Maria Callas.

[dai bread]

I was re-running my discs from the series "3 Centuries of Grand Opera" and came across "Mon coeur s'ouvre a ta voix". This aria for female voice has always interested me partly because it's one of the few memorable ones that's not for soprano, and partly because it foreshadows Delila's eventual betrayal so well by those chilly little eddies in the orchestra in the second half.

Anyway, I thought it would be interesting to get the words, so I googled the lyrics. I found two things of interest. The first is that you don't want to translate the French. It's sickeningly sweet overblown, you might say fly-blown, romance. The second was Maria Callas.

Now last I heard, Maria Callas was a soprano, yet here she is singing a mezzo aria if not an actual contralto one. (I think it's supposed to be for mezzo, but I'm open to correction here). She does a good job, too. Not in the soprano range, but in the mezzo range, albeit on the high side.

I've read several rude reviews of Ms Callas' singing over the years, but I have her in "The Barber of Seville" (as a soprano) where she does an excellent job in the role of Rosina, and now this aria from "Samson and Delilah" as a mezzo. I am left to wonder if the critics were rude because she's a good-looking woman with considerable talent.

I am also left wondering just how common it is for singers to go outside their nominal range. The only other instance I can think of is the legend of Caruso and the Coat Aria (from "La Boheme") where he sang a baritone aria for a singer who suddenly lost his voice.

Any comments from O.T. and Piq?

[piqaboo]

The first thing of opera I ever experienced was a biography of Callas that I picked up in my teens.
Apparently as life went on, and Maria started to lose the very top of her range, it was widely thought she could continue at the top of the profession if she would move to Mezzo roles. But she refused, except the odd one here and there.

As I remember it, toward the end she probably deserved a little criticism, but in her prime and at the beginning of her career, she was stellar. I think she was also Diva with a capital D.

The book described her as being one of the first or possibly the first soprano to act as she sang, rather than parking and barking, which had been the style.

I've only heard excerpts, on low quality speakers, of her singing. Her voice appeals to me.

[dai bread]

That will explain why she's so good as Rosina. The role is a girl of about 18, and Callas sounds like it, yet is still fully professional.

[shostakovich]

Hi DB, Piq. I also heard the rumors of a weak voice in a wonderful actress. I saw a video called "Divas". Her singing in that was excellent, as was her facial expression. It was also stated she was the greatest soprano of her time (the 60s I think). As for the aria, I've heard Rise Stevens, who was a mezzo, doing it.
Shos

[GreatCarouser]

There's also the aria used in that wonderful scene between Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington in the movie Philadelphia. "La Mamma Morta" from Andrea Chenier by Giordano

La Mamma Morta, Calas and Tulio Serafin

[piqaboo]

Only a relatively weak voice, toward the end of her career. As we age, the top end gets tougher to do, is all.
She wouldnt give in or give up the top high notes even after she couldnt quite guarantee them, hence the reputation.
She became a star because she could indeed sing extraordinarily well for most of her career.

[Mahlersfifth]

Oh if only time travel were possible.

[dai bread]

If it were, there is one singer I would really like to hear live. Enrico Caruso. Was he really as good as he is reputed? Or is it just that nobody else could get near him at the time? His recordings are only so-so, but what comes through the fuzziness of early technology is the possibility of a really stunning live experience.

[Shapley]

ANOTHER METHOD OF MAKING WALNUT CATSUP

By Richard Brautigan


And this is a very small cookbook for Trout Fishing in America

as if Trout Fishing in America were a rich gourmet and

Trout Fishing in America had Maria Callas for a girlfriend

and they ate together on a marble table with beautiful candles.


Compote of Apples


Take a dozen of golden pippins, pare them

nicely and take the core out with a small

penknife; put them into some water, and

let them be well scalded; then take a little

of the water with some sugar, and a few

apples which may be sliced into it, and

let the whole boil till it comes to a syrup;

then pour it over your pippins, and garnish

them with dried cherries and lemon-peel

cut fine. You must take care that your

pippins are not split.



And Maria Callas sang to Trout Fishing in America as

they ate their apples together.



A Standing Crust for Great Pies


Take a peck of flour and six pounds of butter

boiled in a gallon of water: skim it off into

the flour, and as little of the liquor as you

can. Work it up well into a paste, and then

pull it into pieces till it is cold. Then make

it up into what form you please.



And Trout Fishing in America smiled at Maria Callas as

they ate their pie crust together.



A Spoonful Pudding


Take a spoonful of flour, a spoonful of

cream or milk, an egg, a little nutmeg,

ginger, and salt. Mix all together, and

boil it in a little wooden dish half an hour.

If you think proper you may add a few

currants .



And Trout Fishing in America said, "The moon's coming

out." And Maria Callas said, "Yes, it is."




Another Method of Making Walnut Catsup



Take green walnuts before the shell is

formed, and grind them in a crab-mill,

or pound them in a marble mortar.

Squeeze out the juice through a coarse

cloth, and put to every gallon of juice

a pound of anchovies, and the same

quantity of bay-salt, four ounces of

Jamaica pepper, two of long and two of

black pepper; of mace, cloves, and

ginger, each an ounce, and a stick of

horseradish. Boil all together till

reduced to half the quantity, and then

put it into a pot. When it is cold, bottle

it close, and in three months it will be

fit for use.



And Trout Fishing in America and Maria Callas poured

walnut catsup on their hamburgers.



I always think of that whenever I hear Maria Callas name. I suppose that may be the first place I heard of her.

V/R
Shapley

[dai bread]

It seems Maria Callas isn't the only one who can sing low (sweet chariot).

(9) VERDI: Simon Boccanegra, an opera in a prologue and three acts

Five decades into a legendary Met career, Plácido Domingo makes history singing the baritone title role in Verdi’s gripping political thriller

This is from Radio NZ Concert's schedule for tomorrow's opera.