PEOPLE IN AMERICA - Maria Callas

PEOPLE IN AMERICA -June 23, 2002: Maria Callas

By Shelley Gollust

VOICE 1:
I'm Shirley Griffith.
VOICE 2:
And I'm Ray Freeman with the VOA Special English program People in America. Today, we tell about one of the

most famous opera singers of this century, Maria Callas.

((MUSIC: March From "Norma" instead of theme))

VOICE 1:

Opera is a play that tells a story in music. The people in the opera sing, instead of
speak, the play's words. Opera is one of the most complex of all art forms. It
combines acting¹, singing, music, costumes, scenery and, sometimes, dance. Often
there are many colorful crowd scenes.

Opera uses the huge power of music to communicate feelings and to express
emotions. Music can express emotions very forcefully. So most opera composers base their works² on very tragic³
stories of love and death. An opera often shows anger, cruelty, violence, fear or insanity⁴. Opera has been very
popular in Europe since it spread through it during the seventeenth century. It also has become popular in the
United States.

VOICE 2:

Maria Callas was one of the best-known opera singers in the world. During the
nineteen-fifties, she became famous internationally for her beautiful voice and
intense⁵ personality. The recordings⁶ of her singing the well -known operas remain
very popular today.

Maria Callas was born in New York City in nineteen-twenty-three. Her real name
was Maria Kalogeropoulous [ka-lo-yer-OH-pu-los]. Her parents were Greek. When
she was fourteen, she and her mother returned to Greece. Maria studied singing at
the national conservatory⁷ in Athens. The well-known opera singer Elvira de Hidalgo
chose Maria as her student.

VOICE 1:

In nineteen -forty-one, when she was seventeen, Maria Callas was paid to sing in a major opera for the first time.
She sang the leading roles in several operas in Athens during the next three years.

In nineteen -forty-five, Callas was invited to perform in Italy. This was the real beginning of her profession as an
opera singer. She performed major parts in several of the most famous operas. In nineteen-forty-nine, she married
an Italian industrialist⁸, Giovanni Battista Meneghini. He was twenty years older. He became her adviser⁹ and
manager.

VOICE 2:

In nineteen -fifty, Maria Callas performed for the first time at the famous La Scala Opera House in Milan, Italy.
She sang in the famous opera "Aida" [eye-EE-da] by Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi. She sang the part of Aida,
an Ethiopian slave in ancient Egypt.


((MUSIC: "Ritorna Vincitor" from "Aida")
)
VOICE 1:
During the nineteen-fifties and nineteen-sixties, Maria Callas sang in about forty major operas in the most famous

opera houses in the world.

 

In nineteen-fifty-six, she appeared for the first time at the Metropolitan¹⁰ Opera in
New York. She sang the lead in the opera "Norma" by Italian composer Vincenzo
Bellini. She was a great success. Norma, a religious leader in the ancient city of
gaul, became one of her most famous parts.

((MUSIC: "Casta Diva" from "Norma"))

VOICE 2:

During the years, Maria Callas often had problems with her voice. Critics said some of her performances were
not her best. Sometimes she had to cancel performances. Her relations with the officials of major opera
companies often were tense.

Many harmful stories were written about Callas. The stories suggested that people she worked with thought she

was difficult. However, many people who worked most closely¹¹ with her denied this.
When she was not singing in operas, Callas was making recordings. She made more recordings than any other
singer of her time.

