ASSIGNMENT

Assignment

Assignment

Part 1

Review

Maria Callas lived the life of an operatic character. Controversy followed her everywhere. There was her temper, there was her relationship with her mother, there was her marriage, affair, and divorce, and there was her voice. To the press and her audience she upheld her confidence, but behind the diva stood a lonely and wounded woman. She was sensitive but ambitious. The lack of love in her life made her bitter. She became notorious for being difficult to work with. She wanted revenge on those who hurt her, but at the same time wanted them back in her life. Her emotions clashed and she incorporated them in her music. Her genius was that, although she was interpreting, she made her audience feel that she was creating. The slightest move of her head conveyed an emotion. She exploded the concept of what beautiful singing means: Is it pretty sounds and pure tones? Or should beauty evolve from text, musical shape, dramatic intent and, especially, emotional truth.

Maria's unique acting made her stand out. Like a magnet, she drew everyone to herself. She could sing badly and everyone would still love her. For a time she could sing almost any part written for the female voice. She took lessons from well-known voice teachers. She had it all, even a jewelry collection that was hand made for her performances. It was all these artificial loves that filled the days of Maria Callas. She worked hard to get to the top. Due to her myopia, she had to memorize the stages. This also forced her to focus on her music and drama more because she could not rely on a conductor. Being a perfectionist, she obsessed over her parts. She would spend several hours practicing just one gesture of the hand. At one performance she tripped and fell, but stood back up and continued the rest of the opera without anyone in the audience noticing she had sprained her ankle.

Much of Callas' determination came from her mother. Her grandfather was a well-known tenor in Greece. His singing gave her mother, Evangelia (also called Litza), her dream to become an actress. Litza failed to achieve her dreams, but she passed her desires and ambitions to her two daughters, Jackie and Maria. Jackie played the piano and Maria sang.

Maria found acceptance in music. Five years younger and less attractive than her sister, she knew rejection at an early age. Her birth on December 2, 1923, in New York City, was not received joyfully. When they had lived in Greece, Litza and George Kalogeropoulos had a son, Vasily, who died at an early age. Litza expected another boy and mourned the birth of her new daughter. Four days passed before she agreed to nurse Maria. Eventually, the babe was christened Cecilia Sophia Anna Maria Callas. Litza reluctantly took Maria in, but continued to reject her emotionally until the discovery of her voice.

When Litza saw Maria's gift, everything began to revolve around ...