Kid? -- Coming to a Head -- Intermission: (Mis)adventures in Italy -- The Curse of the Joyous Woman, Part I -- The Exposed Unmentionables -- The Unkindest Cut of All, Part II -- An Offer I Couldn't Refuse -- The Shah's Non-Command Performance -- Mid-Life Crisis -- Horsing Around in Vienna -- The Many Faces of Love -- Intermission: A Potpourri of Madness -- The Curse of the Joyous Woman, Part II -- The Rio Norma -- Did I Hear Him Right? -- Acting Up on Opening Night -- Do Worry, Be Unhappy -- Boards and Other Well-Meaning Obstacles -- Dinner with the Yeltsins -- Two Gentlemen in Verona -- What's My Line? -- Finale: Lotfi's Song. Reminiscences from an opera singer who became director of the Canadian Opera Company.