That Voice - by Marcia Menter (Paperback)

About the Book

After hearing a recording of The Mikado at thirteen and falling in love with the contralto, Ann Drummond-Grant, Marcia Menter is devastated to learn that "Drummie" has died. The aspiring young singer's voice lessons go wrong in every possible way, but her dogged pursuit of information about her idol ultimately reveals the extraordinary story of a singer beloved on both sides of the Atlantic.

Book Synopsis

As an adolescent in Syracuse, New York, Marcia Menter fell in love with the recorded voice of Ann Drummond-Grant, a Scottish contralto who sang with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, the legendary Gilbert and Sullivan troupe. She dreamed of singing with the company, even though it didn't hire Americans--and even though, as she soon found out, Ann Drummond-Grant had died years earlier. But her dream persisted, and for the young music lover, Drummie's glorious voice remained a living presence--a refuge from the race riots and political upheavals of her school years.

Menter earned a conservatory degree in singing before finally realizing she was not a performer at heart. She spent decades searching for Ann Drummond-Grant--visiting places she lived and interviewing people who knew her--and putting together the puzzle of her life. This is the story of a singer and her listener--of two separate lives divided by time and geography but connected in unexpected ways.

Review Quotes

Kirkus' Best Indie Books of 2024

"This witty, resonant, beautifully written book will appeal to many, especially readers with musical or artistic aspirations, grappling with understanding who they are and what they are meant to do professionally."--Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW

"One of the most dif­fi­cult tasks for any writer is to try to ren­der the sound of music on the print­ed page. That Voice does so.... Music lovers will enjoy plunging into this book, especially if they appreciate classical music."--Jewish Book Council

"The author's self-portrait is intimate and revealing, clear-eyed in its depictions of her disappointments and failings and suffused with wry humor... At the book's heart is a colorful profile of Drummond-Grant written in evocative prose that conveys her talent and personality."
--Kirkus Reviews, STARRED

"A stunning, subtle memoir. . . . Through tracking both Drummond-Grant's performances as well as her own education as a singer, Marcia Menter gives us her own full voice with all its wit and sass. Here is a book for everyone who comes to understand that the choices we turn away from still determine our lives, a sparkling memoir of trying to do what you can't really do--but blooming in the process."
--Molly Peacock, author of Paradise, Piece by Piece and A Friend Sails in on a Poem

"Anyone who has ever wanted to sing will appreciate this love letter to the human voice, and to one singer in particular. Marcia Menter is bracingly honest about her frustrations as a young soprano. She finds her true calling as the biographer of her idol, Ann Drummond-Grant, a Scottish contralto who died at the peak of her career."
--Lori Laitman, critically acclaimed composer of operas, oratorios and art songs

"This book is a delight. Menter's frank account of her confused journey to adulthood is both amusing and poignant, but it will strike a chord with many, myself included. Above all, it is a fitting tribute to a great D'Oyly Carte artiste."
--Roberta Morrell, Stage director, D'Oyly Carte alumna and author of numerous books about the company