Callas teaches bass-baritone Willard White on Fiesco's aria

[@divox9pqr]

You can't imagine the excitement, the sensation that Maria Callas generated when she gave these master classes at Julliard. I was at the time a voice student at Manhattan School of Music. Needless to say on those days when she was in attendance, I cut my classes to go down to see and hear her at Julliard. IT WAS WORTH EVERY MINUTE!!

[@flowercy17]

How lucky of you! Wow, how was it like?

[@FabioPBarbieri]

I think I can, actually. Jesus, that is WILLARD WHITE she is schooling! And every time, she sounds better than he does - she sets a standard for him (one of the greatest bass voices I know) to reach. I can't imagine anyone else doing that.

[@Luancalfa]

That soooo cool!!! How did it fell? Her stage presence

[@violetta47]

Lucky You.. !!!!!!❤❤

[@casanovaroomsbarcelona8875]

Queen of fraseggio among many other kingdoms.

[@alicat7281]

I cannot fathom the amount of time and work Callas put into her singing. She was a powerhouse; there’s never been another soprano quite like “La Divina.” Her singing really moves me.

[@Poetessa2]

She gave all she had to her fans, her personal life was a shambles, her heart was breaking yet she went out in every performance and sang from her soul. She gave us so much, more than any other singer in history! We are blessed that she graced this planet!! She lives on forever in her angelic performances!! Love and light to you Maria always, sempre... Still laughing about the human BEANS!! haha sorry!!!

[@123pailin]

No wonder she is not forgotten. She was so much more than a voice...her sense of proportions, her plunging into a character, the way she bites into the words, the musical line, the rythm within the rythm, well no wonder she is still as present and that her enemies are still hissing....

[@RestlessTheRED]

Aren't all her enemies dead and relatively forgotten - just like they should be?

[@MarkFarago]

what a pity there is no video of this masterclass. i would love to see her while teaching

[@Shahrdad]

It always amazes me how she changes the color of the voice word to word, phrase to phrase. Most others sound exactly the same no matter what they are saying. The color of her voice changes with each word, and the urgency which which she spits the words out makes it sound as if she just thought them up.

[@RestlessTheRED]

Exactly! Her singing is incredibly alive and true, like all beauty.

[@zimnaya]

Maria sings this aria from Simon Boccanegra marvellously...it is spellbinding to listen to her. She catches every nuance and she understands the colour that every note should have. What a teacher! What a voice! She should have sung the mezzo repertoire...

[@napoleonicwarfare4621]

I mean there’s her recording of Carmen and that one aria from La Centerola. I heard it rumored that shortly before she died she was planning to return to the stage as a mezzo, however in her prime she was definitely a soprano, even into later years she still had the ranger, but she did lose some of her top notes. Her chest voice was truly profound.

[@BenEmberley]

"You have a lovely sound" - understatement. Heard Sir Willard sing at Covent Garden and his voice blew me away!!

[@ransomcoates546]

I hope he eventually learned what ‘legato’ means.

[@raigekimaru]

with someone as legendary as Callas the mere fact that she's willing to spend that much time on him means that she recognizes his talent. she's correcting him so much because she knows he has the potential to take this piece to a high level of excellence (hence the very specific corrections). she also knows that he can keep up with her as a talented vocalist.

[@notnek202]

The most intelligent opera singer of all time. The woman is a genius!!!!!

[@stephenfleschler9682]

My favorite opera singer of all is Claudia Muzio, Callas favorite too. Both shared a sorry life with Onassis.

[@SuperDaveOkie]

Enough of the quibbling about her. As a voice teacher, this archive is priceless.

[@MegaGum1]

Thing about La Callas is that there is the deepest, broadest, most profound humanity in every single note she sings. So that even tho i have no idea what she is saying i know that for the character she is portraying it is a matter of life and death. EVERYTHING matters. This is the great artist.

[@ArchdukeOfBelgrade]

I sang this for my graduation concert and I was listening this a lot. Taking all the notes. 🙂

[@fzpe856]

Archduke of Belgrade Bass - Baritone? I didn’t see that coming. 😛😛

[@lamarcusmiller2346]

how did it go!?

