Master Class

[broadwaystar2b]

Posted: 10/19/06 at 9:23pm

Hello everyone

I'm not usually in posting messages like this, but I'm doing a project on Terrence McNally's play Master Class and I have a question. This is not a question I need to be answered for the assignment, but really just out of curiousity:

Does Callas actually sing in the play? I know it sounds silly considering the actual text indicates she at least says the phrases, but the only time it actually specifies that she sings is a moment when she cracks a line in Act 2 during the Lady Macbeth aria.

Any thoughts or comments about the show's run on Broadway or the play itself would be appreciated. Thank you!
Updated On: 10/20/06 at 09:23 PM

[broadwaystar2b]

Posted: 10/20/06 at 12:09am

*bump!*

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 10/20/06 at 12:19am

The only time she actually sings is that moment where she cracks in Act Two.

It's really an amazing tour de force for an actress -- I saw both Zoe Caldwell (who won the Tony) and Patti LuPone do it and both were extraordinary.

If you want more background on the play, see if you can track down the 3 CD box set "Maria Callas at Juilliard" which includes a couple of hours of excerpts from the classes, as well as the book "Callas at Juilliard" by John Ardoin which is a very detailed account of all of the master classes. If you do, you'll note that the real Callas was a far cry from the tough, egotistical self-serving diva that McNally depicts in the play -- in actuality, she's unfailingly kind and generous and extremely helpful and specific in her critiques of her students (some of whom went on to major operatic careers).

Updated On: 10/20/06 at 12:19 AM

[broadwaystar2b]

Posted: 10/20/06 at 12:34am

Thanks Margo! Helpful as always