# Maria Callas and Mozart: Destined to be distant from one another?



## Green pasture (Aug 11, 2015)

I adore both Maria Callas and Mozart. But the two seem to have a rather distant relationship.  This kind of relationship is what makes it an interesting topic of discussion.

Callas sang only one Mozart role on stage in her entire career: Constanze in Mozart's _Die Entführung aus dem Serail _ (Abduction from the Seraglio), and moreover, only 4 times at La Scala in April 1952 and that's it.

In her existing live and studio recorded legacy, Mozart also has a rather meagre presence as well:

1. Test recording made in Jan 1953 for EMI, just before she recorded her first complete recording of LUCIA.

2. Constanze's aria "Marten aller Arten" from Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail, programmed for a Italian Radio and Television Concert at San Remo in Dec 1954.

3. "Marten aller Arten" in the recording of the rehearsal for the opening concert of the Dallas Civic Opera in Nov 1957.

4. Donna Anna's two arias, Donna Elvira's aria (Don Giovanni) and the Countess' Act 2 aria (Le Nozze di Figaro) in an album featuring arias by Mozart, Beethoven and Weber for EMI in 1963. By then she was deep in her vocal decline and one would never count the Mozart arias as the highlights of her recorded legacy.

Callas' own experience of and feelings for Mozart are best summed up in a statement made during a session on Don Giovanni's aria in the series of masterclasses she conducted at the Juilliard School of Music in 1971:

*"He (Don Giovanni) is much more interesting than Donna Anna. I am not belittling her music, but really that woman is a crushing bore. Donna Elvira is more interesting - though not much more. She will not take no for an answer. I never considered singing the Queen of the Night either, nor the Countess. This does not mean that they are not good roles. An artist must feel for these people if they are to be portrayed with any integrity. Mozart is undoubtedly an extraordinary genius and I cannot imagine the world without him, but generally speaking his operatic music does not really take me out of this world. It is the Mozart of the piano concertos that I love passionately." *

As to why Mozart was an outsider to Callas' repertoire, Jurgen Kesting offered this explanation:

"She could not identify with the [Mozart roles]...in two senses...she did not possess a harmonious voice, but one in which drama unfolded. From that voice came the emotional sound of an injured, confused and vulnerable soul. Her temperament did not know moderation, but rather outburst, agitation, and exaltation. Even when she was portraying a pastoral figure like Bellini's Amina and singing her cantilenas with infinite delicacies and even sweetness, one could still detect, so to speak, the shadow of a romantic death-wish. Mozart on the other hand demands of singers a sense of form which is not merely external - a sound which does not know vocal exertion or agitation (without being anaemic), and which also demands a portrayal without gestures of suffering, sacrifice, lasciviousness, demonism, darkness and madness, which are the gestures of romantic singers in the tradition of ancient tragedy...Callas had a voice for the beauty of terror. 

The issue of the distance between Callas and Mozart could bring out a lot of further questions and issues. Any substantial thought is welcome.


----------



## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

^ My own view is that Callas didn't find the music challenging enough from a dramatic angle- which both Callas and Kesting both say albeit in different ways.


----------



## Green pasture (Aug 11, 2015)

Marschallin Blair said:


> ^ My own view is that she didn't find the music challenging enough from a dramatic angle- which both Callas and Kesting both say albeit in different ways.


Just my thought as well. _;D_

As for the role of Fiordiligi in Cosi fan tutte, there was one session on Fiordiligi's "Come scoglio" in the Juilliard masterclass, but she did not say anything about how she felt personally towards this particular role. I guess she probably found the angry outburst and pronounced declaration of female constancy and fidelity in the Act 1 "Come scoglio" relatively more interesting than monolithic feeling and tone of guilt in the Act 2 "Per pieta".


----------



## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

I'm actually glad Callas didn't sing Mozart else we'd only be 'allowed' by some people to listen to her. As it is we have a host of great Mozart singers. Of course it just illustrates the fact that no artist - however great - had it all. For example, I don't think Vickers would have made a good Tamino but I also don't think Wunderlich would have given Tristan much of a go either!


----------



## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Callas had a dramatic instrument rather than a lyric one. (I sometimes wonder if she was actually a dramatic mezzo, but whatever ones approach to vocal fach, nobody would consider her a _lyric_ soprano or mezzo.) It's hard to cast such dramatic voices in Mozart (they usually get lumbered with Donna Anna, but I think Elvira is a far more vocally dramatic a role (compare Callas' singing of their arias, she's a better Elvira than Anna)).

Had she so wanted and had she had the opportunity I think she would have made an interesting Donna Elvira, Fiordiligi and Queen of the Night in her early years. However, there are other roles that she didn't sing that would have suited her better (Beatrice di Tenda/Lucrezia Borgia/Elisabetta in Roberto Devereux and some of the Verdi roles that she didn't sing on stage).