[@andreatrusty]

I love that the knowledge Callas had, about an artform she gave her life to, is captured forever on tape. It is a wealth of information about motivation of the phrase, the drama of the stage and the qualities of the voice. Brava Diva. You live on forever.

[@henrytudor8537]

callas! OMG! Callas! its hard to believe someone like you actually existed. wow!

[@violetta47]

She is so kind and sweet...talented..She is perfect..

[@danawinsor1380]

OK, no one loves Callas and her legacy more than I do. But lets refrain from defining anyone as "perfect." Otherwise I completely agree with you!

[@kgarmaker123]

All sopranos should have such a full middle and bottom. No excuse not to.

[@angelovocci]

She learned from Heldago, Toscaninni, Serafin... and recordings of singers before her like Muzio. She also researched what the actual composer might want, or demand not only in the score--but in personal writings pertaining to what he had written. As when she expected "viss d'arte" stops the dramatic thrust of Tosca, and found that Puccinni had stuck it in and admitted as such. She's merely asking that this singer use his voice to its full god given preinclination.

[@onigbajamo]

Toscanini? Muzio? LMAO

[@runhardhooah]

This is some of the best baby! God bless both of them, and all opera singers!

[@spintoh]

This is amazing!!

[@Redboy4]

What a shame more students didn't get to benefit from Maria's wealth of knowledge and experience like they would have, had she lived longer and taught more.

[@gregorioagatino9886]

Cara..Donna..sfortunata..meritavi di vivere a lungo..!!

[@fernandobicudo9564]

Maravilha! E o jovem pianista era o hoje brilhante Maestro Eugene Kohn.

[@1968KWT]

Maria Callas *and* Sir Willard White! 🌺🌺🌺

[@faucignymarcel9380]

Callas nous manque ...tout ce que fesait Callas touchait presque la perfection

[@raigekimaru]

"I'm a soprano...I can't...trying to" she sounds pretty damn good to me. her chest voice would give those Verdian dramatic mezzos a round for their money

[@nadetomirkova4943]

Maria Callas !!!??? ALL World love This INCREDIBLE BEAUTIFUL VOICE !!! Always with a lot of love and light N.Mirkova from Sofia - Bulgaria

[@angelovocci]

The pathos for a bass IS NOT different!!! Pathos is pathos for all singers. I am trained through the line of Tettrazinni in Bel canto, and my master teacher, mia maestra interrupts me as often when needed. callas was demanding him to excavate the ample chest resonance and full appogio to convey the emotion! She's dead on!!!

[@matthewbbenton]

I think Callas was more than capable of producing a pretty sound when she wanted to. But for her, 'pretty' always took a back seat to 'dramatic'. That was her personality, and her artistic choice -- and it usually worked. What I love about Callas, more than anything, is that she did what she felt was right. It's like the attitude a good surgeon must have -- sometimes wrong, but never in doubt.

[@rogalesi58]

Matthew Benton finally someone go it, when she wanted was more than capable to give a beautiful sound, bravo, not everyone unfortunately understands that.

[@natiaphilosophy8607]

When she sings it appears to me that this aria fits her voice more than his. She's genius 💋💋💋

[@henrytudor8537]

white is coming to my school (uni-kent) on the 25th of November. can't wait to see him.

[@Loismustdie26]

wow, thank you so much for turning me on to that. Absolutely amazing from start to finish.

[@hamb4]

@gspichuni2 This harsh voice you speak of also sang la Sonambula and quite sweetly. The same voice that sang Elvira, Violetta, She was decisive in all she did. Hence there was no iffiness in her voice. She could be the sweet little girl or the vengeful Lady Macbeth. It had it's sweet moments. Lord know, I wish she has sung the Earl King. It was not the most beautiful voice but, It made you listen.

[@Riparotondo]

Che meraviglia!!!

