Maria Callas about voice, singing and rivals (1957)

[@laconja1]

I love classical music, but I was never a huge fan of opera until I went to see a movie called Callas Forever and of course the singing was recordings of Maria Callas I fell in love with her voice & I went and bought a few CD's of her & watch documentaries about her life and became more and more Fascinated by her as an artist and as a person. Wish I could have seen her perform live. R.I.P. Maria Callas 🙏🙏🙏

[@nossenos16]

Everyone have an opinion about Callas voice and that’s proof of the quality of it. A pretty voice is in the end most likely to be an uninteresting one. Callas had a timbre that cut like a knife, never leaving the listener at ease but you can always count on her musicality - she never sang a false note in her career. She was a true virtuoso and brought intelligence and artistry to her profession. An incomparable musician.

[@stefanomarzari4388]

Callas truly had an expressive voice and impressive technique, she could sing Wagner and Rossini with the same confidence and mastery. She was always at the service of the music and the character. There have been other great singers, but no new Callas. She remains an inimitable and miraculous vocal and theatrical phenomenon.

[@Innerthoughtsjournals]

Her voìce touched heaven.

[@apostolia2124]

Her voice was soothing and warm even when she was talking !! 💙💙

[@ligeiasiren4290]

QUEEN 🖤

[@johnkearns35]

I think Callas and Tebaldi were both magnificent vocalists. Why does one have to be a rival? Why not appreciate the beautiful voices of two different people!

[@top10in5languages3]

I think rivalry is about roles, jobs and opportunities. They could appreciate each other and we can but money is money, and people in industry would like to earn money out of the better one.

[@markdrinkwater1508]

She had no rivals.

[@silverkitty2503]

she did not

[@correasilvio2010]

Yes, Leyla Gencer!

[@markdrinkwater1508]

@@correasilvio2010 Ridiculous.

[@nicknick34]

Cynthia Erivo probably think she's her rival

[@foggyqubti6288]

None

[@sarahfleiss]

👏

[@roybroad757]

Wat about ponselle and muzio they sang believe canto and verismo

[@jadhobeika1444]

I truly respect this artist and her contributions, but I have a different perspective on the topic. Singing isn’t a competition about who can take on more roles; just because someone can sing several parts doesn’t necessarily make them better. In fact, having a wide range of roles doesn’t guarantee quality. Art is more about quality than quantity! Imagine this: if you can perform four roles, but singer X excels in two of them and singer Y does the other two even better than you, then the world of art can thrive beautifully without you. They are the ones who truly bring those characters to life in the best way possible. It’s really a matter of beauty, and the number of roles doesn’t determine your status or place in the artistic world. Now, if we follow her reasoning about the importance of quantity, others could argue that she's not a rival either because her technique may have affected her voice at a young age. Meanwhile, those other singers have healthier technique that allowed them longer careers. So her technique allowed more roles leading to them not being rivals can be counter argued that their technique led to longer careers and hence she is not a rival !!!! The bottom line is this: we should never judge art based on quantity! It’s all about quality. Give me 1 extraordinary song, and I’ll remember you forever. This principle applies to composers and artists in general. Take Bizet, for instance-he created just two famous operas, yet "Carmen" is still beloved today and often performed. On the flip side, there are countless composers with extensive catalogs whose works aren’t as memorable. They might think, "Comparing ourselves to Bizet, we have more to offer! more genres etc..." but that doesn’t hold up against the impact he made. So, no matter how many roles you’ve sung, dear Callas, it’s really about finding that 1 performance or 1song that resonates. That’s what truly sticks with us. Quality, quality, quality-when it comes to art (and life in general), it’s what endures over time! The quantity may initially captivate some members of the audience. However, in the long run, quality remains paramount.

[@ritament-jq6bo]

it is so funny that she spoke english with a greek accent and greek with an italinan accent...

[@TransVangal]

#Intelligent Wow

[@Cameristico]

She was a great actress besides good singer. As operatic voices her rivals were; RenataTebaldi and Leyla Gencer.

[@sgnmath1234]

Tebaldi could not rival Callas in Bellini, Donizetti and other early music. She had neither the range nor flexibility of Callas. So how is that a rivalry ?

[@dumitrescugabriel1704]

La sola e unica Callas. Viva Maria ! Best regards from Romania, Gabriel D.

[@vickyk1861]

Fair enough

[@nadideelmas6652]

Zirvedekiler hep yalnızdır bizim tayfa da öyleydi

[@Orfeus80]

She was terribly insecure since she felt she had to make such comments. No pianist, violinist or other legendary classical musician went around making similar self-important comments and bitching about their colleagues.

