I lived for my art

"La Divina", "the Bible of opera", "the definition of the diva as artist".

It's the centenary today of the most-lauded operatic soprano of the 20th century, Maria Callas!

Here she is, at her utmost peak of her powers...

Maria Callas - Vissi D'arte

Perfection.

Maria Callas (born Maria Anna Cecilia Sofia Kalogeropoulos, 2nd December 1923 – 16th September 1977)

[More Callas here, and at the label at the foot of this post, of course.]

I lived for art, I lived for love, I never did harm to a living soul

Just woke up from a long lie-in to the sad news that one of our favourite operatic voices, the lovely Montserrat Caballé is dead.

Needless to say, we adored her, and indeed "La Superba" was an "exhibit" in the Dolores Delargo Towers Museum of Camp back in 2014. It is a pity that the media can only bring itself to mention her as being famous for her (brilliant, admittedly) duet with the late, great Freddie Mercury, but such is the state of today's "culture", I suppose:

Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballé - Barcelona

There is so much more in Señorita Caballé's immense back catalogue to explore. In my tribute to the lady earlier this year on the occasion of her 85th birthday, I featured her masterful performances of works by Donizetti, Verdi and Bizet. Here she is with probably the most beautiful performance ever of this famous aria from Puccini's Tosca:

Montserrat Caballé - Vissi D'Arte (Puccini - Tosca)

Vissi d’arte, vissi d’amore,
non feci mai male ad anima viva!
Con man furtiva
quante miserie conobbi aiutai.

Which, in translation, serves as a fitting tribute to its singer:

I lived for art, I lived for love
I never did harm to a living soul
With a furtive hand
so many troubles I encountered I soothed

Brings tears to the eye. As does this - her surprising choice to cover an 80s "modern classic" by fellow Spaniards Mecano:

Montserrat Caballé - Hijo de la Luna

...and finally, the gran dama at her glittering peak, with this performance from Donizetti's Guillaume Tell:

Montserrat Caballé - Sombre foret (Donizetti - Guillaume Tell)

It's becoming a bad year for divas (we lost María Dolores Pradera - as featured here way back in 2009(!) - in May; and, from different genres, admittedly, Morgana King in March, Liliane Montevecchi in June, Cats choreographer Dame Gillian Lynne in July, and (of course) Aretha Franklin in August), but for me, the passing of Montserrat Caballé is the saddest loss of all...

RIP Maria de Montserrat Viviana Concepción Caballé i Folch (12th April 1933 – 6th October 2018)

Vissi d’amore

It was the 85th birthday yesterday of the great diva Leontyne Price, a pioneer by dint of being the first major black operatic singer in history.

Hers is the most remarkable voice - memorably described by Time magazine as "Rich, supple and shining, it was in its prime capable of effortlessly soaring from a smoky mezzo to the pure soprano gold of a perfectly spun high C."

Here she is demonstrating that effortlessness, as she performs the classic aria Vissi D'Arte from Tosca:

Leontyne Price - Vissi D'Arte

Sublime.

Read my blog about the lady in 2010

Leontyne Price on Wikipedia

La Stupenda est morte

Dame Joan Sutherland is dead, and we at Dolores Delargo Towers are in mourning.

The leading soprano of the bel canto style for many decades, she worked with all the best orchestras and conductors (not least her husband Richard Bonynge), performed duets with major operatic superstars like Luciano Pavarotti and Marilyn Horne, and was famously directed in an on-screen version of Lucia de Lammamoor by none other than Franco Zefferelli.

We loved our Joan! It was only yesterday after all that I posted her supreme rendition of The Flower Duet. We love her Suor Angelica, her Tosca, her Die Fledermaus, her Norma and her Lucia di Lammermoor. We particularly treasure a vinyl album rarity of Miss Sutherland performing Noel Coward songs with the Master himself!

As down-to-earth as a sheep-shearer from the outback of Oz, Dame Joan was never known for her refinement in real life - she famously said "If I weren't reasonably placid, I don`t think I could cope with this sort of life. To be a diva, you've got to be absolutely like a horse."

But what a singer! She was lauded by her contemporaries - Luciano Pavarotti described her as having "the voice of the century", and Monserrat Caballe once said her voice was "like heaven", and her nickname was "La Stupenda". Joan's was the voice that opened the Sydney Opera House in 1973, and it was from that stage that she announced her retirement in 1990. That alone was a huge loss to music, but in her death there is now a gaping hole in the operatic firmament.

There will certainly never be another Dame Joan Sutherland. RIP...

Joan Sutherland - Vissi d'Arte (Puccini - Tosca)

Joan Sutherland - Casta diva (Bellini - Norma)

And here, Joan Sutherland and Marilyn Horne sing this sublime duet from Norma [again]:

Joan Sutherland and Marilyn Horne - Mira, o Norma (Bellini)

Dame Joan Sutherland obituary