|
Renata
Scotto, a stunning verismo soprano, was a rather tempestuous
singer-actor. The general manager of the San Francisco Opera tried
to give the final curtain call to the tenor, for a live television
broadcast of La Gioconda, and Scotto responded by shrieking (live
on national television), "Siete gente di merda!," or “You
are shit people!" Scotto was to sing "Somewhere Over the
Rainbow" during a special TV broadcast performance of Act Two of Die
Fledermaus at NYCO (done as a farewell gala saluting Beverly
Sills) and she shared a dressing room with another grand dame
performing at the benefit, Ethel Merman.
According to legend, at about 15 minutes before curtain, there was a
sudden yell of "Jesus Christ!" Merman suddenly bolted out
of her dressing room (wearing only her bra, panty girdle, hose, platform
shoes, wig, and jewelry) and was asked if something was wrong, to which
she trumpeted, "Somebody tell that insane bitch in there to shut up
with the goddamn vocalizing! She's been at it for two hours, and
she's driving me fucking crazy!" Meanwhile, inside the dressing
room, La Scotto calmly sat before her mirror in a caftan and turban,
sipping hot tea with honey, and singing: "Somewhere...
somewhere over... no, no, cosě non va bene...
somewhere, ah, ah... meglio, meglio... somewhere, over the...
ah, NO! Somewhere over the rainbow... ah, sí, sí...
that's it!" The Merm growled, "Tell that bitch that
if she can't sing this fucking song by now, she'll never get it right." |