[@hrvoje14]

Nonsense. She wasn’t going around making comments; she kept being ASKED/HOUNDED about these things in interviews, so she answered. And speaking of being insecure, Tebaldi never had a problem acknowledging this simple truth, so why should you?

[@Orfeus80]

@hrvoje14 haha, poor Callas being hounded by the bad people again. When will the pity party end? Not sure which, as you like to call it "truth" Tebaldi acknowledged. Nobody doubts that Callas was a special singer, but so were others. To go around claiming she alone did this or that as if there hadn't been other great singers, is pure pretentiousness. We know now that singing all those roles with an incomplete technique was a major contributing factor to her vocal collapse within a few years. Lesson learned Madame Callas. I couldn't care less if a wonderful Mimi also sings a dozen other roles. When I go to a Boheme, I want a great Mimi.

[@hrvoje14]

@@Orfeus80 You can love or hate Callas, but that doesn’t change the fact that: 1. She was hounded by the (often hostile) press like no other singer of her day; 2. No other soprano of her day (except to some extent Gencer, but often with dubious results) had the ability to sing successfully the same breadth of repertoire as Callas. 3. Tebaldi acknowledged 2. in multiple interviews.

[@Orfeus80]

@hrvoje14 the level of success is subjective. Just as you question Gencer's success, Callas's results in roles like Mimi, Manon Lescaut, Turandot, Leonora in Forza, Aida, Butterfly, Maddalena were questioned at the time and today by those who can hear her struggling to sing them well. She was after the press herself and she kept feeding them with self-important stories and statements like the ones in this clip. She went to those vanity parties, yachts and she went after rich, powerful men. Yes, she was the only soprano of her generation who did those things. I'll give you that.

[@hrvoje14]

@ You’re so right: Callas was Satan incarnated and couldn’t sing a note. Thank you! 😘😘

[@IvanProgress]

Nop

[@leilani319]

It was a disgrace that Maria was not nominated for an Academy Award for her performance in the film adaptation of Madea. She was a brilliant actress on stage and on film! ⭐️🪽

[@afritimm]

I dont think Pasolini knew how to use Callas in that film.

[@gulamdastagir245]

: Maria was La Divina.. I love her music.. but sorry to say she was not a Movie Actress. She looked wooden in 'Medea'. She was no Audrey Hepburn on Screen.

[@Bacchusmbt]

Did you HAVE to use a picture with Callas smoking? 🤢

[@segu82]

@@Bacchusmbt what’s the problem?

[@Bacchusmbt]

@@segu82 besides you? Smoking is disgusting and not flattering to look at.

[@segu82]

@@Bacchusmbt you’re so boring…

[@dongyuemiao]

She smoked, she was human.

[@sharondessisso8400]

What I’m curious about was how was she able to smoke and sing so beautifully?

[@lovenottheworld5723]

She drove herself into the ground.

[@robertbaker3100]

Embarrassing narcissism.

[@brunobalzano7566]

Questo non è narcisismo ma perfetta e legittima consapevolezza del proprio strumento vocale e capacità. Questa donna ha insegnato (col suo esempio, fatto di inenarrabili sacrifici, per chi ne conosce la storia e l'evoluzione artistica) come si canta e a tutt'oggi nessuno lo ha ancora capito. Questa donna ha dato all'arte canora il più alto contributo possibile, diventando lei stessa Arte. Definire il suo punto di vista come "narcisismo imbarazzante" è da ignoranti, nel senso vero della parola: ignorare, non sapere, non conoscere. E se non si sa o non si conosce è meglio tacere. Maria forever ❤

[@psimms5190]

@@brunobalzano7566❤

[@Charlz1980tv]

Well, you have indeed an embarrassingly narcissistic streak about you...

[@piruja1965-mf6sw]

@@brunobalzano7566 Cantare con una voce irregolare nei registri è cantare male, avere un basso forzato, un centro intubato e acuti stridenti con vibrazioni irregolari è cantare male

[@kbhprinsesse]

@@piruja1965-mf6sw so is singing the coloratura at half speed, cutting out the trills and shouting loudly as a substitue for proper dramatic expression = Tebaldi.

[@johnkearns35]

I think Callas and Tebaldi were both magnificent vocalists. Why does one have to be a rival? Why not appreciate the beautiful voices of two different people!

[@unclealand]

Please don't ever lose that perspective. Opera queens that insist their personal choices are "ne plus ultra" will be thorns in our sides until they're six feet under.