N.


----------



## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

plumblossom said:


> As to why Mozart was an outsider to Callas' repertoire, Jurgen Kesting offered this explanation:
> 
> "She could not identify with the [Mozart roles]...in two senses...she did not possess a harmonious voice, but one in which drama unfolded. From that voice came the emotional sound of an injured, confused and vulnerable soul. Her temperament did not know moderation, but rather outburst, agitation, and exaltation. Even when she was portraying a pastoral figure like Bellini's Amina and singing her cantilenas with infinite delicacies and even sweetness, one could still detect, so to speak, the shadow of a romantic death-wish. Mozart on the other hand demands of singers a sense of form which is not merely external - a sound which does not know vocal exertion or agitation (without being anaemic), and which also demands a portrayal without gestures of suffering, sacrifice, lasciviousness, demonism, darkness and madness, which are the gestures of romantic singers in the tradition of ancient tragedy...Callas had a voice for the beauty of terror.


I think this is beautifully expressed, and Kesting echoes my own feelings about Callas's voice as an instrument with peculiar capabilities. It was a voice of earthiness, passion, and tragedy, a voice that destined her for the moors of Sir Walter Scott, not for the powdered wigs and snuff boxes of Beaumarchais. That said, she could have been a fine Donna Elvira, or a superb Electra in _Idomeneo_, had Mozart appealed to her more.


----------



## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

DavidA said:


> I'm actually glad Callas didn't sing Mozart else we'd only be 'allowed' by some people to listen to her. As it is we have a host of great Mozart singers. Of course it just illustrates the fact that no artist - however great - had it all. For example, I don't think Vickers would have made a good Tamino but I also don't think Wunderlich would have given Tristan much of a go either!


Interesting non sequitur.

Do you live in North Korea or under the Spanish Inquisition?


----------



## Flamme (Dec 30, 2012)

LOL Marschallin knows how to strike a blow!


----------



## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Vitellia might have suited her too.

I do wish, however, that a recording existed of her Costanze at La Scala. Both performances of _Martern aller Arten_ (the RAI concert and the Dallas recital) are absolutely thrilling.

I also love her test recordings of Donna Anna's _Non mi dir_. She made two test recordings for EMI in 1953, just before recording her first studio *Lucia di Lammermoor*. She sounds marginally more relaxed in the second, but in both she sails through it as if it is the easiest thing in the world. There is a moment of pure magic as well, as she phrases through and onwards into the second statement of _Non mi dir_.


----------



## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

GregMitchell said:


> Vitellia might have suited her too.
> 
> I do wish, however, that a recording existed of her Costanze at La Scala. Both performances of _Martern aller Arten_ (the RAI concert and the Dallas recital) are absolutely thrilling.
> 
> I also love her test recordings of Donna Anna's _Non mi dir_. She made two test recordings for EMI in 1953, just before recording her first studio *Lucia di Lammermoor[/B. She sounds marginally more relaxed in the second, but in both she sails through it as if it is the easiest thing in the world. There is a moment of pure magic as well, as she phrases through and onwards into the second statement of Non mi dir.*


*

I need to revisit these.*


----------



## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

The fact that Callas didn't 'get' Mozart does not diminish Mozart but merely shows that even a great artist has limitations. After all, I don't believe Callas sang eg Bach or Richard Strauss, did she? I don't believe she was a great exponent of Schubert Leider either. But this is not to diminish these composers but to say that Callas (a canny artist) knew her own limitations. Even as great a pianist as Richter said once he didn't really 'get' Mozart. But the, he said, that was his problem not Mozart's!


----------



## Balthazar (Aug 30, 2014)

plumblossom said:


> As to why Mozart was an outsider to Callas' repertoire, Jurgen Kesting offered this explanation:
> 
> "She could not identify with the [Mozart roles]...in two senses...*she did not possess a harmonious voice*, but one in which drama unfolded. From that voice came the emotional sound of an injured, confused and vulnerable soul. *Her temperament did not know moderation*, but rather outburst, agitation, and exaltation. Even when she was portraying a pastoral figure like Bellini's Amina and singing her cantilenas with infinite delicacies and even sweetness, one could still detect, so to speak, the shadow of a romantic death-wish. *Mozart on the other hand demands of singers a sense of form which is not merely external* - a sound which does not know vocal exertion or agitation (without being anaemic), and which also demands a portrayal without gestures of suffering, sacrifice, lasciviousness, demonism, darkness and madness, which are the gestures of romantic singers in the tradition of ancient tragedy...Callas had a voice for the beauty of terror.


Kesting nailed it. Callas's voice was not suited for Mozart.

Maria Callas famously said, "It's not enough to have a beautiful voice."

