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Maria
Callas was, simply, the greatest soprano -- ever --
and called "La Divina" by her adoring public. She evenly
divides throngs of opera-lovers to this very day and, indeed, there
is no middle ground: like all great controversial artists, you either
love her or you loathe her. She challenged her co-stars to be more
than just opera singers: they had to be singing-actors. She fully
inhabited every facet of every character she ever played, approaching
them with all the ferocity of a classically-trained Shakespearean
actress. Schwarzkopf
dropped the role of Violetta from her repertoire after she saw
Callas in the role, reasoning that once a role had reached total
perfection in interpretation from another singer, it would be foolhardy
to try and improve upon that one's self. Even now, her
interpretations of Verdi's Lady Macbeth, Puccini's Tosca,
Cherubini's Medea, Donizetti's Lucia, and Bellini's Norma go
unchallenged and are considered the ultimate in the pantheon of the
greatest of the great. |
