SYLVIA SASS AND CALLAS: THE GREAT OPERA

The soprano who in the Seventies was saluted as ''the new Callas'',
presented her project on an opera dedicated to the Greek artist and which
has their meeting in Paris as foundation.

Far from stages for years, today she sings in her homeland, Hungary, and
at the same times exhibits her paintings, including portraits of Solti,
Bernstein and Callas herself.


THE INTERVIEW

   "Maria Callas brought to opera the same difference that talking pictures
brought to silent pictures", says Hungarian soprano Sylvia Sass. "She has
granted us the mandate to be singers, actors and musicians, all of them at
the same time".
   What was the motivation to write the libretto of an opera about Maria
Callas?
   "All what Maria was and my personal experience with her as well, whom I
met in Paris thanks to Leonard Bernstein, who planned it all. Those five
hours we shared were like an essence which embraces all".
   How is the libretto built?
   "The title is La Diva and tells the story of Maria Callas, but she
is never mentioned as such. In some ways it is my story, too, because at a
certain point of the libretto she is approached by a young singer who wants
her advice. It also deals with the beloved and the fact that this beloved
marries another one (in reference to Onassis choosing Jacqueline Kennedy),
and a real event: the diva rehearses alone in an empty theatre, but a
hidden reporter is listening to her and next day he writes horrible things.
Eventually she takes some medicine and at that moment she sings some
passages taken from the Fourth Act of La Traviata: fragments from Addio del
passato. That is why I want this libretto to be written in Italian, so as to
make it more beautiful".
   Who is working on that?
   "I passed all the material to my first husband, who is a poet, and he will
give the final touches to the dramatic structure.  He, who also attended my
meeting with Maria, at the moment is living with a lady who teaches at the
Drama Academy and speaks Italian perfectly. She will do the translation. The
music will be composed by the Spanish composer and conductor Alberto Santana,
a pupil of Solti and Bernstein and very much interested in this project".
   It was Bernstein who got you in contact with Maria Callas; however, he
never directed you in an opera. 
   "I always sang with him at the Hilton Hotel!", Sylvia Sass tells with a
smile. "Once we were about to perform Don Carlo in Spain. I would be
Elisabetta, but later he stubbornly insisted that I should be Princesa de
Eboli, which is a role for a mezzo. Only  Callas could do that, and I didn't
dare to.  Later, we had a contract to perform together in Vienna: Aïda.
However, he decided he would only direct Beethoven that year and replaced
Aïda for Fidelio... He wanted me to be Leonora. It was very funny because
while we rehearsed Aïda's final duet with the piano, he kept saying
'Fine, fine, but why don't you sing Fidelio?' Once again, I didn't dare; I
was too young and my voice was not ready for that role".


"SHE CAN DO IT ALL"

   Maria Callas (1923-1977) met Sylvia Sass (1951) in Paris a little before
her death.  In that occasion, a distant and imperative Callas made the young
Hungarian singer do this and that. Sylvia stopped the affront by saying that
for the sake of her integrity,  they should stop at once. In that moment
Callas was disarmed and gave Sass many pieces of advice.
   Turned into an opera star overnight after a performance in I Lombardi with
José Carreras in London (1976), the name Sylvia Sass was unavoidably linked
to that of Maria Callas. 
   How did you face this comparison with Callas?
   "It was difficult, because the audience's expectations were different to
those of the critics. First of all,  Callas was superb and unique. For a
young singer it may be a dream to be compared to  such an artist,  but it is
very dangerous.  One day someone  told me, 'I've heard you are the new Maria
Callas'. I answered, 'No, I am the first Sylvia Sass', the artist recalls.
   Her wide repertoire similar to that of Callas, her intense personality on
stage, her early and sudden triumph, and roles which were the Greek singer's
absolute domain, helped build up Sylvia Sass's legend. Among those roles are
Lady Macbeth, Violetta, Medea, Tosca, Norma and others.
   Just like Callas, she seemed to be able to do it all. The journalist
and critic Charles Winecoff, who wrote a special issue about Sass (1990) for
the Opera Monthly magazine, gives account of her performance in the title
role of Salome: "To see her as Salome is a quite fascinating experience, an
impressive statement of what is evident when you listen to her: Sylvia Sass
can do it all".


IMAGES IN MUSIC

   At present, Sylvia Sass's career is many-sided: she had her debut as
régisseur in 1997 (Mozart's Don Giovanni), she was a teacher (she gave
private lessons and taught at her Alma Mater as well, the Franz Liszt
Academy in Budapest) and has got a record label (Cant-Art, under which she
has released her last CDs). As if this was not enough, she also paints.  And
also in painting - she has already had 40 exhibitions - there is a link with
Maria Callas:
   "I painted a portrait of Maria", she says enthusiastically. "I painted her
as Medea, the great tragic character from  Pasolini's movie. I also painted
a portrait of Georg Solti and one of Leonard Bernstein".
   What is your Solti like? (with him she recorded  Bartok's Bluebeard's
Castle and Mozart's Don Giovanni for Decca-London).
   "He has a very severe way of looking. There is a special approach to his
hand, which wants to express something about his will as a musician, which
is very important in him.  I wanted to paint present and past in him,
together.  Although he is dead, he is always with me".
   What about Bernstein?
   "His eyes are closed and everything around him is movement.  There is a
kind of wind, a tempest.  He dreamed of the music he made and that is how I
painted him".
   You also wrote a book about your career...
   "Yes, but which has not been published yet. It is a book about painting
and singing and how they have been together in my life.  When I think of a
character or a scene, I always need to turn some things into images.
Virtually all my current concerts are linked to an exhibition.  That is what
it will be like in Paris, next February".


"I AM NOT A DOLL ANYMORE"

   An artist emeritus in her homeland, Sylvia Sass was a member of the
National Opera in Hungary, and during the first stage of her career it was
difficult for her to perform abroad.  In 1978, for instance, she had to ask
for a permit to have her debut at La Scala (Manon Lescaut, with Domingo and
Pretre).
   "After a contract in London for Don Carlo, the government made me return
home next day.  I had to appeal to the highest Hungarian officials to
continue to work independently. Until that moment I had to do it through a
state agency called Inter-Concert".
   In 1979 she emigrated to the United Kingdom with the pianist Andras Schiff
(with whom she recorded an award-winning album with Lieder by Liszt and
Bartok).
   "It was a difficult decision; not even my parents knew about it. I felt
that if I stayed, I would lose every single opportunity", she explains.
   Married three times and far from the most important theatres - "after 20
years I felt the need of having a quieter life" - her main current activities
include concerts with the new baritone Karoly Fekete.
   What is Fekete's role in your current artistic life?
   "He brought me back the happiness of singing. Painting and singing are my
work, and thanks to him I discovered I could resume them. Many times I said
that my career had restricted my private life, but that is not true. When
you find the right person, everything turns out right. I am very grateful to
him".
   Would you take part in an opera again?
   "Yes, as long as my quality as an artist is respected.  I am not willing
to give concessions to a record company, a stage director or an inappropriate
partner anymore. I would like to resume Alceste, sing Ifigenia en Aulis and
Ifigenia en Táuride, and also Fedora and Adriana Lecouvreur. It is funny, but
today my voice flows very well with  Gluck, Wagner and Strauss. I have been
told of a Salome in Zagreb, but I haven't taken a decision yet".
   Do you feel there has been a strong change inside of you?
   "Yes. Now I am not a doll which can be placed here or there. I have become
strong.  I've learned that it is only to God that I have to give account of
what I did with my gifts. I am not afraid anymore".