parterre box

15 comments

• ljc says:

  Getting at what nationality to tag onto singers–when Toscanini met Callas at La Scala he griped that he could not understand her Italian, and maybe Tullio S. said she was “Greek-American” the reason for her accent. So, in some circles La Divina was considered to be partially American.

  on August 25, 2007 at 3:50 PM
• Doug says:

  not to mention the fact that she was born in America …

  on August 25, 2007 at 4:50 PM
• ljc says:

  How “American” did Callas consider herself to be? She seems to have floated in an internationalness. Going to Fremstad, she was a lovechild the Fremstads took in and brought with them to Minnesota, where she grew up, and after her career crashed she spent the rest of her life in upstate NY in a kind of seclusion for about 35 years.

  on August 25, 2007 at 5:41 PM
• ljc says:

  Sorry that my first comment on Callas was worded somewhat poorly.

  on August 25, 2007 at 5:44 PM
• celticpriestess says:

  Regarding how “American” Callas considered herself to be, she certainly led a very international existence, and perhaps that was how she thought of herself. However, when the Met re-aired her 1956 broadcast of Lucia, they included an interview with her, and I recall she said something to the effect of “one reason I want to do well at the Met is that this is America’s premier opera house, and I am an American.” Whether that was her true feeling or meant for public consumption, we’ll never know. Still, she maintained her U.S. citizenship until late in her life, so she identified herself as American in that sense. I also recall reading that a reporter said to her, “Mme. Callas, you were born in America, you got most of your musical training in Greece, and you’re married to an Italian and you live there now. I wonder… what language do you think in?” Callas reportedly said with just the hint of a smile, “I count in English!” )

  on August 25, 2007 at 8:05 PM