Confessions of a Metropolitan Opera Singer - Kathleen Howard

"Confessions of a Metropolitan Opera Singer" is the autobiography of Kathleen Howard, a Metropolitan Opera star from 1916 through 1928. Turning to film acting after her voice broke, Kathleen Howard was also an accomplished writer who served on the staff of Harper's Bazaar. She made her first movie appearance, appropriately cast as an Italian grande dame, in Death Takes a Holiday. Generations of W.C. Fields fans have doted upon Howard's full-blooded portrayals of Fields' virago wife in It's a Gift and The Man on the Flying Trapeze. Toning down her screen mannerisms a bit, Kathleen Howard spent her last decade in films in such supporting roles. "Confessions of a Metropolitan Opera Singer" provides a great overview of what life was like for a Metropolitan Opera star in the early 1900's, and remains a fascinating read.