Product Description

Kyra Vayne was born in Petrograd in 1916. Her White Russian parents fled to London when she was a small child, amid scenes of great chaos. She became a singer and at the height of her career Kyra appeared with some of the greats of the era including Gigli, Gobbi, Bergonzi and the young Janet Baker. Disaster struck when her agent committed suicide; on his death Kyra quit the stage forever and became a secretary at the BBC. In the early 1990s Kyra's career blossomed anew with the release of three CDs of her music recorded at her peak and made from old tapes forgotten under her bed. They were an immediate success which led to a cult following. Latterly Kyra recorded a CD of new songs - at the age of eighty-one. "A Voice Reborn" is clearly told in Kyra's own voice and her many stories - both tragic and heart-warming - will delight old fans and new.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #971313 in Books
• Published on: 1999-10-07
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 204 pages

Review
"Her glorious voice glides effortlessly through the most demanding arias. People will be fascinated to read this story of her extraordinary life." - Sue Lawley

About the Author
Kyra Vayne was born in Petrograd in 1916. Her White Russian parents fled to London when she was a small child, amid scenes of great chaos. She became a singer and at the height of her career Kyra appeared with some of the greats of the era including Gigli, Gobbi, Bergonzi and the young Janet Baker. Disaster struck when her agent committed suicide; on his death Kyra quit the stage forever and became a secretary at the BBC.In the early 1990s Kyra's career blossomed anew with the release of three CDs of her music recorded at her peak and made from old tapes forgotten under her bed. They were an immediate success which led to a cult following. Latterly Kyra recorded a CD of new songs - at the age of eighty-one.

Customer Reviews

An extraordinarily candid and amusing read.
Opera singers by their very nature are rarely as interesting as the characters they portray on stage, Kyra Vayne is clearly the exception. Her autobiography 'A Voice Reborn' begs the question:- when is a documentary or even a film going to made about her remarkable life. This book has it all, immense egos, revolution, skulduggery in high places, suicide and even cats, and yet at its heart is a voice that could accept no compromise. Kyra Vayne has crafted toether a book that demands reading, not least because every chapter is a story in itself. for those interested in opera she elucidates the lives of the likes of Maria Cebotari, Zara Dolukhanova, Beniamino Gigli and Tito Gobbi. Essentially, though this is a book that is much more than an autobiogrphy of a celebrated soprano, it is a social commentary, a glimpse into a world not entirely lost, but often hidden behind ranks of PR men and marketing gurus. Vayne has an original turn of phrase that makes her frankness all the more refreshing. Her life is often seen through the tales that she tells of others, after all it is clear that bigger names were often smaller personalities. When writing about some of the tragedies that befell her she avoids self pity and invariably finds a positive side. For me such an autobiography explains the popularity of autobiographies. The photographs are a bonus, but I kept asking myself : when is the film going to be made? What is undeniable is the fact that this is an extraordinarily candid and amusing read. Whether the name Kyra Vayne means anything to you or not here is one book that deserves some space on your bookshelves.