Maria Callas in Paris (video of her concert):
Moving and sublime, Callas was the “voice of the century”. We see her filmed during two recitals in Paris.
In her lifetime Maria Callas was a legend. Ever since her death on
September 16th, 1977, she lives on in the memory of the public at large,
far beyond the circle of opera fans. Callas was real on stage, like no
other singer before her: “Compared to her, most singers were pleasant to
listen to, but as if they were disconnected from reality, recalls
Renata Scotto. Callas spoke to us in the present”. One needn’t say more
than that !
Callas had to struggle her whole life since her birth in New York in
1923 from a mother who had wanted a boy; because of her physical
appearance which she completely transformed (she was fat and wore thick
glasses), because of her tumultuous relationship with Onassis and
finally because of her voice which abandoned her so early…
1965: when she sings Norma by Bellini at the Opéra de Paris,
Callas is but the shadow of herself. She quits at the fifth performance
before the second scene of the second act. Yet, a few days before, on
May 2nd at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Callas, accompanied by the
Orchestra of the ORTF and Georges Prêtre, borders on the sublime. With
the intelligence of each word and of each note she offers three
unforgettable arias: "Adieu notre petite table..." (Manon by Massenet), "Ah, non credea mirarti..." (La Somnambula by Bellini), "Oh, mio babbino caro..." (Gianni Schicchi by Puccini). She is beautiful and moving.
She was already very beautiful a few years before, when she made her
debut in France on December 19th, 1958 at the Paris Opera during a gala
event in the presence of President René Coty. The television was there
and this document bears witness to the supreme artistry of the Callas.
With two arias from Norma by Bellini, including Casta Diva, two arias from Il Trovatore by Verdi and to conclude the Barber of Seville by Rossini, the crowd throws itself
at her feet. Present that evening was Aristotle Onassis, who comes to
congratulate her in her dressing room. But that’s another story…