I would add, "...but it's not a bad place to start."

For Mozart at least.


----------



## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

plumblossom said:


> As to why Mozart was an outsider to Callas' repertoire, Jurgen Kesting offered this explanation:
> 
> "She could not identify with the [Mozart roles]...in two senses...she did not possess a harmonious voice, but one in which drama unfolded. From that voice came the emotional sound of an injured, confused and vulnerable soul. Her temperament did not know moderation, but rather outburst, agitation, and exaltation. Even when she was portraying a pastoral figure like Bellini's Amina and singing her cantilenas with infinite delicacies and even sweetness, one could still detect, so to speak, the shadow of a romantic death-wish. Mozart on the other hand demands of singers a sense of form which is not merely external - a sound which does not know vocal exertion or agitation (without being anaemic), and which also demands a portrayal without gestures of suffering, sacrifice, lasciviousness, demonism, darkness and madness, which are the gestures of romantic singers in the tradition of ancient tragedy...Callas had a voice for the beauty of terror."


I find Catherine Malfitano's view a bit more apposite than Kesting's with regards to Callas' Mozart:
_
"Callas transcended and transformed pain and difficulty into sheer weightlessness and ease and joy. It's absolute perfection in itself, and then on top of that she overlays expression - that's the thing I adored about this singer. She must have spent hours, days, weeks, years on this art, you know? The one I'm floored by is the Entfuhrung that she did. ["Martern aller Arten"] is just beyond belief. I don't think anyone has sung it better. . ."_

- James C. Whitson, "The Callas Legacy," _Opera News_, October 2005


----------



## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

DavidA said:


> The fact that Callas didn't 'get' Mozart does not diminish Mozart but merely shows that even a great artist has limitations. After all, I don't believe Callas sang eg Bach or Richard Strauss, did she? I don't believe she was a great exponent of Schubert Leider either. But this is not to diminish these composers but to say that Callas (a canny artist) knew her own limitations. Even as great a pianist as Richter said once he didn't really 'get' Mozart. But the, he said, that was his problem not Mozart's!


I'm not sure what you mean about her not "getting" Mozart, unless you are referring to her oft quoted flippant remark that she found Mozart's music dull. Maybe she meant that it didn't provide her with the dramatic challenges and contrasts that she reveled in. That said her singing of Costanze's _Martern aller Arten _ and her test recordings of Donna Anna's _Non mi dir_ (never intended for release, by the way) are far from her dull. Unlike most opera singers, Callas was also an accomplished pianist and apparently knew and played the music of a wide range of composers.

Though she may not have sung Lieder when her main career started, her concert repertoire when still in Greece may surprise you, as it included Lieder by most of the great Lieder composers as well as English song, no doubt learned to please the English soldiers posted there at the end of the war. Right at the end of her career, she learned and sang Duparc's _L'invitation au voyage_ for a French TV concert and interview. Unfortunately, because of time constraints, it was never transmitted and the footage has been lost.

If she decided to stick with opera, and more specifically the music of the _bel canto_, I imagine it had little to do with a non-appreciation or understanding of the music of other composers.


----------



## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

GregMitchell said:


> I'm not sure what you mean about her not "getting" Mozart, unless you are referring to her oft quoted flippant remark that she found Mozart's music dull. Maybe she meant that it didn't provide her with the dramatic challenges and contrasts that she reveled in. That said her singing of Costanze's _Martern aller Arten _ and her test recordings of Donna Anna's _Non mi dir_ (never intended for release, by the way) are far from her dull. Unlike most opera singers, Callas was also an accomplished pianist and apparently knew and played the music of a wide range of composers.
> 
> Though she may not have sung Lieder when her main career started, her concert repertoire when still in Greece may surprise you, as it included Lieder by most of the great Lieder composers as well as English song, no doubt learned to please the English soldiers posted there at the end of the war. Right at the end of her career, she learned and sang Duparc's _L'invitation au voyage_ for a French TV concert and interview. Unfortunately, because of time constraints, it was never transmitted and the footage has been lost.
> 
> If she decided to stick with opera, and more specifically the music of the _bel canto_, I imagine it had little to do with a non-appreciation or understanding of the music of other composers.


In all fairness we can only go by what Callas actually said. Whether the remark was flippant or not only she knew. The fact is she was not a good Mozart singer simply because she didn't sing Mozart. Like Gould was not a good Schubert pianist simply because he never cared for Schubert and never played him. Whether Callas could have been a good Mozart singer is a matter of speculation based on the few recordings she made. Again with Leider, she simply didn't do it because she chose opera. So why speculate?


