‘Never Lose the Wonder’

At 21, Brigitte Fassbaender is given a position at Munich’s State Opera. From there, her path leads to the greatest stages of the world, with artistic adventures and amazing experiences along the way. In her thoughtful, deeply human book she tells us of the operas and songs close to her heart, of the ethos of song and of moments of greatest musical fulfillment. We learn about the conductors and singers, pianists and directors she admired: from Carlos Kleiber to Claudio Abbado, Martha Mödl to Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, and many more. Fassbaender also writes with frankness about difficult topics, about the tortures of menopause for a female singer, about male dominance and the exploitation of power in the profession, about her own personal failures. Her second life, after she stops singing professionally, leads her to teach singing, to work as director and artistic director. Overall, she presents her readers with the wonderful story of a life always lived in search of wonder.