To imagine that I have anything new to say about Maria Callas’ 1957 performance of Anna Bolena at La Scala is sheer pomposity.
176 comments
Sponsored
Reach your audience through parterre box!
parterre box, “the most essential blog in opera” (New York Times), is now booking display and sponsored content advertising for the 2023-2024 season. Join Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Warner Classics and many others in reaching your target audience through parterre box.
Those adorable kids over at EMI Classics have followed up the ridiculous with the sublime: an mp3 download of 50 arias (over four hours of music) sung by Maria Callas for… are you ready? 99 cents.
We approach, beloveds, as unto a shrine, for these are no ordinary performances.
Only because I am a member of the You Can Never Have Too Much Callas School of Opera Listening can I recommend EMI’s new release The Callas Effect. The beautifully packaged production is the size of a small paperback book and consists of two CDs with 29 arias sung by Callas plus a new 70-minute…
The already notorious or celebrated or whatever it is version of the “Habanera” featuring (in alphabetical order) Maria Callas and Angela Gheorghiu: it’s been released, and you can experience after the jump.
Even though that other soprano, whatever her name is, has garnered a lot of ink for opening the Met season with Anna Bolena, the real news here is the “dream team” Gheorghiu/Callas collaboration, a highlight of which has been the “Divina Draculette” photo retouching competition. La Cieca has sifted the many fine entries and has…
La Cieca would like to nudge gently the cher public with a reminder that there is only one day left in the great “Divina Draculette” photo retouching competition, noting the slight change in rules calling for you to email La Cieca with your photos. Prizes for the best in show include Sony’s live Met CD…
On this day 34 years ago, Maria Callas died in her apartment in Paris. Since then the iconic diva has been recollected, documented, analyzed, digitized and portrayed by Tyne Daly. La Cieca invites you, the cher public, to keep her mind today by sharing your favorite Callas performances in the comments section.
Oh, this should turn out well: “Angela Gheorghiu has recorded a collection of French and Italian opera arias in tribute to the late Maria Callas for EMI Classics…. included are arias by Puccini, Gounod, Bellini, Leoncavallo, Saint-Saëns, Catalani, Bizet, Giordano, Cherubini, Massenet and Cilèa.” Which gives La Cieca an idea for a competition, after the…
Like the double or triple negative (where theoretically pairs of “nots” cancel each other out, but in practice you can’t be so sure) this tidbit of news La Cieca just read has her confused and uncertain. It seems that at a recital in Tulsa last night, Dame Kiri te Kanawa sang as an encore a…
“Le pene d’amore non uccisero la Callas” reads the rather sensational headline: “The pains of love did not kill Callas.” The actual story in La Stampa is more sober, telling of an investigative study into the causes of the diva’s vocal decline and eventual death.
La Divina was born on (or about) December 3, 1923.
Maria Callas died 33 years ago, September 16, 1977.
“Greek Fire…. will see [Eva] Mendes playing the role of famed opera singer Maria Callas, but don’t expect her to be doing any arias, or even lip-synching for that matter. Instead, the biographical drama will focus on Callas’ scandalous affair with shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis.” [Toronto Sun]
French actress and Bond Girl Eva Green (Casino Royale) is in talks to star as Maria Callas in a biopic from Italy’s DeAngelis Group (DAP) and British producer partner Future Films. The project will be co-produced by Swarovski, “whose bling was often worn by the iconic opera star on stage and off.” [Hollywood Reporter]
After all these years of solitude, La Cieca has finally found another opera fan with a Maria Callas tattoo! More photos after the jump.
La Cieca is delighted to hear that the Opéra de Paris and soprano Natalie Dessay just last night performed an hommage to Maria Callas by recreating one of the most famous nights of La Divina’s career. Unfortunately, that “night” was January 2, 1958, and in the intervening half century, opera management still hasn’t learned its…
Our Own JJ discusses Maria Callas and her Voice Of Perfect Imperfection with NPR’s Lynn Neary.
“Oh God! Oh justice dear to God! Oh light of the sun!” La Divina discusses her cinematic debut.
Maria Callas was born 86 years ago today in New York City.
La Cieca hears that Eva Mendes (“Crystal” in the recent horrific remake of The Women) will play Maria Callas in a biopic based on the diva’s life.
One of La Cieca’s most trusted spies wangled his way into the house last night for the surprise cast change in Lucia di Lammermoor, and here’s his report: Perhaps it is the side benefit of low expectations, but I was not offended by Anna Netrebko‘s performance on Tuesday night. Though certainly not a bel canto…
The very first issue of parterre box (the queer opera zine) was published on December 3, 1993, the 70th anniversary of the of birth Maria Callas. And so that must mean that parterre box is exactly 15 years old today! To kick off what La Cieca devoutly hopes will be festivities, here is an interview…
“Maria Callas arrives in San Francisco in 1958 with her toy poodle and 17 pieces of luggage,” reported the San Francisco Chronicle 50 years ago (November 24, 2008).
Sponsored
Win tickets to Piotr Beczala at Carnegie Hall!
pb—with our friends at Carnegie Hall—is giving away two tickets to PB’s December concert. Enter now!
Sponsored
Win tickets to Piotr Beczala at Carnegie Hall!
pb—with our friends at Carnegie Hall—is giving away two tickets to PB’s December concert. Enter now!
