英语名人堂：玛丽亚·卡拉斯

玛丽亚·卡拉斯（Maria Callas），著名美籍希腊女高音歌唱家。

8岁便开始学习钢琴,二十世纪最伟大的歌剧女王。1923年出生于纽约，1937年随母回国，就学于雅典音乐学院。1941年在雅典歌剧院正式登台，1947年在意大利维罗纳演出歌剧《拉焦孔达》一举成名。此后两年在威尼斯演唱绮瑟、杜朗多、布琳希尔德等戏剧性女高音的角色。1950年进入米兰拉斯卡拉剧院，演出了《阿依达》。1965年在英国演出最后一场《托斯卡》后，退出舞台。1973年东山再起，与著名男高音朱塞佩·德·迪斯泰法诺联合举行独唱音乐会。她一生扮演过43个角色，共上演500多场次，50年代是她演唱生涯的最鼎盛时期，在伦敦科文特加登歌剧院（1952）、芝加哥（1954）、纽约大都会（1956）等歌剧院演唱，获得无数世界声誉。1977年9月16日卒于巴黎。

 

Maria Callas was an American-born Greek opera singer, often regarded as the greatest ever soprano. She combined a wonderfully versatile¹ voice with a natural ability for drama. She made opera popular with millions of people and her recordings² are studied by budding opera singers today. Callas’ own life has been rich enough to be the subject of an opera.

 

Callas was born in New York and raised in Greece. Her mother recognized Maria’s singing talents early on. Callas said: "I was made to sing when I was only five, and I hated it." In 1937, a singing tutor in Athens described her voice as being “an amazing phenomenon” that should “shine with all its brilliance”. She studied and sang for ten hours a day.

 

Callas made her professional debut³ in Athens in 1942. A critic stated Callas was "an extremely dynamic artist possessing the rarest dramatic and musical gifts". Callas’ career took off in 1946 when she went to Italy. She got increasingly rave⁴ reviews. One famous soprano said Callas “opened a new door for…all the singers in the world”. She got the nickname ‘Divina’, the divine one.

 

In 1965, Callas ended her stage career in London’s Royal Opera House. She was adored by opera enthusiasts⁵ worldwide. A famous conductor spoke⁶ of her amazing talent: "If the public could understand, as we do, how deeply and utterly⁷ musical Callas is, they would be stunned⁸." Callas spent her final years living in isolation⁹ in Paris.

1 versatile   

adj.通用的，万用的；多才多艺的，多方面的

参考例句：

• A versatile person is often good at a number of different things.多才多艺的人通常擅长许多种不同的事情。
• He had been one of the game's most versatile athletes.他是这项运动中技术最全面的运动员之一。

2 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

3 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

4 rave   

vi.胡言乱语；热衷谈论；n.热情赞扬

参考例句：

• The drunkard began to rave again.这酒鬼又开始胡言乱语了。
• Now I understand why readers rave about this book.我现明白读者为何对这本书赞不绝口了。

5 enthusiasts   

n.热心人，热衷者( enthusiast的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A group of enthusiasts have undertaken the reconstruction of a steam locomotive. 一群火车迷已担负起重造蒸汽机车的任务。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Now a group of enthusiasts are going to have the plane restored. 一群热心人计划修复这架飞机。 来自新概念英语第二册

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

8 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

9 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。