Review by Choice Review
Even in the scholarly community, the name Maria Olenina-d'Alheim is little known. Yet she enjoyed a long and brilliant career as performer and public personality, greatly furthering European recognition of the Russian art song, particularly the songs of Mussorgsky. Tumanov has written a documentary biography in which events of the artist's life and work are told largely in the words of the protagonist herself. Early childhood and youth, career beginnings, an international career, the history of the House of Song (which she founded, together with her husband, Pierre d'Alheim), her long years of exile, and her return to Russia are detailed. Olenina-d'Alheim is presented as a forgotten, creative, rebellious artist who had a major impact on the performance world. Extensive notes and index add a scholarly touch to this intriguing book about an early-20th-century singing artist. For graduate students, researchers, and faculty with an interest in Russian song literature and its impact on the West. R. Miller; Oberlin College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
