A Master Class with Maria Callas

                     Maria Callas

              Cherie Gil as Maria Callas

This is the amazing thing about art forms like music and theater... they have the power to evoke powerful emotions, serve as catharsis, and help organize abstract emotions into coherent plans of action.

POC's "Master Class" did all the above, for me. It was the second time that I've seen the play (the first one being several years ago, as a high school student), but its impact on me was nonetheless forceful and visceral. It reminded me of several truths about singing, about Music, that I'd nearly forgotten. The past several months, living as "Teacher Gabi," I nearly lost sight of my other identity... that of musician. Seeing this play revived that other essential part of me, and I cannot describe the elation I felt after leaving the theater that evening! It was like finding oneself, all anew.

Here is a brief summary I found online, and which was included in the souvenir program as well:

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, dabbles in opera dish and flat-out seduces the audience. Callas gets on her knees and acts 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, and we learn about Callas' 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, but Callas tells her to stick to flimsy roles. Sharon is devastated and spits back every nasty thing you've ever heard about Callas: She's old, washed up; she ruined her voice too early in her career; she only wants people to worship her, etc. 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.

Seeing "Master Class" made me rethink the basis of my adoration of a longtime idol, Maria Callas... she who redefined the word "diva" and set the standard for generations of sopranos to come.

Hers was a difficult and unhappy life. She devoted her early years to her career, but fell in love with a man whose regard for her was unequal to her devotion to him. She sacrificed her career for him, in eager anticipation of the day that she would become his wife. But in the end, he chose Jackie O. over her, and Callas lived out the rest of her days loveless and voiceless... a fate worse than death for any singer, especially for one such as her, who sacrified everything for her art.

We can learn a lot from Callas, from her devotion to excellence and single-minded pursuit of her goal. But we have to ask ourselves as well... is fame and fortune all that we truly want in Life?

Callas grew up deprived of the finer things in Life. She had to fight tooth and nail to reap the benefits of success that she more than deserved to get. But then there came a time that Callas the woman dominated over Callas the artist, and that brief period was what the play gave us insight to.

I was sobbing silently when Cherie Gil/Callas mourned the death of her aborted baby, and felt her pain as if it were my own. It is to the credit of the actress that she was able to bring Callas to life. I swear, Cherie Gil WAS Callas, for that evening! And when she remembered her triumphs, my heart soared with her. When she recounted the loss of her love, my chest ached and my eyes shed copious tears. And when the play ended, I was no longer the same.

Scratch that. I was never more fully myself than when I exited the theater, after seeing the play.

I cannot recommend this play highly enough. It is not only for musicians, but for everyone who wants to learn the true lessons in life.

"The world WILL go on without us. But I would like to think that we have left this world a better place, that we have left it richer, wiser than had we not chosen the way of art." -- Maria Callas

MASTER CLASS is still showing in the RCBC Plaza, Makati, this weekend! (Oct. 23, 24 and 25, 8 pm) For tickets, please call Philippine Opera Company at 8928786 or visit www.philippineoperacompany.com