Word: divas
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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Backstage at the New York City Opera last week, Head Costumer J. Edgar Joseph had a problem. Would the off-white silk nightgown take to the rose dye? If not, Diva Beverly Sills would have to portray the heroine of Donizetti's Anna Bolena 30 hours later in a hand-me-down from Massenet's Manon. The dilemma was only one of several dozen facing Joseph at the time. Suddenly he rose from his chair, walked to a big dressing mirror and began screaming at himself. "What's the use of yelling at someone else?" he said...
Died. Anna Magnani, 65, disheveled diva of Italian and American films; of cancer of the pancreas; in Rome. With her brooding, baggy eyes, Magnani emerged as one of Italy's best actresses after her 1945 role in Open City, a neo-realistic film of the Nazi occupation of Rome. Awarded an Oscar in 1956 for her portrayal of a truck driver's wife in The Rose Tattoo, her first Hollywood movie, the indomitable Magnani went on to star in The Fugitive Kind and The Secret of Santa Vittoria. Her well-publicized love life included a long affair with...
...rely on mothers, husbands, boy friends, girl friends and critics. Learn to self-analyze," the redheaded diva told the 120 or so seniors. Beverly Sills picked up an honorary doctorate from the New England Conservatory of Music and gave the graduating class some off-the-cuff advice. "Don't be the critic in the grandstand, be the bullfighter in the arena. Say 'yes' to life." She also talked about her sudden elevation to stardom at 37, seven years ago. "I'd worked for 30 years and, if that was overnight success, that was the longest night...
...translate your perfect breathing control into my own phrasing, and I feel certain that Chopin had exactly that on his mind when he required rubato in his works." The technical musical discussion only infuriated the diva...
...popular decision, if long in coming. Chapin had amply shown that he could run a smooth operation, and that it was possible to have aristocratic savoir-faire without resorting to the autocratic methods of former Met Manager Rudolf Bing. As many a diva has learned, Chapin's tact and graciousness do not signal a relaxed will. He pushed hard and successfully for the company's new Mini-Met, devoted to intimate or experimental operas in small halls with mostly young casts. To the Met staff's evident joy, he preserved and deepened the aura of good will...