Candid and Compelling, Deborah Voigt’s Memoir – Call Me Debbie: True Confessions of a Down-to-Earth Diva – Hits Bookstores Tomorrow (Jan 27)

Long beloved as one of the world’s foremost operatic stars, Deborah Voigt is also increasingly recognized as one of its most endearing musical personalities. Already known to Twitter fans as a “Dramatic soprano and down-to-earth Diva,” she was named one of the top 25 cultural tweeters to follow (Los Angeles Times), and her confessional one-woman show, Voigt Lessons, was pronounced “chatty, witty, and sometimes painfully poignant” (New York Times). Now comes the fruition of the Grammy Award-winning soprano’s most personal project to date, with HarperCollins’ publication of her candid, funny, soul-baring, and utterly compelling memoir, Call Me Debbie: True Confessions of a Down-to-Earth Diva. A heartfelt, inspirational story offering unique insights into the life of an outstanding artist and a remarkable woman – complete with eight pages of color photographs, both personal and from the stage – the soprano’s literary debut hits bookstores tomorrow, on Tuesday, January 27. To celebrate the launch, Voigt will be a guest on NBC’s TODAY show tomorrow morning. She has already been interviewed on NPR’s Weekend Edition, and previews of Call Me Debbie have appeared in such outlets as the Wall Street Journal and People magazine, the January 26 issue of which boasts a three-page spread titled “A Diva’s Weight-Loss Drama,” featuring generous excerpts from the memoir. The soprano will also embark on an extensive promotional U.S. tour that will include performances, readings, discussions, and book signing (Jan 28–Feb 18; see full details below).

As Voigt comments, “Tomorrow’s the day! My book is released and I’m feeling both incredibly excited as well as relieved. I hope that people will be able to relate to some of my struggles and enjoy a glimpse behind the grand curtain of the opera house.”

Through her performances and television appearances, Voigt is known for the singular power and beauty of her voice, and her captivating stage presence. Having made her name as a leading dramatic soprano, internationally revered for her performances in the operas of Wagner, Strauss, and more, she is also an active recitalist and performer of Broadway standards and popular songs. Besides boasting an extensive discography, she appears regularly as both performer and host in the Metropolitan Opera’s “The Met: Live in HD” series, which is transmitted live to movie theaters around the world, and currently serves as WQXR’s inaugural Susan W. Rose Artist-in-Residence. Honored in the media with a CBS 60 Minutes profile, features in People and Vanity Fair, and appearances on Good Morning America, CNN, and the nationwide telecast of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and July 4 fireworks celebration, Voigt has become America’s most visible and well-loved diva.

Call Me Debbie nevertheless represents one of the most electrifying performances of her distinguished career. In this strikingly honest memoir, the soprano recounts – with characteristic candor, charisma, and wit – her harrowing and ultimately successful private battles to overcome the addictions and self-destructive tendencies that nearly cut short her life. She describes the events that led to her dangerous gastric bypass surgery in 2004 and its shocking aftermath: her substantial weight loss coupled with the “cross addiction” that led to alcoholism and severe depression before she emerged from the darkness to achieve complete sobriety. She also offers fascinating insights into her greatest and best-loved roles – Strauss’s Ariadne and Salome, Puccini’s Minnie, and Wagner’s Sieglinde, Isolde, and Brünnhilde among them. In a generous 288 pages – enriched with hilarious anecdotes, juicy backstage gossip, and eight pages of color photographs – she paints diverting portraits of the artists with whom she has collaborated, her most memorable moments onstage, and the secrets of her singing.

“I never imagined myself becoming a world-famous dramatic soprano who’d share the stages of the biggest opera houses in the world with the most celebrated vocalists of our time,” Voigt explains. “I didn’t yearn to meet presidents, princes, Pavarottis, and Plácidos. As a child, I only knew I loved to sing – I was singing before I was talking.”

Call Me Debbie is available for pre-order from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, BAM, and Indie Bound. Meanwhile, further information is provided at HarperCollins and at the artist’s website: www.deborahvoigt.com.

Call Me Debbie: True Confessions of a Down-to-Earth Diva

By Deborah Voigt
HarperCollins
Hardcover and eBook
288 pages
In bookstores: Tuesday, January 27

National book tour

Wed, Jan 28 at 7pm
NEW YORK, NY
BARNES & NOBLE INC. (150 East 86th Street)
In conversation with Brian Kellow; includes performance
This event is free to the public.
More information is available here.

Mon, Feb 2 at 7:30pm
PHILADELPHIA, PA
FREE LIBRARY OF PHILADELPHIA
Montgomery Auditorium (1901 Vine Street)
In Conversation with Willo Carey; includes performance
Tickets and information are available here.

Tues, Feb 3 at 7pm
WASHINGTON, DC
POLITICS AND PROSE
The Willard (1401 Pennsylvania Ave.)
Talk / Q&A; includes performance
More information is available here.

Wed, Feb 4 at 6pm
BOSTON, MA
BROOKLINE BOOKSMITH, Berklee College of Music
David Friend Recital Hall (921 Boylston Street)
Talk / Q&A; includes performance
Tickets (including book) and information are available here.

Thurs, Feb 5 at 3pm
NEW YORK, NY
METROPOLITAN OPERA, North Lobby, Lincoln Center
Book signing
More information is available here.

Fri, Feb 13 at 12pm
CHICAGO, IL
UNIVERSITY CLUB OF CHICAGO (76 East Monroe Street)
Talk / Q&A; includes performance
Tickets and information are available here.

Sat, Feb 14 at 6pm
PHOENIX, AZ
Arizona Opera (215 East Grant Street)
Big Date Night Gala with Deborah Voigt; includes performance
Tickets and information are available here.

Sun, Feb 15 at 3pm
PHOENIX, AZ
Changing Hands Bookstore (300 W. Camelback Road)
In conversation with Ryan Taylor from Arizona Opera
Tickets and information are available here.

Tues, Feb 17 at 7pm
SAN FRANCISCO, CA
JCC OF SAN FRANCISCO, Kanbar Hall (3200 California Street)
In conversation with Dr. Kip Cranna; includes performance
More information is available here.

Wed, Feb 18 at 8pm
LOS ANGELES, CA
The Moss Theatre at New Roads School (222 S. Figueroa Street)
LIVE TALKS LOS ANGELES
Includes performance
More information is available here.

Thurs, Feb 26 at 8pm
NEW YORK, NY
92nd Street Y
Voigt Lessons
More Information is available here.

Press Room

Candid and Compelling, Deborah Voigt’s Memoir – Call Me Debbie: True Confessions of a Down-to-Earth Diva – Hits Bookstores Tomorrow (Jan 27)