"To work with her, you had to really understand how she saw your role, not how you saw it. She had a very clear-cut understanding of her role, and you had to fit into that interpretation. She was so great, [yet] she could not distance herself from a role. It was actually quite terrifying — she would at times actually cry while singing! You must only portray the emotions, not become personally involved. But Maria always became the role. She was such a servant of the text and the composer, she would tear her voice to ribbons to accomplish it!"
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Women singersWomen from the United StatesSingers from New York CityWomen born in the 1920sOpera singers
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Jon Vickers, as quoted in "The Callas Legacy" by James C. Whitson in Opera News (October 2005)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Maria_Callas
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Related Quotes
"Callas, way above the rest. Tebaldi had a fantastic voice, like an angel's. But even when Callas's voice wasn't perfe…"
"She opened a new door for us, for all the singers in the world, a door that had been closed. Behind it was sleeping n…"
"Some say I have a beautiful voice, some say I have not. It is a matter of opinion. All I can say, those who don't lik…"
"I admire Tebaldi's tone; it's beautiful — also some beautiful phrasing. Sometimes, I actually wish I had her voice."
"What Tullio Serafin] said that impressed me was: "When one wants to find a gesture, when you want to find how to act …"
"What a lovely voice, but who cares?"
"Don't talk to me about rules, dear. Wherever I stay I make the goddamn rules."
"Bel canto does not mean beautiful singing alone. It is, rather, the technique demanded by the composers of this style…"
"It takes a little more time to get into the role, but not very much more. In making a record you don't have the sense…"
"I used to listen again and again to recordings by Maria Callas. She was so musical and so theatrical at the same time…"