Marie Comper PI: B5798865 Part 1 Maria Callas How does the newspaper review help us to understand Callas's

reputation as a diva?

"Maria Callas was probably the most famous opera star of the mid twentieth century" (Robert Philip, 2008, pg 174). I think this statement shows how important Maria Callas was in her Prime. In this assignment I am going to discuss what qualities Maria Callas has as a performer that helped to gain the reputation of a 'diva'. I will mainly be discussing a newspaper review written by C, Cassidy for the Chicago Tribune, and how this review compares to the material I have already studied relating to Maria Callas's reputation as a 'diva'. In the newspaper review the journalist has written that Maria Callas is a "singer in trouble" (Cassidy, C, in AA100 Assignment Booklet, 2010, pg 23). This reason for this statement is that, in Maria Callas's performance in the opera 'Lucia di Lammermoor', at the Metropolitan Opera house in New York, she was reported by unnamed sources to have had a bad throat. This enabled her to reach her usually outstanding standard of singing. Despite this the journalist goes onto say "even her 'flawed' Lucia is incomparable in our time".( Cassidy, C, in AA100 Assignment Booklet, 2010, pg 23). This last statement

(written above) from the article shows how highly Maria could still perform, with her voice not at its best. Callas's acting was also a very big part of her performance as well, she is well known for her amazing acting as well as her voice. "Maria Callas is still regarded as one of the greatest singing actresses of all time" (Phantis,2006). When listening to the extract from the mad scene 'ohime! sorge il tremendo' it is very clear that Maria Callas was an amazing Soprano. I found the opening lines of the extract very dramatic. In this 'aria' Maria Callas hits her top notes towards the end, first at 02'32" on the track and then she reaches her climax just after at 02'50". "Last night a 'mad scene' marvelously sung ended in anticlimax because she amputated the climactic note before it could utterly betray her" (Cassidy, C, in AA100 Assignment Booklet, 2010, pg 23). In this statement the writer is explaining that because Maria Callas couldn't reach her usual level of climax in this certain performance she had to 'amputate' the climactic note, so it could not appear weak in her performance. In this article there is much written about this poor performance (compared to Callas's usual high quality) but you can still get the sense of Callas's reputation as a 'diva'. Described as " Callas who is unique in the world of opera". (Cassidy, C, in AA100 Assignment Booklet, 2010, pg 24). This word "unique" meaning one of a kind in the opera world sums up how this writer sees Maria Callas. Although this may not have been one of her best performances Maria Callas is still described as giving a 'beautiful performance' and sang most of the performance beautifully.

"The stereotypical diva in the classical music world is someone of supreme talent, with great vocal facility",( Elaine Moohan, 2008, pg 163). From this statement and from what is written in the newspaper review of Maria Callas's performance, she was definitely a 'Diva' of her time, and still after death continues to retain her reputation as a 'diva'. Maria Callas's voice and performance on stage always showed the great emotions of the characters she played. The audience were almost sure to be mesmerised by this amazing soprano on the stage.

Word Count: 589

Bibliography

Cassidy, C, review of Lucia di Lammermoor ; reprinted in AA100 assignment booklet, (February 2011), Milton Keynes, The Open University, p.23-24. Moohan, E., Jones, N. and Philip, R. (2008)'The Diva', in Moohan, E. (ed.) Reputations (AA100 Book 1), Milton Keynes, The Open University , pp. 163, 174. Phantis (2006) Maria Callas, available from http://wiki.phantis.com/index.php/Maria_Callas (Accessed 27 April 2011).

Part 2 Plato on tradition and belief

Write out the argument in full, completing premise 1 and identifying the conclusion Premise 1: If knowledge is the only thing that that benefits us, then virtue is a kind of knowledge. Premise 2: Knowledge is the only thing that benefits us.. Conclusion: So, virtue is a kind of knowledge. Is the argument as you have set it out valid? Explain your answer Yes the argument is valid. The argument is valid because if both the premises are true then the conclusion must be true as well, therefore giving a valid argument. How does Socrates try to establish that knowledge is the only thing that benefits us? Socrates tries to establish that knowledge is the only thing that benefits us by describing it as "just a kind of boldness", (Plato, in AA100 Assignment Booklet, 2010, p. 25). Socrates then goes onto say that without wisdom ignorant boldness would be harmful to us, but if you add wisdom to this boldness it would be beneficial. He says these terms would also apply to quick wits and also temperance. With this said I believe that Socrates is trying to say that without wisdom you

wouldn't be getting anywhere fast, but everybody would benefit from adding wisdom to their boldness. Explain what Nicias means by the claim that courage is knowledge. Describe and discuss one or two possible objections to this claim. Nicias says "Courage is knowledge of what's fearful and what's encouraging, whether it's in war or in any other situation" (Plato, in AA100 Book 2, 2008, p.32). Socrates and Laches then put across the argument, that if what Nicias is saying is true then, if animals cannot distinguish between what is good and what is evil then they lack courage. Nicias then says that yes he believes that animals lack courage because they are not knowledgeable. What Nicias is trying to explain is that it is more courageous to think before you act, to try and establish what the outcome of your actions may be. He is almost saying that knowledgeable people with a strategy are more courageous, because they can work out a better outcome, and animals are unable to do this. Laches and Socrates disagree with Nicias's view and I am more on their side on this point. I do agree with Nicias that you do need a certain amount of knowledge to be courageous, but I have to agree with Laches when he says that animals are courageous. I believe that if a lion is brave enough to take on a much larger prey in the wild then they are courageous and not just 'fearless' as Nicias calls it. Nicias then goes onto say " I prefer 'fearless' and 'foolish'" (Plato, in AA100 Book 2, 2008 p.32). I agree with Nicias at this point because I do believe that

some people can be seen as courageous when they are just being foolish. Say if somebody goes into fight without thinking and they end up in hospital, this would be foolish because I believe a person should think before they act in a tough situation. "We will be much more inclined to say that these are courageous soldiers if they are not serving some dreadful overall end, serving a tyranny" (Tim Chappell, speaking in 'Plato's Laches- a Discussion with Tim Chappell', 2009, Track 6). What Tim Chappell is saying in this discussion is , what Plato meant with the discussion is that with being courageous, you should also be able to judge a certain situation and make a decision based on this knowledge, although Plato did think that Nicias view was strange.

Word count: 608

Bibliography

Plato, Laches 194c-195a, 196c-197c; Reprinted in AA100 Book 2, (2008), Milton Keynes, The Open University, p. 32. 'Plato's Laches- a Discussion with Tim Chappell' (2009) (AA100 Audio CD), Milton Keynes, The Open University. Plato, Meno 97c-89a; Reprinted in AA100 Assignment Booklet (February 2011), Milton Keynes, The Open University, p. 25. Price, C. (2008) 'Plato on tradition and belief', in Price, C (ed.) Tradition and Dissent (AA100 Book 2), Milton Keynes, The Open University, p. 32.