40 years after death singular voice of callas finds new life
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today
Arab Today, arab today
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today

as one of opera's defining sopranos

40 years after death, singular voice of Callas finds new life

Arab Today, arab today

Arab Today, arab today 40 years after death, singular voice of Callas finds new life

US-Greek soprano singer Maria Callas left a lasting mark on the world of opera
New York - Arab Today

Maria Callas died in 1977 as a life-weary recluse, her glories on stage long past, but 40 years on her reputation has only grown as one of opera's defining sopranos.

The anniversary is bringing out a breadth of fresh looks at the Greek American singer nicknamed La Divina including exhibitions, films and a major restoration of her live performances.

The 42-CD box-set by label Warner Classics seizes on technological advances to hone a fuller sound for some of the diva's signature roles starting from her career breakthrough in Italy in the late 1940s.

"There is still a huge interest in Maria Callas. Of course it's an interest maybe in her character, but I'm not one who thinks it's just about a legend outside of her singing," said Bertrand Castellani, vice president of international catalog at Warner Classics.

With most older opera recordings, Castellani said it only took a brief listen to discern the style and identify the decade of the performance. Not so with Callas.

"This is what makes it current. In her way of approaching opera, she was completely out of her time," he said.

"By finding the veracity of her characters, she was really a singer for all times. There is nothing related to her era, except of course the quality of the recordings," he said.

The box-set, "Maria Callas Live Remastered Recordings (1949-1964)," was engineered at the Studio Art et Son in Paris after a hunt for tapes of her performances.

"I think we are very fortunate living in this time because we can still access material that is in good condition -- the lifetime of a lot of tapes is not eternal -- as well as technology that is far better than in the 1980s or 1990s," Castellani said.

The box-set offers greater intimacy, with a crisper quality that further reveals La Divina's vocal powers. Background clutter is drastically reduced and the remastering also straightens out wobbly pitches from the tapes.

- A historic high note -

The collection comes three years after Warner Classics released a remastered set of Callas' studio recordings. The new box-set offers a window on her dramatic stage persona and includes her early performance of "Parsifal" by Wagner, a composer whom Callas largely avoided.

The box-set remasters one of the historic moments of 20th-century opera -- a 1951 performance of "Aida" in Mexico City where Callas thrills the audience by soaring to a surprise, unwritten E-flat to close the second act.

The set ends with "Tosca" in London in 1964, a closing that Castellani described as "respectful" to Callas. She last performed in opera a year afterward as her voice faltered, and her later recitals never won the same acclaim.

Her life was also marred by off-stage drama worthy of her characters. Born in New York to Greek parents, Callas endured a difficult relationship with her mother and struggled with her weight before she drastically slimmed down.

Adding to the media spotlight on her life, Callas left her husband, Giovanni Battista Meneghini, for shipping mogul Aristotle Onassis -- who instead married Jacqueline Kennedy.

She shunned the public eye for her final years, dying in her Paris apartment of a heart attack in September 1977. She was 53.

- Icon in fashion -

With her cape-like dresses and bobbed-back hair, Callas also became a style icon -- a legacy revisited in exhibitions marking the anniversary of her death in Greece and Italy.

The event at the Theocharakis Foundation in Athens -- where Callas, born as Sophia Cecilia Anna Maria Kalogeropoulou, had her start -- shows more than 200 gowns, letters and other items from La Divina.

La Scala, opera's shrine in Milan, dedicated an evening to Callas with testimonials and videos.

And a film, "Maria by Callas," will come out later this year. Directed by Tom Volf, the documentary aims to tell her story in her own words through years of tracking down archives and speaking to people who knew her.

Stephane Grant, producer of a series on Callas on France Musique public radio, said La Divina was singularly able to bring new life to operas that were already a century old.

Many other performers "were sopranos with these light, fruity voices in the treble and absolutely did not have the dramatic power needed for these roles," Grant said.

"It's often said that to sing 'La Traviata,' a soprano needs to have three voices. But for Callas, it was like a thousand voices in one."

Source: AFP

arabstoday
arabstoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

40 years after death singular voice of callas finds new life 40 years after death singular voice of callas finds new life

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

40 years after death singular voice of callas finds new life 40 years after death singular voice of callas finds new life

 



GMT 16:52 2017 Tuesday ,21 February

Iraqi troops push into Daesh-held southern

GMT 10:50 2017 Tuesday ,05 December

Technip lands Bahrain refinery mega contract

GMT 08:12 2017 Monday ,10 April

Minister receives School Mini Olympics winners

GMT 13:15 2017 Thursday ,31 August

Al-Basher Arrives in the Holy Land

GMT 18:19 2017 Tuesday ,17 October

Producers' group moves to expel Weinstein

GMT 13:00 2015 Sunday ,18 October

DEWA participates in 11th Women’s Forum in France

GMT 15:48 2017 Wednesday ,22 February

GOIC Encourages Paper Industry in GCC States

GMT 02:41 2016 Tuesday ,08 November

US, Turkey COS held talks on Syria, Iraq

GMT 23:18 2017 Wednesday ,22 November

HRH Premier lauds Bahrain's ability to host major events

GMT 06:53 2017 Friday ,03 March

Ahly's former happy for CAF honoring

GMT 05:09 2017 Saturday ,25 February

Oprah Winfrey slated to address college graduates

GMT 23:47 2017 Monday ,13 November

Mohammed bin Rashid receives Italian Prime Minister

GMT 21:43 2016 Monday ,19 September

US airstrike allegedly kills 8 afghan policemen

GMT 18:29 2017 Monday ,11 September

British MPs to vote on bill to avoid 'chaotic' Brexit

GMT 10:41 2017 Sunday ,12 February

Quebec says 'No to Islamaphobia'

GMT 23:52 2017 Saturday ,09 September

France Says 26 French Hurt in Barcelona Attack
Arab Today, arab today
 
 Arab Today Facebook,arab today facebook  Arab Today Twitter,arab today twitter Arab Today Rss,arab today rss  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
arabstoday, Arabstoday, Arabstoday