Tosca

A diva is defined as a female singer who’s voice had this ability to be able to convey the emotions of the piece they are singing effectively. Maria Callas had this ability to be able to convey emotions of the character she played ii Norma, Tosca and many others.

As the review progresses, we read how Calla’s reputation as a diva is deserved, the reviewer first indicates to the reader that the opera tosca was two very different parts, “Last night’s performance of the first two acts of Puccini’s masterwork quite strikingly revealed both sides of Miss Calla’s dual nature.” In the first act we see a side of Calla’s that doesn’t suggest that she “can set a house afire with a single jabbing gesture.” Instead we read how she is quite “distant, remote, her voice as well, taking on precisely those qualities.” This doesn’t suggest to the reader she is a diva like many have perceived her to be but rather instead an average opera singer in awe of performing at the Metropolitan Opera House.

The second side we see of Callas affirms her status as a diva, the review adds that the second act is “...transformed if by witchcraft, Maria Callas as she is known.” The review indicates that the performance of act 2 was the Maria Callas that they had first suggested could set a house afire. The review continues to confirm this by commenting on her voice, “Her voice steadied its pitch punctured notes like tooled arrows, and its color lightened...” This shows how she has attained her status as a diva, to be able to come back and preform act 2 with confidence and grow in to the part. It also shows us how she uses her voice, which is what diva is defined for been able to do with there vocal talent, to make the character’s emotion real.

The review continues and informs the reader on how Miss Callas makes the character of Tosca real, this is when Scarpia offers her two choices as Cavaradossi’s is being tortured in the adjacent room. “Her resignation as she realises that she is lost were...