----------



## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

DavidA said:


> In all fairness we can only go by what Callas actually said. Whether the remark was flippant or not only she knew. The fact is she was not a good Mozart singer simply because she didn't sing Mozart. Like Gould was not a good Schubert pianist simply because he never cared for Schubert and never played him. Whether Callas could have been a good Mozart singer is a matter of speculation based on the few recordings she made. Again with Leider, she simply didn't do it because she chose opera. So why speculate?


It was you who chose to speculate. It is not speculation to state that Callas's singing of Costanze's "Martern aller Arten" is one of the most thrilling you will ever hear. Not only does she embrace its technical demands with ease, but, for once, you hear defiance and danger, which is surely what Mozart intended. The test tecording of Donna Anna's "Non mi dir" is equally assured, and we are reminded that this is an appeal to Don Ottavio, so brilliantly does she execute Mozart's instructions. Of course I am not saying she is unique in this respect, but this test recording is much more than a mere curiosity or footnote.

And of course she did sing Mozart, albeit just the one role (Costanze at La Scala). It is too bad that the only commercial recordings we have of Callas singing Mozart were made at the end of her career when, vocally, it was beyond her. To imply that she didn't sing Mozart because she didn't "get" his music is speculation on your part , as there is enough evidence to suggest she "got" it very well, whatever her reasons for not including Mozart in her repertoire.


----------



## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

GregMitchell said:


> It was you who chose to speculate. It is not speculation to state that Callas's singing of Costanze's "Martern aller Arten" is one of the most thrilling you will ever hear. Not only does she embrace its technical demands with ease, but, for once, you hear defiance and danger, which is surely what Mozart intended. The test tecording of Donna Anna's "Non mi dir" is equally assured, and we are reminded that this is an appeal to Don Ottavio, so brilliantly does she execute Mozart's instructions. Of course I am not saying she is unique in this respect, but this test recording is much more than a mere curiosity or footnote.
> 
> And of course she did sing Mozart, albeit just the one role (Costanze at La Scala). It is too bad that the only commercial recordings we have of Callas singing Mozart were made at the end of her career when, vocally, it was beyond her. To imply that she didn't sing Mozart because she didn't "get" his music is speculation on your part , as there is enough evidence to suggest she "got" it very well, whatever her reasons for not including Mozart in her repertoire.


The evidentiary record is in fact quite the contrary- I agree.

The most thrilling Mozart I've ever heard sung by a soprano are Callas (who was warming up and just getting her feet wet) and Edda Moser on her EMI Mozart recital disc.


----------



## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

GregMitchell said:


> It was you who chose to speculate. It is not speculation to state that Callas's singing of Costanze's "Martern aller Arten" is one of the most thrilling you will ever hear. Not only does she embrace its technical demands with ease, but, for once, you hear defiance and danger, which is surely what Mozart intended. The test tecording of Donna Anna's "Non mi dir" is equally assured, and we are reminded that this is an appeal to Don Ottavio, so brilliantly does she execute Mozart's instructions. Of course I am not saying she is unique in this respect, but this test recording is much more than a mere curiosity or footnote.
> 
> And of course she did sing Mozart, albeit just the one role (Costanze at La Scala). It is too bad that the only commercial recordings we have of Callas singing Mozart were made at the end of her career when, vocally, it was beyond her. *To imply that she didn't sing Mozart because she didn't "get" his music is speculation on your part* , as there is enough evidence to suggest she "got" it very well, whatever her reasons for not including Mozart in her repertoire.


Sorry Greg, she said it herself in as many words!

"Mozart is undoubtedly an extraordinary genius and I cannot imagine the world without him, but generally speaking his operatic music does not really take me out of this world. "

She is implying it was not for her! In her own words.


----------



## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

DavidA said:


> Sorry Greg, she said it herself in as many words!
> 
> "Mozart is undoubtedly an extraordinary genius and I cannot imagine the world without him, but generally speaking his operatic music does not really take me out of this world. "
> 
> She is implying it was not for her! In her own words.


Well I always think we should judge musicians by what they do, rather than what they say. They generally articulate a great deal more through their music making, than they ever do with their words.

And who are you to decide what she was implying? You can only make an inference.


----------



## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

GregMitchell said:


> Well I always think we should judge musicians by what they do, rather than what they say. They generally articulate a great deal more through their music making, than they ever do with their words.
> 
> And who are you to decide what she was implying? You can only make an inference.


I would take anything DavidA says with a grain of salt. He once quoted Count Gobineau- and deliberately said that it was Wagner, in order to make Wagner look bad.


----------



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

One would think that being a master of the Bel Canto technique like Callas was would qualify one to be a superb Mozartean, like Sutherland. I heard an opera scholar talk of Mozart the other day and he said that Mozart was Italianate opera, not Italian opera. It was a very different temperament than Bellini and Donizetti. I enjoyed Callas few outings into Mozart, but you felt that she was somewhat in a straight jacket as her voice and temperament were naturally wilder, less unified that the Mozart style. BTW, Mozart is great for the singing voice, and Renee Fleming attributes her very long, successful career to singing lots of Mozart for a good bulk of her career. My sister, an opera teacher and voice teacher for 40 years now, says Mozart and Bach are the healthiest composers to sing for the voice. You must always use perfect technique.


