Cover; Half-title; Series information; Title page; Copyright information; Table of contents; List of Figures; List of Tables; Acknowledgments; Introduction; Facts, Fictions, Fantasies: Singers in the Public Eye; 1 Beginnings; The Social Origins of Performers; Training a Singer; Vocal Pedagogy at the Conservatoire; From the Classroom to the Stage; 2 The Debut and the Debutante; History and Practice of the Debut; The Debutante and Her Critics; Orchestrating Success; 3 Working Women; The End of an Era; Institutional Changes; Salaries and Contracts; Life at the Theater; On the Move

4 "La vie bourgeoise"Marriage During the July Monarchy; La Cantatrice Mariée; The Maladie Morale and Its Victims; A Prima Donna Asserts Her Independence, or, Every Person in Her Rightful Place; Marriage and Material Culture; 5 Creating the Perfect Ending; Disjuncti Membra Partæ; Fussing over Farewells; Abdication; From Sound to Silence; Envoi; Appendix: Biographies of the Singers; Notes; Introduction; Chapter 1; Chapter 2; Chapter 3; Chapter 4; Chapter 5; Envoi; Appendix; Bibliography; Primary Sources; Nineteenth-Century Press; Index