Price of Genius: Life of Pauline Viardot

by April FitzLyon

Pauline Garcia Viardot, the daughter of the famous singer and composer Manuel Garcia and younger sister of the celebrated Malibran, was a singer of genius and a woman of outstanding intellect. The first biography of Viardot not only recreates the drama of the prima donna's own life, but perfectly captures the scintillating brilliance of nineteenth-century artistic life: the colourful and diverse personalities of the Musset brothers, Chopin, George Sand, Meyerbeer, Berlioz, Gounod and Saint-Saens move in and out of Viardot's life. In 1843 Madame Viardot met the young Ivan Turgenev. From their first meeting until his death in 1883, he remained passionately devoted to her, following her around Europe and spending long periods of time as a member of her household.This authoritative study, which makes use of much hitherto unknown source material, has the fascination of a great Russian novel.

533 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 1964

Reviews

[Lynne King · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Pauline Garcia Viardot, born in 1821, was the daughter of the famous singer and composer Manuel Garcia and younger sister of the celebrated Malibran (who unfortunately died at the age of twenty-seven due to a riding accident with a horse). She was a singer of genius and a woman of outstanding intellect.

This biography of Pauline Viardot not only recreates the drama of the prima donna’s own life but perfectly captures the scintillating brilliance of this nineteenth-century artist’s life: the colourful and diverse personalities of the Musset brothers, Chopin, George Sand, Meyerbeer, Berlioz, Gourd and Saint Saens who moved in and out of Viardot’s life.

George Sand recognising how gifted her friend Pauline was, and knowing that she needed someone to manage her career, introduced her to her friend Louis Viardot when Pauline was twenty. He was nineteen years older than her. Pauline certainly didn’t love him but remained very fond of him and highly respected him throughout their forty years of marriage.

In 1843, Pauline Viardot met the young Ivan Turgenev. From their first meeting until his death in 1883, he remained passionately devoted to her (even though she was married and with four children), following her around Europe and spending long periods of time as a member of her household. She succeeded for many years in keeping his ardour on the “back burner” as she always believed that her art was the most important thing in her life but after her retirement as an opera singer at the age of forty-two she relaxed her attitude slightly towards Turgenev and most people accepted his position in the Viardot household. And with time, he was referred to as her "cicisbeo" (the professed gallant or lover of a married woman, , i e. "cavalier servente" (French: chevalier servant).

Parts of the above were on the back cover of this book. I have tried unsuccessfully to write a review on this remarkable woman, however, it was too long-winded and so I decided that this would suffice as a taster.

It is also interesting to add that everyone who met Pauline Viardot, both before and after her marriage were absolutely fascinated by her even though she was extremely ugly! This just shows that the personality prevails regardless!

[reveurdart · Rating 5 out of 5]

An insightful and sensitively told biography about Pauline Viardot, while also bringing the people she knew to life, which creates context and understanding. You can tell the author likes Pauline Viardot as a person, yet she manages throughout the book to give us a fair and even portrayal, I think. I particularly liked her perceptive portrayal of Pauline Viardot's female friend George Sand.

Because she travelled a great deal and met many creative people of the nineteenth century that are known to us (Maria Malibran, Liszt, Chopin, Musset, Turgenev), I think this book can be read by those not yet into opera. If you're interested in Russian literary life, then I especially recommend this. My own interest in reading this stems from my interest in opera, the nineteenth century, and my deep interest in women's history. But why Viardot? I find her interesting because, besides being an opera singer, she also composed music. This book more than fulfilled my hopes. I learned a lot from this book and I highly recommend it - a biography that I consider an ideal place to start with Pauline Viardot.