A friend and I were listening to my favorite section of Traviata, namely the end of the Gambling Scene (“Alfredo,Alfredo…”) from the Mexico 1952 Callas performance, and,as my eyes began to tear up (What else is new?), I exclaimed in a most sarcastic and almost angry voice,”Yes…that is such an ugly voice and she has mashed potatoes in her mouth and the wobble is awful and she really was so overrated…” Those remarks were followed by what I TRULY believe,namely that the voice was so gorgeous and she sang with a heart and soul that was totally unique in opera history, and that many opera lovers refuse to do their homework and study what this lady,even in a mere ten years (I always say just about 1949-1958),did as a phenomenon in opera history, and moreover that she was in fact totally deserving of the “legendary” status accorded her.

Just shed all the stuff you hear from the Callas-haters, and play the scene I just described and tell me that this haunting, “from the depths of the soul” singing and the very shaping of phrases, and the remarkable way in which she is able to convey the sadness of Violetta at this moment do not move you and tell you what this lady was about. Yes, we recognize it was a relatively short career,and the flaws are apparent for all to hear, but a Callas or a Moedl (the “German version of Maria in my mind) cannot be dismissed as some do, and that not every great artist necessarily wows you with just pure vocal tone (Tebaldi,Gigli) and that in the Callas art,totally separate from anyone else who ever trod the boards, there lies a greatness that some people just do not understand…and they are caught up in this “thing” that I feel does not allow them to penetrate beyond the flaws..and it is not so difficult to identify where the greatness lies,particularly for those 10 years mentioned above (I will skip 1956,since I saw her Met debut and did in fact “dismiss her” until the pirates came out a few years later).

So get out your Armida and your Vespri and your Normas and your (Cetra)Gioconda and the entire Mexico output and even some selcted performances from the early 60′s and tell me that she does not deserve the highest praise and stop with that “ugly” stuff. Just put on the EMI “Io son l’umile ancella” if you want to hear what this lady meant and still means to millions of opera lovers (who did their HOMEWORK!!!!)

Charlie

Extraido de rec.music.opera