“Callas sometimes struggle’s to control a rather aggressive wobble in her top register, particularly when she is singing loudly”
-Phillips, R; (2009), AA100 Reputations, Milton Keynes, The Open University
An example of this is from the recording of the “Ah! Fors’e lui” aria at 1.29 we hear Callas hit very high notes and an example of the wobble in her voice can be heard here.
Winthrop Sargeant however was picking up on what was by now, a very common flaw in Maria Callas’s voice. It is clear you did not have to be an advanced opera reviewer to know this. If anything this flaw appears to be an easy target to criticise her.
“Callas' voice was and remains controversial; it bothered and disturbed as many as it thrilled and inspired”
- Ardoin, John; Gerald Fitzgerald (1974). Callas: The Art and the Life. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston
John Ardoin quickly summarizes Callas’ main vocal feature which made her so interesting. It appears to be a “love her or hate her” case. However what is clear that even though she may not have been the favourite opera singer of all opera critics; she was highly respected by them.
Despite comparing to her previous perhaps under par performances, the opening of the second paragraph Winthrop writes:
“ … and this time, I must say, she left me in complete agreement with the most fervent of her admirers, who bellowed and thundered their approval after every aria”
– Sargeant, W; (6th February 1958), The New Yorker, from Open University Assignment Booklet, pp 24-25.
There are more strong hints in the above that Winthrop did not class himself as one of her more fervent fans, however he does reiterate his admiration of the performance throughout. Winthrop commends her performance by mentioning her ability to act as well as sing.
“I might also call attention to her acting, which – in this role, at least – would qualify as extraordinarily perceptive and gripping even by the standards of legitimate stage … to act is to sing and to sing is to act.”
– Sargeant, W; (6th February 1958), The New Yorker, from Open University Assignment Booklet, pp 24-25.
Winthrop plays great tribute to her ability to perform on top of her singing, comparing her acting ability to professional stage acting.
“What Callas has – which nobody else has in quite the same way is an extraordinarily powerful and sensitive way of acting the words as she sings them.”
– Sargeant, W; (6th February 1958), The New Yorker, from Open University Assignment Booklet, pp 24-25.
Here Robert explains that Maria Callas had a more unique way of drawing the audience into her performances. Coinciding with Winthrop’s review, this is what made her unique and it was this part of her that made her stand out from the rest of the opera singers around the world; it could be said that it was ability that brought her reputation as a diva.
To conclude; the newspaper review gives an accurate account of her performance and singing ability from that evening as nothing but spectacular, far greater than her pervious performances over the years. Despite some of her vocal qualities not being perfect, these “flaws” were now beginning to be accepted as a part of her performance. In her inability she has vocally compared to other opera artists, she more than makes up for with the performance and acting of the aria making giving her the unique ability to capture the audience more so than an opera singer with more finer vocal abilities.
Word Count: 645
Bibliography
Price, Carolyn, (2009), AA100, Plato on Tradition and Belief, Milton Keynes, The Open University
Ardoin, John; Gerald Fitzgerald (1974). Callas: The Art and the Life. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston
AA100, The Arts Past And Present, Assignment Booklet, pp 24-25
‘Plato’s Laches – a Discussion with Tim Chappell (2008) (AA100 Audio CD), Milton Keynes, The Open University