# Could/Should Maria Callas have made the transition from opera to jazz and Broadway?



## Frank Freaking Sinatra (Dec 6, 2018)

This thread is based on the acceptance of the statement that Maria Callas is the preeminent operatic vocalist and thus one of the greatest *musicians* of the 20th century.

This question is of course purely hypothetical... but one can't help but wonder what might have been if she had been able to successfully alter her career trajectory.

But with vocal issues manifesting themselves in the late 50's which then increased to an extent in which her operatic career was over at age 41 with _Tosca_ in 1965 it does raise the question of whether she could have continued to successfully be "La Divina" (all caps) but with a less vocally taxing but still artistically rewarding repertoire that wouldn't have required the necessity to retire.

The 5 greatest female jazz singers are arguably Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughn, Dinah Washington, and either Bessie Smith or Peggy Lee.

With an unparalleled palette of vocal colorings could/should Callas have attempted to make a transition to an exploration of the Great American Songbook?

Could/should she have made a successful transition to Broadway? She was 15 years younger than Ethel Merman, 10 years younger than Mary Martin, 2 years younger than Carol Channing, 2 years older than Angela Lansbury, 12 years older than Julie Andrews.

So... Could/should she? or not?


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

I'd say not. As far as I'm aware, Callas never sang a note of popular music or jazz, though it is reported she once gave an impromptu performance of _Stormy Weather_ at a party. So steeped was she in classical music and opera from a very early age, that I doubt she'd have had any affinity for jazz or popular music.

Not that she's unique in that respect. Dawn Upshaw excepted, I can think of few classical artists who have made a successful transition to more popular fare, and even with a classically based piece like Bernstein's _Glitter and be gay_, I still prefer Barbara Cook's version to any of the coloratura sopranos who have sung it since.


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## KRoad (Jun 1, 2012)

Kiri Te Kanawa (might have spelt her name wrong) released a Jazz Standards CD some years ago, fulfilling a long held personal ambition.

It was orchestrated/conducted by Nelson Riddle, a superb arranger and the person responsible for F.S.'s very very best albums.

I bought a second-hand copy at a local flea market about a year ago. It is awful - and I mean _awful_. Te Kanawa's undoubted operatic vocal talents simply do not translate for this very different and demanding genre.

Would Callas have fared any better? We'll never know but I'm kind of glad she didn't try...


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## Frank Freaking Sinatra (Dec 6, 2018)

I'm certain now that I didn't phrase the question as clearly as I would have wished. I was asking in the sense of "What If?" she had taken a different path in life that would have led her in a different career direction. I wanted to ground the thread in a somewhat more realistic frame by suggesting a change in repertoire as a possible next step to continue her career.

I should have phrased the question in a manner that was more akin to asking if had she taken a different path early in life regarding her training could/would she have become the greatest jazz singer of all time? Or the greatest Broadway star of all time?

Vocally she's the one of the greatest musicians of the 20th century and her phrasing is without parallel.

I had just finished the Fitzgerald "Great American Songbook" series and despite being a genuine fan who admires her voice my take on her performance is that she sees the lyrics as notes rather than words and thus she has quite a narrow emotional palette.

Vaughn, Holiday, and Washington all have superior phrasing but not nearly the same quality of vocal dexterity and agility that Fitzgerald has been gifted with and thus the hypothetical question about Callas who had both.

Here's a link to the complete "Kiri Sidetracks - The Jazz Album" -






which I really don't think is all that bad if you're willing to overlook the obvious inability to swing which is a talent which has escaped every operatic singer except Dawn Upshaw as mentioned by Greg Mitchell.


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## betterthanfine (Oct 17, 2017)

One of Kiri's more successful recordings from her albums with lighter fare is this delightful ditty by the Gershwin brothers:






And more recently, I've been very impressed with Renée Fleming (who trained as a jazz singer before she turned to classical) singing the soundtrack to the film 'The Shape of Water':






It's not a genre that I would have wanted to hear Maria Callas in, to be honest.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Eileen Farrell and Renee Fleming are the most successful opera/ pop crossover artists. They both sang without any operatic sound. Callas could not have done it.


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

Noooo, definitely not. 

On the other hand, I would have been happy had she switched to Verdi mezzo roles like Azucena, Amneris and Eboli after the mid 60s.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

If the question is simply whether Callas had a voice that could have sung jazz had she grown up interested in that rather than in opera, I'd say "sure." Her dark, earthy timbre might have made a fine effect. But "crossover" by opera singer Callas? Probably not. Still, it would have been fun to hear her try.

As others have pointed out, few opera singers can do jazz well. Eileen Farrell did it quite naturally. Renee Fleming singing opera sometimes sounds as if she'd like to be singing torch songs in a smoky lounge, which she does in post #5 above. I sometimes find her jazz styling a bit too "styled" - photoshopped, so to speak - for its own good.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Callas certainly liked music other than classical (I seem to remember reading that she listened to the Beetles whilst filming Medea). She also had a collection of Latin American records (seen at the Milan Sotheby's auction). It seems that two questions are being asked here, could she have sung Jazz and should she have. I think she would have been more than capable of singing the repertoire of the Great American Songbook and probably would have enjoyed the work involved in moving from a fully supported technique to adapting her voice to a jazz technique. Although she may have had reservations about what she may have termed 'cheating'.

However, she was first and foremost a stage animal and obviously gained a great deal of satisfaction from investing in the drammatic side of her roles. Would she have found as much depth in the musicals of the 20th century? Whilst it would have been interesting, it's worth bearing in mind that Callas' other attempts at other career options didn't seem to fully satisfy her (screen actress, director and vocal coach). I would rather have heard her explore the mezzo rep or Lieder than the Great American Songbook, but it wasn't to be.

N.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

The Beetles? :lol: Ah, that darned predictive text!!


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## Larkenfield (Jun 5, 2017)

Callas singing jazz or pop? Just No. No! I don't think it was in her soul. It's not just a matter of having a great voice quality. You have to be steeped in the culture. Even most opera singers trying to sing the Great American Songbook usually sound unnatural like a fish out of water in their articulation, phrasing, and so on. Pavarotti sounded awkward singing English, even a simple Christmas carol. Opera singing requires a totally different feeling than jazz. The idea of her trying to apply her operatic voice to sing pop or jazz is excruciating because wasn't it enough that she was great at opera? Perhaps an American opera singer going pop might have a chance to succeed:


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