William Murray (2) (1926–2005)

Loved this one! Murray decided to follow a training program for apprentice opera singers during one season, and picked the Lyric Opera Center for American Artists, one of the best, if not the best, in the country, perhaps the world! The LOCAA takes singers who have some professional experience and over the course of one to three years trains them, not only in vocal technique, but in acting, stage presence, all sorts of things a diva needs to know. And they turn out some wonderful singers. show more (One of the sopranos in this group is Nicole Cabell, who recently won the Singer of the World competition in Wales.)

Murray discusses the strengths and weaknesses of each singer, following them through classes, auditions and performances (all will sing some roles at Lyric during the season). For some odd reason, he also feels the need to describe everyone's clothes.

It was great fun for me to read about performances I'd attended. This was the season, for instance, that Natalie Dessay sang her first Lucia in Italian, and knocked everyone out. Just like me, Murray viewed that as an historic performance. I also enjoyed reading what he said about someone I know, an assistant conductor at Lyric who works with the LOCAA. ". . . something truly special . . . a musician of great refinement and impeccable taste . . ." not to mention " . . . tall, elegant, resolutely cheerful . . . with a droll sense of humor . . ." I admit to having teased him a bit about this when last I saw him.

The chapters about the "sacred monsters", Pavarotti and such, were not as interesting, and seemed to be padding. But I did like the way Murray, a journalist, talked about his own early experience as a hopeful opera singer, and compared that experience to what is now available to young singers. show less

Sixteen short chapters of reflections of Roman city center sights and their historical importance. Very good because he's not trying to impress anybody, just give the feel of the emotional electricity one apprehends while walking the streets of the most famous city in the world. 139 pp. No bibliography or footnotes. City Center map on the end papers.

Murray, a long-time resident and frequent return visitor to Rome takes us on a piazza by piazza street by street tour of his favorite city, mixed with some family and personal history, including his wistful recollections of two love affairs. If you have been to Rome, this guide, written with love, insight, and humor, will bring back memories of the places you visited, make you sad about the places you missed, and create a compelling longing to return to the Eternal City. Highly recommended. show more When I return to Rome, this book is going with me. show less

I was taken by the racetrack accuracy of this book, the author's evident familiarity with the world of trainers and owners, jockeys and agents; stakes horses, horses running for a claiming price, horses in maiden races, etc. And Murray clearly knows the ins and outs of an actual race, from the influence of the track surface on a particular horse to the predilections of certain horses to run in front and others to come from behind. And he knows a thing or two about betting as well. All of show more which, as a racetrack railbird over the years, I appreciated and enjoyed.

But as a mystery reader, I found the plot unconvincing and at times uninteresting, drawn as it is against the so much more convincing details of the racing game. And after a while the characters' repeated assertions about how wonderful the world of the racetrack is--better than any other--put me off my feed, so to speak. Though I don't disagree with the sentiment, it yanked me away from the story and all but sank the plot beneath the notion that the mystery was no more than a device to enable Murray to talk about the world of racing. show less