[@Sunflowers159]

No wonder Callas was named "La Divina". She was one of the first of the operatic actresses. Most of the singers before her concentrated mostly on their singing, and acting wasn't really very high on their list of priorities. To Callas, acting was as important as singing and others have now followed where she led. Unfortunately I wasn't fortunate enough to see Callas live, but I did see Willard White give a live concert in Winchester Cathedral at the end of the 90s.

[@raigekimaru]

she's a bass!!

[@johnfalstaff2270]

Maria Callas is fantastic.

[@eli52133]

amazing!!!

[@cristinaottanelli7249]

Veramente interessante!!

[@leadoffeohippus]

I know Callas was more of a soprano than mezzo, but after hearing this, I think I like her better as a mezzo.

[@raigekimaru]

what a dramatic voice he has

[@JoanatNo29]

He impressed me when I first came across him, which can't have been long after he was at the Juillard. If memory serves me right he was singing the title role in Otello, though I know that seems odd because it's normally a tenor role. It seems so long ago I was saying to myself 'My God, how old must he be now ?' when I checked him out and discovered he's actually younger than me !! Great to know he's stilll singing though !

[@greatmomentsofopera7170]

Wouldn’t have been Otello...

[@rayrash1]

Must have been Iago. Otello is a dramatic tenor and a bass-baritone couldn't possibly sing it.

[@raigekimaru]

5:58-6:25, best part of the clip ;P

[@hamb4]

The Vocal line, with expression is what I thought she was trying to pull out of him. He, I guess eventually found his legato. He was still searching for it at that point. The voice was rich and big, but lacked expression and legato at that time of his career. As I said, he found it. Not everybody finds it.

[@al1936ful]

She was supposedly losing her voice by then, but I sure can't tell.

[@-giakhanh--kayden-8337]

Omgod here you really here the amplitude of her chest tones. She is doubling him in the beginning and, at the bottom of her range, she is in no way outshone.

[@zegerscrousenp2712]

She is superbe. What a great interpretation of the fiesco's aria

[@paintermezzo]

Prega, Maria, per me!

[@dosquinientos]

arrassip31 If only there were MORE interruptions!Listen to the INTENTIONS behind the words ("Ah, che dissi, deliro": ) Soprano/mezzo/tenor/bass/ baritone? All must convey human emotions. White has a gorgeous voice, but Callas is right to ask "Do you understand the words," All singers must convey MEANING.

[@allancuseo7431]

LA Divina

[@js59695]

In comparison to the "great" singers we have now she was and still is amazing. She was re working her voice or at least that's what I was told. She was preparing for a return. You can hear it in a recording here on KZbin from one of her last recordings and her top was starting to blossom again.

[@ettorebariton]

dove sta la nostra callas, forse viccino a DIO, Ciprian Romania

[@BellaFirenze]

A great talent, Sir Willard White. intermusica.co.uk/artist/Sir-Willard-White

[@will_pereira_brazil]

her low notes were still wornderful!

[@rbaltimo]

MARIA CALLAS IS GIVING ME FULL LIFE IN THIS BRIEF SETTING

[@operadoc]

she has NO obligation to pass on her art as a teacher-although she clearly did. She was a singer and if she decided to teach- that is her choice. This is a ridiculous conversation

[@mojopum]

you must be out of your mind! Maria was not an instrument only, she was a human being. Singing is not evrything for a singer. She did what she could and had other problems. Do you know she gave much more to the art of singing than most people. Let her rest in peace and dont speak shit!!

[@ekmchan]

Hi, do any f u guys know what the name of this aria is? it sounds really good and i wanna download it.

[@filipp721]

a te l' estremo addio, simon boccanegra. -12 years after, hopefully you have found it by now :)

[@violetta47]

My Goddess.

[@CClarinet123]

Can anyone make out what she says to him at around 4:56?

[@CClarinet123]

@Banele Mkhize Thank you! I replayed it multiple times and couldn't understand what she was saying

[@BaritoneRobinson]

not sure which is better the quariling on the comments or listening. easy people!!! lifes too short!