VOICE 1:

In nineteen -fifty-nine, her marriage to Mr. Meneghini ended. Maria Callas became the lover¹² of a rich Greek
businessman, Aristotle Onassis. Callas suffered more problems with her voice. So she sang less.
In nineteen -sixty-five, she sang in the opera "Tosca" by Italian composer Giacomo Puccini. She was Floria, an

Italian singer. It was a part she had sung many times. It was the last time she appeared in an opera.
((MUSIC: "Vissi d'Arte" from "Tosca")
)
VOICE 2:
Now that she was no longer singing, Callas wanted to marry Aristotle Onassis and have a child. However, in

nineteen-sixty-eight, Onassis suddenly said that he was leaving her. He had decided¹³ to marry Jacqueline

Kennedy, the widow¹⁴ of the murdered American president, John Kennedy.
Three years later, Callas decided to teach young opera singers. In the early nineteen-seventies, she taught twelve
classes at the Juilliard school in New York. Parts of these classes were released¹⁵ as records. Terrence McNally
wrote a play about Maria Callas and her opera students called "master class.
"

VOICE 1:

Maria Callas sang in many cities in Europe, the United States and east Asia in nineteen seventy-three and
seventy-four. She performed with opera singer Giuseppe di Stefano.
Critics said she was not able to sing as well as she had when she was younger. It is not known if Callas's troubles

were caused by a physical problem or because she had not spent enough time training her voice.
Maria Callas died of a heart attack in her home in Paris in nineteen-seventy-seven. She was fifty -three.
VOICE 2:
Many experts say Maria Callas influenced opera more than any other singer of the twentieth century. They say


she had the deepest understanding of the traditional Italian opera. Her beautiful voice and intense feeling

increased the effect of an opera.
One expert said: "Callas sees and hears in the great operas the poetry of music. Others sing notes. She sings
meaning.
"

People who heard Maria Callas sing say they will not forget the experience. Her voice lives on in the many
recordings she made. Some experts say Maria Callas is as popular now as she was when she was performing
around the world.

((MUSIC: March from "Norma")
)
VOICE 1:
This Special English program was written by Shelley Gollust and produced by Lawan Davis. I'm Shirley Griffith.
VOICE 2:
And I'm Ray Freeman. Join us again next week for another People in America program on the Voice of America.

 

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1 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

2 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

3 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

4 insanity   

n.疯狂，精神错乱；极端的愚蠢，荒唐

参考例句：

• In his defense he alleged temporary insanity.他伪称一时精神错乱，为自己辩解。
• He remained in his cell,and this visit only increased the belief in his insanity.他依旧还是住在他的地牢里，这次视察只是更加使人相信他是个疯子了。

5 intense   

adj.认真的，专注的；强烈的；紧张的；热情的

参考例句：

• Susan was an intense young lady.苏珊是一个热情的年轻姑娘。
• The quarrel caused her intense unhappiness.争吵令她极其不快。

6 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

7 conservatory   

n.温室，音乐学院；adj.保存性的，有保存力的

参考例句：

• At the conservatory,he learned how to score a musical composition.在音乐学校里，他学会了怎样谱曲。
• The modern conservatory is not an environment for nurturing plants.这个现代化温室的环境不适合培育植物。

8 industrialist   

n.工业家，实业家

参考例句：

• The industrialist's son was kidnapped.这名实业家的儿子被绑架了。
• Mr.Smith was a wealthy industrialist,but he was not satisfied with life.史密斯先生是位富有的企业家，可他对生活感到不满意。

9 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

10 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

11 closely   

adv.紧密地；严密地，密切地

参考例句：

• We shall follow closely the development of the situation.我们将密切注意形势的发展。
• The two companies are closely tied up with each other.这两家公司之间有密切联系。

12 lover   

n.情人，恋人；爱好者

参考例句：

• Every lover sees a thousand graces in the beloved object.情人眼里出西施。
• Mr.Smith was a lover of poetry.史密斯先生是一名诗歌爱好者。

13 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

14 widow   

n.寡妇

参考例句：

• Martha was a very rich young widow.玛莎是个很有钱的年轻寡妇。
• All this money was appropriated for the support of his widow.所有这些钱作为给他的遗孀的抚养费。

15 released   

v.释放( release的过去式和过去分词 )；放开；发布；发行

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• With hindsight it is easy to say they should not have released him. 事后才说他们本不应该释放他，这倒容易。