{"id":13410,"date":"2013-04-01T19:30:10","date_gmt":"2013-04-02T02:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bostonartsdiary.com\/wordpress\/?p=13410"},"modified":"2013-04-04T10:15:05","modified_gmt":"2013-04-04T17:15:05","slug":"master-class","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonartsdiary.com\/wordpress\/2013\/04\/master-class\/","title":{"rendered":"Master Class"},"content":{"rendered":"

Play (1995)
\nby Terrence McNally<\/p>\n

Directed by Antonio Ocampo-Guzman<\/p>\n

New Repertory Theatre<\/a>
\nArsenal Center for the Arts<\/a>
\nWatertown, MA<\/p>\n

March 31 – April 21, 2013<\/p>\n

With Amelia Broome (Maria), Brendon Shapiro (Manny), Erica Spyres (Sophie), Michael Caminiti (Stagehand), Darren T. Anderson (Tony), Lindsay Conrad (Sharon)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Maria<\/a>
Maria Callas as Violetta
in Verdi’s “La Traviata” (1958)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Maria Callas, the noted Greek-American soprano, gives a master class to several vocal students, none of whom is particularly prepared for the intensity of her instruction.<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

This really is a kind of master class, with Maria Callas (Amelia Broome) holding forth on her philosophy of art while mercilessly lambasting several students in the service of it.<\/p>\n

It is a brutal scene in a way, but not heartless. Maria, as vividly and intensely embodied by Amelia Broome, is, to say the least, a determined character whose relentless insistence on conveying the meaning of artistic expression overrides traditional notions of decency. <\/p>\n

The results, however, are vivid, and it is quite something to see, and to hear, these three young vocalists – Erica Spyres (Sophie), Darren T. Anderson (Tony) and Lindsay Conrad (Sharon) – move, in each case, from routine to passionate performances. Blood almost appears on the stage in the process of bringing these young singers to artistic term, but, in the end, we understand the drive and the vision that motivate Callas as teacher. <\/p>\n

\"Erica<\/a>
Erica Spypres as Sophie
Amelia Broome as Maria Callas
in “Master Class”
Photo: Andrew Brilliant \/ Brilliant Pictures
Courtesy New Repertory Theatre<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The play is long – about two hours and twenty minutes with intermission – and is a lot for a single central actor to carry. Broome does an excellent job of keeping the tension high and the audience riveted, a demanding, and certainly exhausting, task. <\/p>\n

\"Brendan<\/a>
Brendan Shapiro as Manny
Lindsay Conrad as Sharon
Amelia Broome as Maria Callas
in “Master Class”
Photo: Andrew Brilliant \/ Brilliant Pictures
Courtesy New Repertory Theatre<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I wonder whether the play needs to be as long as it is. Near the end there is a long autobiographical stretch about Callas’ stormy and complicated involvement with Aristotle Onassis, which relies to a considerable extent on our familiarity with that well-known story. Leaving that out of this narrative would not likely have diminished from our understanding the subtext, and certainly not from the dramatic thrust of the play.<\/p>\n

Maria Callas was born Cecilia Sophia Anna Maria Kalogeropoulus in New York on December 3, 1923. (Her parents, Greek immigrants, changed their last name to Callas when Maria started school.) She died on September 16, 1977, at her home in Paris, at the age of 53.<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

The three singers are all excellent actors as well as superb vocalists. <\/p>\n

I saw Erica Spyres give energetic performances last season in Avenue Q<\/a>, and earlier this season in The Mikado<\/a>, at the Lyric Stage, and she was equally compelling here. <\/p>\n

Darren T. Anderson and Lindsay Conrad do considerable acting, as well as expert singing, in this show, and both rise beautifully to the occasion on both scores. <\/p>\n

Brendon Shapiro, as Manny, the pianist, does wonderful musical work as well as providing intermittent and droll theatrical support. As the Stagehand, Michael Carnitini gives an almost wordless, but very funny, series of cameos.<\/p>\n

\"Amelia<\/a>
Amelia Broome as Maria Callas
in “Master Class”
Photo: Andrew Brilliant \/ Brilliant Pictures
Courtesy New Repertory Theatre<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The set is almost an empty stage, save for a piano, with a backdrop that simulates the keys of a piano. <\/p>\n

When the stage is backlit, some hanging musical instruments show through. At one point, the backdrop opens and the instruments get pulled away; it is not clear what the significance is, and the effect is somewhat episodic. <\/p>\n

The stark, brightly lit stage, on its own terms, however, provides a dramatic frame for this vivid and heart-rending portrayal of one of opera’s greatest vocal artists as teacher.<\/p>\n

Mar\u00eda Callas singing Vissi d’arte<\/em> from Puccini’s Tosca<\/em>.<\/a><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

– BADMan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Play (1995)
\nby Terrence McNally
\nDirected by
\nAntonio Ocampo-Guzman
\nNew Repertory Theatre<\/a>
\nArsenal Center for the Arts<\/a>
\nWatertown, MA
\nMarch 31 – April 21, 2013<\/strong>
\nMaria Callas, the noted Greek-American soprano, gives a master class to several vocal students, none of whom is particularly prepared for the intensity of her instruction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-13410","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-plays","7":"entry","8":"has-post-thumbnail"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonartsdiary.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13410","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonartsdiary.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonartsdiary.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonartsdiary.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonartsdiary.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13410"}],"version-history":[{"count":34,"href":"https:\/\/bostonartsdiary.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13410\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13452,"href":"https:\/\/bostonartsdiary.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13410\/revisions\/13452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonartsdiary.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonartsdiary.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonartsdiary.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}