Analysis:
There are two epoch-making great figures in the history of opera, one is Verdi, and the other is the angel Maria Callas, who is known as the first soprano in the 20th century.
When I first met Callas, I started with a pirated record. 1993 when I was working in Zhuhai, the domestic pirated record industry was starting a business, and the shelves of Gongbei store were filled with countless pirated CDs of popular songs from Hong Kong and Taiwan. Among them, I can find several D versions of classical music. Obviously, the selection criteria of these classic tracks are based on the fever requirements of RTHK. One day, I suddenly found a special cover in a pile of pictures of handsome men and beautiful women-a freehand portrait of a beautiful woman with eight red characters "Carmen Classic Fever" on the cover. A closer look reveals that there are several obscure foreign languages on it-"Caras: La Divina". It should be noted that I have never bought a genuine and D version of an opera record before, nor have I listened to a complete or excerpted opera recording with my heart, but I know that the song Caras La Divina in front of me is definitely a collection of recordings by an opera soprano. I didn't buy this record gloomily. Now that I think about it, it is not so much because of the opera as because of her noble temperament and angelic beauty on the cover.
When I played this record casually with the walkman for the first time, the sound coming from the headphones gave me the first impression that it was mono, yes, it was mono, but later I ignored it because the human voice was so beautiful and touching! The first song of the film is an aria "Sunny Days" in Puccini's "Madame Butterfly". Callas' rich emotional input made me really feel the moving of Bel Canto. When I used to listen to the recording of sopranos, I always felt that they were shouting at the top of their lungs, but Karas gave me the feeling that angels were standing in the sky singing to the world. Yes, if there are angels, if angels can really sing, it should be like this.
This D-version record, a selected piece of classical music, is not only a classic of opera, but also a classic of Callas. I listened to the record for 75 minutes unconsciously, which completely changed my previous view of opera. Since then, my love journey has entered a new world, and I began to listen to the recordings of classic operas one after another.
From Aida, La Traviata, The Bard and The Clown by Verdi to Madame Butterfly, Tosca, Turandot and Bohemian by Puccini. . . From Domingo, Vallandin and carreras to Sutherland, Price and Franny. . . From EMI to Dika. . . From the classic recordings of dozens of classic operas, I fully realized the charm of opera, a great art, but after listening to it for several years, I always feel that although the timbre of the later interpretation recordings is beautiful and can easily impress people, there is always something missing. Only this D-version record of Callas can give me a moving shock. Now this record has been hidden in the CD of my office PC forever-it is the CD I have listened to the most in my life.
After listening to the recordings of later generations, I came back to listen to Callas' complete operas Madame Butterfly, Tosca, Loma, Lucia of Latin American Moore and La Traviata. . . I realized more and more deeply that it was not her timbre that moved Callas, but her sincere feelings. The strong feelings she put into singing made her easily capture the hearts of every audience. She plays the opera heroines-Madame Butterfly Jo Jo Sang, La Traviata violetta, Tosca, Norma and Lucia. . . Judging from Callas' records, it is difficult to judge whether these characters were written by playwrights or by Callas herself, because her emotional singing seems to be performing herself!
Almost all of these opera protagonists moved by Callas are tragic figures, but in the real world, Callas' own life is both a myth and a tragedy!
Maria callas 1923 was born in new york, Greek. Because of his mother's strict training and demanding future plans, Callas' childhood was almost joyless. She frequently participated in various children's performances and competitions. At the age of 13, she finished her formal education and entered the Conservatory of Music. 1940165438+10, Karas made his debut in Athens Opera House, and from then on, he became brilliant step by step until he finally burst into tears. . . . . .
1949 In April, Callas married Meneghini, an Italian who was 30 years older than her. This was the only formal marriage in her life. Meneghini is her performance manager. He asked Kallasmaa to go from one city to another, from one airport to another, from one hotel to another. He made all the famous opera houses in the world queue up for Callas crazily. He helped Callas to offer high remuneration to the theater and collected all the comments on Callas' performance. He kept Callas from having children and tried to maintain the myth of soprano Callas. This marriage is just a combination of a soprano and an agent. Callas didn't get the love that women needed. Callas, as a singer, and Callas, as a woman, have become two opposites of a unity. She always has endless work, rehearsals and performances, only the fanatical worship of the audience, and the ensuing fear-fear of losing the audience.