----------



## Green pasture (Aug 11, 2015)

Callas did remark that Mozart's music is 'dull'. Yet this remark would have to be analyzed in context. By doing so, we would be able to see that she was not merely saying that she could not identify with most of Mozart's roles. She was also referring to the way Mozart's operatic music was generally performed.

During a session on Donna Anna's aria "Non mi dir" in the series of masterclasses conducted at Juilliard, Callas told her students:

"Mozart is usually sung with too much delicacy, as though the singer were on tiptoes, when his music should be performed with the same frankness and _bel canto _approach one would use in IL TROVATORE, for example. Mozart, after all, was a master of _bel canto_, and a necessity of _bel canto_ is a full, sustained tone and good legato. So sing Mozart as though he were Verdi; there is no difference in approach."

When discussing Pamina's aria "Ach, ich fühl's" she said:

"Dramatically this aria is a simple, direct statement of Pamina's state of mind at this particular moment. Yet it must have expression. In Mozart, as in Bellini, anguish is anguish, and the public must be made to feel it. But too many singers lose expression in Mozart because they overdo the _pianos_, overdo the style. They do Mozart an injustice. His music is not frilly lace; it is music to be felt as deeply as any other." 

Believe these remarks from Maria would invite a new round of discussions and debates. All substantiated views are welcome. _;D_


----------



## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

GregMitchell said:


> Well I always think *we should judge musicians by what they do*, rather than what they say. They generally articulate a great deal more through their music making, than they ever do with their words.
> 
> And who are you to decide what she was implying? You can only make an inference.


And if we judge her by what she did *she did not *sing Mozart. I'm making my inference by the fact she didn't sing one of the greatest opera composers. The inference is that it wasn't for her. No speculation here. Mozart was not part of her stage or recording career apart from the odd piece. I have no doubt with her ability and intelligence she could have sung it (she sang Rossini after all) but the fact is she didn't.


----------



## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

DavidA said:


> And if we judge her by what she did *she did not *sing Mozart. I'm making my inference by the fact she didn't sing one of the greatest opera composers. The inference is that it wasn't for her. No speculation here. Mozart was not part of her stage or recording career apart from the odd piece. I have no doubt with her ability and intelligence she could have sung it (she sang Rossini after all) but the fact is she didn't.


But *she did sing Mozart*, albeit infrequently. You are just splitting hairs, in your absolute determination to be right. You know full well, that when I say I judge her by what she did, I am referring to the way she sang the Mozart she did sing; her brilliant rendition of Donna Anna's _Non mi dir_ (1953, not the dire 1962 version) and Costanze's _Martern aller Arten_, which show she 'got' Mozart's music very well, which was the point in contention. It's obvious from these that she _could_ sing Mozart very well, and a good deal better than both Leontyne Price and Birgit Nilsson, both of whom sang Donna Anna, and both of whom are ungainly when it comes to the coloratura demands of the roles.

Furthermore Callas has expressed elsewhere her love of the piano concertos, some of the greatest music Mozart ever wrote. As an accomplished pianist, she no doubt played his music as well. To use one remark taken out of context to suggest that she didn't understand his music is ridiculous.

I think the most likely reason Callas didn't make Mozart part of her active career is that most of the female characters didn't afford her the dramatic challenges and contrasts she reveled in.


----------



## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

There is so much outside of the singing itself that constitutes good opera artist. One of these things is clearly ability to make good decisions regarding your repertoire, and if Callas didn't decide to give Mozart more importance in her career, then it's probably best for her and for us. I don't feel that the discography of Mozart operas is greatly diminished by lack of Callas, yet I would say that had she dropped one of the bel canto roles she did in order to focus on doing Mozart, THAT would be a diminishment. I see no tragedy or waste here, only a good decision that had to be made.

And I don't get the argument about not enough drama in the roles to attract her. She sang the Leonoras of _Il Trovatore_ and _Forza_ - opera characters don't get more blank than that, certainly not in Mozart, certainly not in Da Ponte librettos, so well written. She gave their characters dramatic appeal, but by the terms of libretto itself, a lot of the characters she made her signature roles had none whatsoever.