[@ekmchan]

if possible..can u also send me the audio/video file to my email..thanks!

[@ininacsot]

@paintermezzo amen

[@svetchristoff49]

Yet another example of La Divina's exclusivity !! She is just NOT from this world !! I do not say WAS, I say IS because she is still here, with us. Just listen to the depth of her understanding of the aria - the music, the feel, the spirit, the rounding of the sound...God, she sings Il lacerato spirito better than any bass !! And this is long after her carrier was "over" !! Chest voice?! I mean,c'mon, even Ghiaurov was not that convincing in Prega, Maria per me at the end...... Damn !!!!!!

[@tjonesmusicman]

While all of you are so stuck on Maria Callas. Does anybody think that Willard White sounds amazing??

[@avihuboneh723]

He definitely does. And she also thought so of him.

[@SilfredoSerrano]

Because it's a Master class. In this case, the Master is teaching the young promising singer.

[@chevydude658]

I love Willard White's voice. I am a fan of his.

[@SilfredoSerrano]

Actually, many people who benefited from her masterclasses went on to have successful career. Another person who participated was Barbara Hendricks. She certainly had a career and benefited from Maria Callas

[@danawinsor1380]

Absolutely! He has (had?) the most beautiful basso voice, not to mention impressive technique.

[@Gabriel-hs9mv]

4:14 if this voice is supposed to be gone/broken…

[@NguyenThuyChinh]

whats name of this aria?

[@paradisodellerarita]

'IL LACERATO SPIRITO' VERDI SIMON BOCCANEGRA

[@Loismustdie26]

She actually began her training as a contralto, and sang as a mezzo well into her training. Though she had her greatest triumphs as soprano, she could really sing almost anything. Well she thought she could sing anything, and in truth she could, but it was because she sang whatever she wanted as much as she wanted, and because she was good enough that people would pay her to do it, that she blew out her voice so early.

[@MissAlexia]

Not true started as soprano was singing Gioconda at 17

[@svilendenchev9984]

@@MissAlexia and Santuzza at 16

[@cliffgaither]

Why did she retire ? She sounds great & I'm not a fan.

[@MrSkylark1]

It was SERAFIN who really taught her to sing musically but not to produce vocal wobbly tones.

[@MadonnaImperia]

+MrSkylark1 That is nonsense. Reviews from Greece from before she met Serafin shows that she was already a very moving singer. And when she arrived in Italy, Meneghini tells us that it was Cusinato with whom she really studied some of her roles, not Serafin.

[@12341234W1]

Madonnalmperia, I fully agree with you. Right from her first singing classes with Trivella in Athens her phrasing was already special, her fellow students all testify to that. Up to his death in 1954 Feruzzio Cusinato was her coach and singing teacher. Does anybody know who replaced him after he died ? I know that some years later she worked with Tonini.

[@DonTheBass22]

Yup, I definitely do like Willard's sound; I actually have never liked Maria Callas all that much.

[@singspieler]

what a crock of rubbish! She was under no such obligation whatsoever.

[@raigekimaru]

if the good Lord doesn't give it to you, you just don't have it. some sopranos are blessed with a rich bottom register and others are not. a soubrette or light lyric soprano should not be expected to project the lower register as Callas does in this demonstration.

[@hillmiss1736]

Wrong. If you are an opera singer, you develop every region of the voice! Develop muscles and obtain the lows and highs with support and solidity.

[@noblesetsentimentales]

Everyone has a chest voice. It is the foundation for all voices, male and female, light and heavy. So even if a leggero soprano can't and shouldn't be expected to sound like Callas, there's no excuse for not having a lower register.

[@st14]

He’s got a great voice obviously but has this tendency to sing breathy. She is constantly asking for better cord closure, but not in these words.... seems like she has a great idea of what she wants to hear but does not have the langue of the physiology of voice production. Since these times I think progress has been made in the understanding of the physiology. That’s one advantage that we have now.

[@alexanderzaphir721]

He was student ,without any experience

[@NguyenThuyChinh]

what is this piece's name?