Fanny & Adelaide, The Lives of the Remarkable Kemble Sisters

"Fanny`s sister Adelaide, five years her junior, ranks among the finest of English-born opera singers. Making her debut in Venice in the exacting role of Norma - and singing nothing but a leading role thereafter - she won acclaim across Italy and at two brilliant seasons at London's Covent Garden before marrying the rich Edward Sartoris. The real love of her life, however, was Count Francis Thun, son of one of the great families of the Austrian Empire. Her love for Francis hovered over her marriage like a cloud." "Fanny never quite forgave Adelaide her success. As Fanny's own marriage disintegrated, her jealousy surged, and her biased appraisals of her sister's singing have unfairly tarnished Adelaide's opera reputation. In many ways, however, as Ms. Blainey shows, the sisters loved each other fiercely. Their complex and fascinating relationship is one of the major themes of this grand biography, based on extensive research and exclusive access to hundreds of family letters."--BOOK JACKET.