----------



## Green pasture (Aug 11, 2015)

Aramis said:


> There is so much outside of the singing itself that constitutes good opera artist. One of these things is clearly ability to make good decisions regarding your repertoire, and if Callas didn't decide to give Mozart more importance in her career, then it's probably best for her and for us. I don't feel that the discography of Mozart operas is greatly diminished by lack of Callas, yet I would say that had she dropped one of the bel canto roles she did in order to focus on doing Mozart, THAT would be a diminishment. I see no tragedy or waste here, only a good decision that had to be made.
> 
> And I don't get the argument about not enough drama in the roles to attract her. She sang the Leonoras of _Il Trovatore_ and _Forza_ - opera characters don't get more blank than that, certainly not in Mozart, certainly not in Da Ponte librettos, so well written. She gave their characters dramatic appeal, but by the terms of libretto itself, a lot of the characters she made her signature roles had none whatsoever.


Yes, I agree that the meagre presence of Mozart in Callas' repertoire is in the end not really a great loss to us, as her artistic temperament and the physiognomy of her voice are made more for the ancient tragedies and the romantic heroines. Still, I wish that 1952 La Scala performance of Die Entführung aus dem Serail could have been broadcast (and therefore recorded live).


----------



## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

GregMitchell said:


> But *she did sing Mozart*, albeit infrequently. You are just splitting hairs, in your absolute determination to be right. You know full well, that when I say I judge her by what she did, I am referring to the way she sang the Mozart she did sing; her brilliant rendition of Donna Anna's _Non mi dir_ (1953, not the dire 1962 version) and Costanze's _Martern aller Arten_, which show she 'got' Mozart's music very well, which was the point in contention. It's obvious from these that she _could_ sing Mozart very well, and a good deal better than both Leontyne Price and Birgit Nilsson, both of whom sang Donna Anna, and both of whom are ungainly when it comes to the coloratura demands of the roles.
> 
> Furthermore Callas has expressed elsewhere her love of the piano concertos, some of the greatest music Mozart ever wrote. As an accomplished pianist, she no doubt played his music as well. To use one remark taken out of context to suggest that she didn't understand his music is ridiculous.
> 
> I think the most likely reason Callas didn't make Mozart part of her active career is that most of the female characters didn't afford her the dramatic challenges and contrasts she reveled in.


Sorry Greg but in your zeal to defend Callas at all costs it is you who is splitting hairs. You are in fact compketely missing what I said. Of course she could probably have sung Mozart well - she sang Rossini after all - but she didn't care enough about it to perform it often. For some reason her and the greatest opera composer of all didn't go together. But these things happen. C'est last vie!


----------



## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

DavidA said:


> Sorry Greg but in your zeal to defend Callas at all costs it is you who is splitting hairs. You are in fact compketely missing what I said. Of course she could probably have sung Mozart well - she sang Rossini after all - but she didn't care enough about it to perform it often. For some reason her and the greatest opera composer of all didn't go together. But these things happen. C'est last vie!


Actually I am not trying to defend Callas at all costs. I am just striving to get some clarity here.

What you actually said, David, was (post 11)

"_The fact that Callas didn't 'get' Mozart does not diminish Mozart but merely shows that even a great artist has limitations._"

Nobody was in any way trying to diminish Mozart, but in your zeal to defend your favourite composer at all costs, you suggest that it was Callas's limitations that stopped her singing Mozart. My point was that it had nothing to do with her limitations as a musician, but a great deal to do with her personal choices.

And in fact there are plenty of great singers who never sang Mozart at all, mostly because it would have been beyond their technical accomplishments. Callas, in the few recordings we have, demonstrates that it would have been within hers - at least up until the mid 1950s.


----------



## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

GregMitchell said:


> Actually I am not trying to defend Callas at all costs. I am just striving to get some clarity here.
> 
> What you actually said, David, was (post 11)
> 
> ...


Greg we are agreeing. It was her choice. But presumably she had reasons for the choice which she stated! Of course it wouldn't have been beyond her to sing it giving what she sung. But for some reason she didn't 'get' Mozart enough to include it in her repertoire. And why on earth should I feel the need to defend Mozart? he is nonpareil.


----------



## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Seattleoperafan said:


> One would think that being a master of the Bel Canto technique like Callas was would qualify one to be a superb Mozartean, like Sutherland. I heard an opera scholar talk of Mozart the other day and he said that Mozart was Italianate opera, not Italian opera. It was a very different temperament than Bellini and Donizetti. I enjoyed Callas few outings into Mozart, but you felt that she was somewhat in a straight jacket as her voice and temperament were naturally wilder, less unified that the Mozart style. BTW, Mozart is great for the singing voice, and Renee Fleming attributes her very long, successful career to singing lots of Mozart for a good bulk of her career. My sister, an opera teacher and voice teacher for 40 years now, says Mozart and Bach are the healthiest composers to sing for the voice. You must always use perfect technique.


Sorry, but I have to respectfully disagree. I would agree that you always have to use perfect technique when singing Mozart and Bach, but that's what makes them so perilous for the voice (one false move and you run the risk of tiring your self out). Bellini and Donizetti are the composers I would turn to as being those who wrote music that is most healthy for the voice. I would also include their songs and not just the operas in this.

