Threaded Order Chronological Order
| re: Callas in Kiss Me, Kate? A revival perhaps? | |
| Last Edit: PlayWiz 02:00 am EST 11/30/18 | |
| Posted by: PlayWiz 01:50 am EST 11/30/18 | |
| In reply to: Callas in Kiss Me, Kate? A revival perhaps? - AlanScott 08:51 pm EST 11/29/18 | |
|
|
|
| I've heard the story of Maria Callas being in the audience and commenting on Julie Andrews after the show at "My Fair Lady", plus the story that Leonard Bernstein told Barbara Cook that Callas was in the audience opening night of "Candide" before the curtain went up; Cook wished he hadn't told her, but he reassured her that Callas wished she had Cook's high Es! But one thing people may not recall about Maria Callas was that she pretty much only sang opera. Even when she did recitals, they were of opera arias, and perhaps an art song or two (maybe). I don't think she did any orchestral works that had a soloist like by Mahler or anything that wasn't really written for the operatic stage. It's clear she did attend some musicals, and perhaps she might have considered them. She certainly was thinking about how Julie Andrews was able to do what she did 8x a week, so she probably gave some thought to if she could ever do that, since in opera one would do 2-3 performances a week usually. Callas was a great singing actress and would sacrifice vocal beauty at times if dramatically she felt it was right for the role, especially before she ran into vocal difficulties later in her career. She might even have tried belting to try it on for size if she were considering an offer for a musical. So she would have probably made a terrific Kate. But she really mainly sang opera in her fabulous career and her still too short lifetime. People forget she was only about 53 when she passed. Fun thought: I can imagine her doing her version of Patricia Routledge's tour de force "Duet for One" from "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue"! | |
| reply to this message |
| re: Callas in Kiss Me, Kate? A revival perhaps? | |
| Posted by: Michael_Portantiere 11:34 am EST 11/30/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Callas in Kiss Me, Kate? A revival perhaps? - PlayWiz 01:50 am EST 11/30/18 | |
|
|
|
| "But one thing people may not recall about Maria Callas was that she pretty much only sang opera." Also, I think the only English-language piece she ever sang professionally in her entire career was the aria "Ocean, Though Mighty Monster" from the opera OBERON by Weber. Obviously, she was 100 percent fluent in English (born and grew up in Brooklyn), even though she spoke it with a slight accent. So she could have sung more in English if she wanted to, but I guess she just wasn't interested in the operatic repertoire in that language. |
|
| reply to this message |
| re: Callas in Kiss Me, Kate? A revival perhaps? | |
| Posted by: larry13 01:03 pm EST 11/30/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Callas in Kiss Me, Kate? A revival perhaps? - Michael_Portantiere 11:34 am EST 11/30/18 | |
|
|
|
| Slight correction: Callas was born in Manhattan and raised there(Washington Heights). The family probably had continued to live in Astoria for the first few years of her life but never in Brooklyn. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
| re: Callas in Kiss Me, Kate? A revival perhaps? | |
| Posted by: Michael_Portantiere 02:00 pm EST 11/30/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Callas in Kiss Me, Kate? A revival perhaps? - larry13 01:03 pm EST 11/30/18 | |
|
|
|
| So sorry. A friend of mine used to joke that Callas was born in Brooklyn, and that stuck in my head :-) | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
| re: Callas in Kiss Me, Kate? A revival perhaps? | |
| Posted by: larry13 10:47 am EST 11/30/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Callas in Kiss Me, Kate? A revival perhaps? - PlayWiz 01:50 am EST 11/30/18 | |
|
|
|
| I fully agree with everything you write about this supremely great singer except they were high Cs, not Es, that Bernstein told Cook Callas would have envied. And the one thing Callas was not known for was comedy. Her(only)live "Barber of Seville" flopped(the studio recording is much better). I very much doubt her "Duet for One" would have at all challenged Patricia Routledge's divine version. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
| re: Callas in Kiss Me, Kate? A revival perhaps? | |
| Posted by: AlanScott 09:46 pm EST 12/03/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Callas in Kiss Me, Kate? A revival perhaps? - larry13 10:47 am EST 11/30/18 | |
|
|
|
| As Cook told the story in Then and Now, Bernstein said to her, speaking of Callas being there on opening night, "She'd kill for your E-flats." Maybe she told it differently elsewhere but E-flat is Cunegonde's highest note so it does make sense. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
| re: Callas in Kiss Me, Kate? A revival perhaps? | |
| Last Edit: PlayWiz 05:14 pm EST 11/30/18 | |
| Posted by: PlayWiz 05:14 pm EST 11/30/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Callas in Kiss Me, Kate? A revival perhaps? - larry13 10:47 am EST 11/30/18 | |
|
|
|
| Thanks. I do believe Callas did perform in the comic operas "Il Turco in Italia" and possibly Norina in "Don Pasquale" live, or at least the aria of the latter. I find her recording of "Barber" quite charming and funny, especially the way she says the word "Ma" in "Un voce poco fa". But yes, she was not known generally for her comedic performances. She did have a sense of humor though. She spoke English, Greek, French and Italian, and when asked what language she counts in, she replied "I count in dollars!" | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
| re: Callas in Kiss Me, Kate? A revival perhaps? | |
| Posted by: larry13 11:52 pm EST 11/30/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Callas in Kiss Me, Kate? A revival perhaps? - PlayWiz 05:14 pm EST 11/30/18 | |
|
|
|
| Yes, she did do "Turco in Italia" a few times and left a memorable recording. She never performed Norina. And, yes too, the "Barber" recording is fine, much much better than her live performance, not just in terms of vocal beauty but in that she toned down considerably the very unappealing, shrewish Rosina she played onstage. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
Time to render: 0.019279 seconds.