As a singer, Callas is radiant and successful. The cold and noisy sea drowned a woman like a calla lily. But one day, a ship appeared at sea. This ship is a real palace at sea: it has lapis lazuli railings, pure gold bathroom ornaments, precious oil paintings, the oldest embedded Buddha statue in the west, and a swimming pool decorated with an enlarged replica of Knossos colored stone mosaic. The ship has 60 sailors, plus a waiter, a laundryman, a seamstress, a tailor and two senior chefs. This is the famous luxury yacht "Christina", and its owner is Aristot Terry onassis, the richest man in the world and the Greek ship king. Callas was celebrating his 35th birthday in Paris. One day, before the performance in the morning, noon and evening, Callas received a bunch of red roses for three times in a row, with a simple signature and a bunch of good wishes on the flowers, and the last one didn't have a signature. Callas felt really romantic at that time, which was her earliest impression of onassis. Soon, Aristot Terry onassis invited Mr. and Mrs. Callas to take the "Christina" for a sea trip. This voyage made Callas feel that he had entered a mythical world, while her husband was very depressed and complained all day. Callas found him uncomfortable with anyone. Callas wanted to be loyal to her husband and instinctively longed to get close to onassis. She hovers between the two. Until one day, the sea began to roar and the weather became very bad. Meneghini and other guests hid in their cabins, and only Callas and onassis were left in the entertainment hall. They talked all night. For the first time in her life, Karas no longer only cares about herself. For the first time, a man occupies the center of her world.
Onassis made Callas feel loved and loved for the first time. He brought her love, levity, lust and gentleness, and made her taste the joy of life. He made her stop being obsessed with singing, he opened her heart to many new feelings, and she no longer simply worried about contracts, obligations and premieres. In the morning, she woke up carefree; During the day, she bathed in the sun; In the evening, she was quiet in the moving story of Ali, the ship king. . . . . . Callas is wearing a bracelet given to her by onassis, engraved with "TMWL", which is the first letter of the word "Dedicated to Dear Maria". She wears this bracelet without scruple in front of her husband, happy and proud. (Actually, onassis gave this bracelet to his wife before, and a few years later, he gave it to Jacqueline Kennedy, but Callas knew nothing about it). Finally one day, like a hurricane, onassis destroyed Callas' last line of defense, and Callas decided to leave her husband.
The night after Callas returned from his trip, onassis miraculously appeared under their window. He sang a Neapolitan folk song named Maria loudly, and then informed Meneghini that he planned to marry Callas, and he didn't want anyone to get in the way. All Meneghini's entreaties and suggestions were to no avail. At four o'clock the next morning, Callas and onassis left Silvio for Milan. In Milan, they were surrounded by reporters. Onassis said, "Of course, how can a famous woman like maria callas not make me feel honored to fall in love with me?" This sentence, which he accidentally uttered, is one of the most frank statements in his life. This man with many ships and countless wealth needs a "prestigious" woman to fall in love with him, which has proved his own value. Singer Callas is an effective stimulant for him. Of course, a few years later, when he wanted to have stronger stimulants, he took a fancy to the famous American president's widow.
Callas boarded the special plane sent by onassis to meet her in Milan and then flew to Venice, and then boarded the "Christina". Callas is happier than ever. The vast blue Mediterranean makes her infatuated, and a strong desire to integrate with another person is awakened. In order to congratulate her on the end of loneliness, she must have reduced the number of her recordings and performances. From 65438 to 0958, she performed 7 operas in 6 cities around the world, totaling 28 performances. 1960, she only performed two operas, a total of seven; 196 1 year has 5 performances; 1962 only performed twice; 1963 has never played an opera, only given several concerts and recorded several records; 1964, she returned to the stage for a farewell performance. At the same time, she realized that onassis was slowly moving away from her, and her dream of establishing a family life with him gradually became a bubble.
Callas' close friends and thousands of lovers believe that onassis ruined her life, and this despicable man ruined her voice, her art and her career. But if we look at it objectively, we may find that it was not her who fell victim to him, but the needs of Callas, which made him a part of her life. Onassis was the first person to awaken her latent energy and sleeping feelings. The tragedy of Callas may lie in her belief that only onassis is the source of her discovery of these new treasures.
