Synopsis
Master Class - METHUEN EDITION
Published by Methuen
3 Male 3 Female
++ 25% DISCOUNT ++
Winner 1996 Tony Award for Best Play
Maria Callas is teaching a master class in front of an audience (us)
She's glamorous, commanding, larger than life
And drop-dead funny
An accompanist sits at the piano
Callas' first "victim" is Sophie - a ridiculous, overly-perky soprano, dressed all in pink
Sophie chooses to sing one of the most difficult arias, the sleepwalking scene from La Sonnambula - an aria that Callas made famous
Before the girl sings a note, Callas stops her
She clearly can't stand hearing music massacred
And now what has started out as a class has become a platform for Callas
She glories in her own career and flat-out seduces the audience, getting on her knees and acting the entire aria in dumb show, eventually reducing the poor singer to tears
But with that there are plenty of laughs going on, especially between Callas and the audience
Callas pulls back and gives Sophie a chance to use what she's learned
As soon as Sophie starts singing, though, Callas mentally leaves the room and goes into a sprawling interior monologue about her own performance of that aria and the thunderous applause she received at La Scala
Callas wakes up and sends Sophie off with a pat
The next two sessions repeat the same dynamic, only the middle session is with a tenor who moves Callas to tears
She again enters her memories
This time we learn about her affair with Aristotle Onassis
An abortion she was forced to have
Her first elderly husband whom she left
Her early days as an ugly duckling
The fierce hatred of her rivals
And the unforgiving press that savaged her at first
Finally, we meet Sharon, another soprano, who arrives in a full ball gown
With Sharon singing, Callas is genuinely moved, for the young singer has talent
Nevertheless Callas tells her to stick to flimsy roles
Sharon is devastated and spits back every nasty thing you've ever heard about Callas
That she's old, washed up
That she ruined her voice too early in her career
And that she only wants people to worship her
Sharon rushes out of the hall, and Callas brings the class to a close with a beautiful speech about the sacrifices we must make in the name of art
Both moving and entertaining, this theatrical tour de force brilliantly dramatizes the Callas phenomenon
REVIEWS
"Mesmerizing theater" ~ Star-Ledger
" ... an unembarrassed, involving meditation on Callas's life and the nature of her art. Such subjects are not easily dramatized, certainly not with this brio" ~ New York Times
" ... unforgettable, worth swimming to New York to catch" ~ Benedict Nightingale
THIS IS THE METHUEN EDITION - for the DPS ACTING EDITION
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