世界名人简介 第107期:玛丽亚·卡拉斯

 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.

玛丽亚·卡拉斯为著名美籍希腊歌剧演唱家，被誉为史上最伟大的女高音歌唱家。她的声域宽阔，天生具有歌剧演唱才能。因为卡拉斯，数百万听众被歌剧所倾倒，直到今天，她的演唱仍为学生们的研究话题。而她的一生足可以成为一部歌剧主题。

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.

卡拉斯在纽约出生，希腊长大。母亲很早就发现了她的演唱才能。卡拉斯称：“我五岁起被迫学习唱歌，我讨厌极了。”1937年，雅典某歌唱老师称她的嗓音“惊为天人”，应该让她光满四射。卡拉斯每天练习10个小时。

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.

1942年，卡拉斯在雅典首次“发声”。某评论家认为，卡拉斯的音乐才华史上罕见，是一位极具才华的艺术家。1946年，卡拉斯前往意大利，她的歌唱事业从此腾飞。并且好评如潮。某著名女高音歌唱家认为，卡拉斯为全球歌者开启了另一扇门。并获得“Divina”（顶尖）称号。

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.

1965年，卡拉斯在伦敦皇家歌剧院完美谢幕。全球歌剧迷为卡拉斯所倾倒。某著名指挥家曾谈及她的演唱天赋。关于卡拉斯的音乐天赋，业内人士非常明白，若大众也同样知晓，那么你们一定会震惊不已。卡拉斯在巴黎孤独度过晚年。

1.speak of 谈到

例句：He didn't speak of the accident.

他没有提到那次事故。

2.Royal Opera Hous 皇家歌剧院

例句：The following year she joined the Royal Opera House.

次年她加入了皇家歌剧院。

3.describe as 把…称为

例句：They described the man as a scoundrel.

他们把这个人说成是一个恶棍。

4.popular with 受…欢迎

例句：She was not popular with other children, either.

她在其他孩子中间也不受欢迎。

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。