Word: traviatas
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Remarkably composed despite the storm that was building up (see above), Soprano Callas rehearsed new productions of Traviata and Medea for two weeks with only occasional explosions of temperament. Both performances attracted capacity crowds, and Callas endowed both of them with the kind of artistry, witchery and passion that only she can convey. The Dallas Traviata used an intriguing gimmick by presenting the story as a long flashback, starting with Violetta on her deathbed visualizing the episodes leading up to her final illness. From the first curtain, when a soft light bloomed on the reclining Violetta, to the resignation...
Callas had broken her contract, Bing explained, by backing out on her agreement (confirmed by her as recently as five weeks ago) to sing in three productions of La Traviata at the Met this season. After lengthy correspondence and, evidently, ample provocation from Callas, Bing wired her an ultimatum that if she did not agree-"by 10 a.m. Thursday"-to sing in Traviata or the substitute roles he offered her, her contract would be canceled...
...Boito's Mefistofele) in Rovigo; on the way there, fighter planes strafed her train. After Toscanini hired her for the Scala opening in 1946, she smoothly embarked on the international operatic circuit. In her rise to the top she has experienced only one real failure-a performance of Traviata at La Scala in 1951 in which her voice broke twice on high notes. The audience of rabid Tebaldi fans "exclaimed in wonder and dismay," as she puts it, and Renata took to her room for two months. But with characteristic stubbornness, she then accepted an invitation from...
...advised concert manager placed them on the same program in Rio, and Tebaldi slipped in several encores-in flagrant violation, Callas claimed, of a no-encore agreement. At a supper party, Callas charged Tebaldi with this and other sins, lectured her for her recent flop in Traviata. "We parted," says Tebaldi, "with a certain coldness...
...Pinkerton's thrice-called "Butterfly!" But her real failing, say her harshest critics, is not one of stagecraft but of emotional involvement. While some observers recall her on the verge of tears after a performance of Butterfly, others remember her picking herself up after the death scene in Traviata and strolling into the wings humming a pop tune...