N.


----------



## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

DavidA said:


> Greg we are agreeing. It was her choice. But presumably she had reasons for the choice which she stated! Of course it wouldn't have been beyond her to sing it giving what she sung. But for some reason she didn't 'get' Mozart enough to include it in her repertoire. And why on earth should I feel the need to defend Mozart? he is nonpareil.


Who says Callas didn't 'get' Mozart? She didn't say it herself. 'Getting/understanding' a composer's music isn't the same as not liking it. In any case Callas didn't say that she didn't _like_ the music of his operas, she didn't find most of his characters dramatically interesting. If anything Callas totally 'got' Mozart, it was da Ponte she was less keen on!

As already stated, I don't think her voice suited Mozart (although she could have made something of a few of his roles). She had a chance to sing Donna Anna at the Met, but turned it down. She could have asked for Donna Elvira (which I think would have suited her better), but she wasn't interested in that either and said she preferred Anna Bolena over Donna Anna.

If we are going on what Callas said herself, she didn't find Mozart's characters interesting, not that she didn't understand his music.

N.


----------



## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

The Conte said:


> Who says Callas didn't 'get' Mozart? She didn't say it herself. 'Getting/understanding' a composer's music isn't the same as not liking it. In any case Callas didn't say that she didn't _like_ the music of his operas, she didn't find most of his characters dramatically interesting. If anything Callas totally 'got' Mozart, it was da Ponte she was less keen on!
> 
> As already stated, I don't think her voice suited Mozart (although she could have made something of a few of his roles). She had a chance to sing Donna Anna at the Met, but turned it down. She could have asked for Donna Elvira (which I think would have suited her better), but she wasn't interested in that either and said she preferred Anna Bolena over Donna Anna.
> 
> ...


We are actual;;y arguing over the meaning of the word 'get'. I would agree with the bit in bold in the sense of how Callas didn't 'get' Mozart. Pity though. I think she'd have done a great job with Susanna or Don Elvira. However, considering some of the roles Callas sang (those by Bellini for example) I can't see why she didn't find Mozart / da Ponte's characters dramatically interesting. But as I say it shows even great artists have their limitations as to what they attempt.


----------



## Blancrocher (Jul 6, 2013)

DavidA said:


> We are actual;;y arguing over the meaning of the word 'get'. I would agree with the bit in bold in the sense of how Callas didn't 'get' Mozart. Pity though. I think she'd have done a great job with Susanna or Don Elvira. However, considering some of the roles Callas sang (those by Bellini for example) I can't see why she didn't find Mozart / da Ponte's characters dramatically interesting. But as I say it shows even great artists have their limitations as to what they attempt.


It's always hard to know how to take these one-liners from great performers. Anyways, some may enjoy this analogous opinion piece by Ian Bostridge if they haven't seen it:

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2006/jan/13/classicalmusicandopera.mozart


----------



## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

DavidA said:


> We are actual;;y arguing over the meaning of the word 'get'. I would agree with the bit in bold in the sense of how Callas didn't 'get' Mozart. Pity though. I think she'd have done a great job with Susanna or Don Elvira. However, considering some of the roles Callas sang (those by Bellini for example) I can't see why she didn't find Mozart / da Ponte's characters dramatically interesting. But as I say it shows even great artists have their limitations as to what they attempt.


I'm afraid I don't agree about Callas singing Susanna, I can't think of a role that she would have been vocally less suited for. I think Callas' assessments of Donna Anna and Donna Elvira are quite accurate (bearing in mind that this was before productions where directors conceive of a Donna Anna who is (even if only partially) attracted to/in love with the Don). Whether she found the personalities and dramatic possibilities of that type of character interesting was down to her own personal taste.

Just because a singer doesn't chose to sing a particular repertoire doesn't mean that they don't appreciate it. I love Bellini's soprano roles, but I will never sing them as I'm a baritone. I hope people don't think that means that I don't understand Bellini's music and rather they understand that I am just a realist.

N.


----------



## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Not permitted one word answers here so:
yup,uh huh, mm hmm, yeppers, yessiree, you betcha


----------



## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

I think she'd have been great in Mozart.


----------



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Forgive me, I have only heard the aria but not the whole role, but Callas would "rock", as it were, the last aria of Elettra from Idomeneo. It is one of the most dramatic arias Mozart ever wrote in my opinion. It is full of emotion, just right for Maria.


----------



## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

Seattleoperafan said:


> Forgive me, I have only heard the aria but not the whole role, but Callas would "rock", as it were, the last aria of Elettra from Idomeneo. It is one of the most dramatic arias Mozart ever wrote in my opinion. It is full of emotion, just right for Maria.