After that, Callas' voice became worse and worse. In a performance, she couldn't sing the treble in E flat correctly, which made her miserable: "I'm out of tune, I'm out of tune, what's going on?" What's going on here? ! "She sang five E-flat songs in a row. Faced with the failure of art, she finally gave in. She said, "I can't serve two masters at the same time", "I just want to be with onassis" and "be his wife, woman and mistress".
During this period, onassis's wife Tina filed a divorce with the court on the grounds of her husband's adultery, and made a statement in the newspaper. Onassis was deeply distressed by this, which made Callas feel anxious. She was bent on onassis's divorce, but onassis never wanted to separate from his wife, even though he had told Meneghini that he wanted to marry her. Although he hasn't been with Tina for weeks and months, no matter which country he is in, he will call her at 6 pm every day. He is not the first or the last man who wants both a wife and a mistress. He hoped to reconcile with Tina, so Callas had to retreat to Milan to spend his 36th birthday with his newly separated husband.
Callas wants to realize her dream of living an ordinary woman's life. Onassis is the key link, but she is increasingly worried about losing him. She doesn't want to be separated from him, but he doesn't care. She often falls victim to his tactics of self-defense and intimidation. He began to speak in a sarcastic and domineering tone, and his feelings for her became increasingly indifferent. Sometimes he would leave her for days without saying hello. Callas expected to find something more tangible from their love, that is, family and children, but marriage has actually gone up in smoke. Callas' interest in banquets, dances and nightclubs is declining day and night. Onassis is like a candy merchant. Despite its huge scale, Callas found that candy could not satisfy the wishes of people who lived on bread. In this year, onassis met Jacqueline Kennedy. He invited her to board the "Christina" and left Callas in Paris. It was also in 165438+ 10 that President Jack Kennedy was assassinated. Onassis immediately flew to Washington and appeared in the White House. Onassis began to shuttle back and forth between the two women.
At the age of 43, Callas found herself pregnant. She longed for life and wanted children, but onassis didn't want them. Onassis warned her that if she was desperate to have a baby, it would mean the end of their relationship. Callas fell into doubt, fear and confusion. Finally, she decided to abandon her child to maintain this increasingly indifferent and unreal relationship, and she had an abortion. At the moment when she longed for a new source of strength and goal, the strangled child was actually the most important thing she could get in her life. Onassis decided to marry Jacqueline Kennedy. He returned to the "Christina" and asked Callas on board to go back to Paris. He said he had guests and she couldn't stay on the boat. Callas has been the owner of Christina for nine years, but now she can't stay on board. She left Christina and never came back.
When Callas arrived in Paris, he called his friend and shouted hysterically. Friends accompanied her to fly from one city to another and move from one hotel to another, but she found that she couldn't stay anywhere and could do nothing. She has nothing to do and is homeless. Time and space have lost their meaning, and all she can distinguish is pain.
1968 10, onassis officially married Jacqueline Kennedy, and Callas fell into the abyss of despair. She is weak and depressed, and only sleeping pills and sedatives can calm her down. Callas was ruthlessly abandoned after living with onassis for nine years. This incident completely destroyed her body and mind, and her voice was hoarse, and she could no longer sing.
In later years, she felt very lonely. Sometimes in the middle of the night, she will call her friends, eager to hear some warm words. She began to record her thoughts on tape. Most of the time, the singer Karas is talking, and sometimes the ordinary woman Maria will say a few charming words. Unfortunately, Callas immediately grabbed the words: "I would like to be an ordinary woman Maria, but the singer Callas asked me to maintain her dignity." I like to think that they are a whole, because Callas used to be Maria. . . . . . Maybe we can't separate the opera star Callas from the ordinary woman Maria-they are the same. " But they don't actually agree. Maria felt breathless under the pressure of callas.
Maria callas died at 36 George Mandel Street at the age of 54. In the last days, she was disappointed, depressed and suddenly. . . . . .
According to Karas' last wish, "I want to be buried, but I can't be a moth", the Greek Minister of Culture scattered her ashes into the vast Aegean Sea.
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