The Tenor: A Cultural History

Through extensive research and detailed musical analysis, Matthew Boyden traces for the first time the profound influence of religion, architecture, socio-economics, politics, technology and taste on the sound, technique and perception of the tenor as a cultural and musical phenomenon.

One hundred years after the death of Enrico Caruso, and the births of Franco Corelli, Giuseppe Di Stefano and Mario Lanza, this landmark history of the tenor charts the cultural and musical evolution of the tenor voice, and the achievements of almost 400 of its greatest exponents, from the 17th century to the 21st. Through extensive research and detailed musical analysis, Matthew Boyden traces for the first time the profound influence of religion, architecture, socio-economics, politics, technology and taste on the sound, technique and perception of the tenor as a cultural and musical phenomenon. By reference to hundreds of works of music, literature, painting, and cinema, Boyden reveals how changes in cultural and social experience across Europe, Russia and the United States formed the modern tenor voice. Spanning opera, art music, theatre and popular song, it is the most comprehensive and original study of its kind. Ambitious and thought-provoking, The Tenor: a Cultural History is a fascinating resource for anyone interested in the art, science and history of singing.