Yes, people keep focusing on the all-time favourite Mozart female roles such as Countess Almaviva or Donne in DG, but if anything, Callas could carry the show and feel more in her own element in one of earlier opera seria by Mozart. But I wonder if she ever had opportunity to become familiar with operas such as Idomeneo or Lucio Silla, through performance or at least score. It's not like they were popular in her day (eh, they're not popular even today).


----------



## Steatopygous (Jul 5, 2015)

The Conte said:


> I'm afraid I don't agree about Callas singing Susanna, I can't think of a role that she would have been vocally less suited for. I think Callas' assessments of Donna Anna and Donna Elvira are quite accurate (bearing in mind that this was before productions where directors conceive of a Donna Anna who is (even if only partially) attracted to/in love with the Don). Whether she found the personalities and dramatic possibilities of that type of character interesting was down to her own personal taste.
> 
> Just because a singer doesn't chose to sing a particular repertoire doesn't mean that they don't appreciate it. I love Bellini's soprano roles, but I will never sing them as I'm a baritone. I hope people don't think that means that I don't understand Bellini's music and rather they understand that I am just a realist.
> 
> N.


Nonsense. Just transpose down!


----------



## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Aramis said:


> if anything, Callas could carry the show and feel more in her own element in one of earlier opera seria by Mozart. But I wonder if she ever had opportunity to become familiar with operas such as Idomeneo or Lucio Silla, through performance or at least score. It's not like they were popular in her day (eh, they're not popular even today).


Not to mention Vitellia, which would have suited her down to the ground, both vocally and dramatically.


----------



## Green pasture (Aug 11, 2015)

GregMitchell said:


> I also love her test recordings of Donna Anna's _Non mi dir_. She made two test recordings for EMI in 1953, just before recording her first studio *Lucia di Lammermoor*. She sounds marginally more relaxed in the second, but in both she sails through it as if it is the easiest thing in the world. There is a moment of pure magic as well, as she phrases through and onwards into the second statement of _Non mi dir_.












Michael Scott had speculated that "Non mi dir" was chosen as the piece for the test recording probably because the EMI producer Walter Legge was toying with the idea of recording Don Giovanni with Tito Gobbi as the Don, Callas as Donna Anna and Legge's wife Schwarzkopf as Donna Elvira, accompanied by the La Scala forces conducted by Tullio Serafin (who had conducted performances of Don Giovanni at the Met in the 1930s with Ezio Pinza's Don and Rosa Ponselle's Donna Anna).


----------



## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

plumblossom said:


> Michael Scott had speculated that "Non mi dir" was chosen as the piece for the test recording probably because the EMI producer Walter Legge was toying with the idea of recording Don Giovanni with Tito Gobbi as the Don, Callas as Donna Anna and Legge's wife Schwarzkopf as Donna Elvira, accompanied by the La Scala forces conducted by Tullio Serafin (who had conducted performances of Don Giovanni at the Met in the 1930s with Ezio Pinza's Don and Rosa Ponselle's Donna Anna).


Opportunity missed? I am sure I read somewhere it remained a pet project with him, with De Los Angeles as Zerlina, and that the Cluytens recording of _Les Contes d'Hoffmann_ was originally planned as a recording featuring the three ladies, with Callas as Olympia (though personally I can't see it). In the event it was recorded too late for Callas, and Gianna d'Angelo makes a dull replacement; Schwarzkopf sounds out of her element, and De Los Angeles is out of sorts, sounding uncharacteristically thin and quavery.


----------



## Green pasture (Aug 11, 2015)

GregMitchell said:


> Opportunity missed? I am sure I read somewhere it remained a pet project with him, with De Los Angeles as Zerlina, and that the Cluytens recording of _Les Contes d'Hoffmann_ was originally planned as a recording featuring the three ladies, with Callas as Olympia (though personally I can't see it). In the event it was recorded too late for Callas, and Gianna d'Angelo makes a dull replacement; Schwarzkopf sounds out of her element, and De Los Angeles is out of sorts, sounding uncharacteristically thin and quavery.


This is the first time that I heard that Victoria had been intended for the role of Zerlina. Anyway it's not too difficult to understand why Walter Legge had thought of her for the role as the Mediterranean warmth and seductiveness of her voice would make it quite believable as to why the Don is attracted to her.


----------



## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

plumblossom said:


> This is the first time that I heard that Victoria had been intended for the role of Zerlina. Anyway it's not too difficult to understand why Walter Legge had thought of her for the role as the Mediterranean warmth and seductiveness of her voice would make it quite believable why the Don is attracted to her.


Absolutely. Donna Anna was actually the role she sang on stage, but she had, as you say, that warm Spanish seductiveness that would have suited her well to Zerlina.


----------

