Maria Callas and the Rome Walkout (1958)

This harsh newsreel reports on Maria Callas walking out of the production of Bellini's Norma.
The Teatro dell'Opera di Roma was full, the cameras were broadcasting and the Italian President Giovanni Gronchi was in attendance. Callas was playing Norma with no understudy but during the first half of the performance, her voice showed signs of stress and before the second act began, she left the Opera House. There was a massive uproar in Rome. This event lead to her downfall.

This is was Maria Callas said of 'that' performance:

"Some people said that I left the performance because of rudeness from a section of the audience. Anyone who knows me knows this is ridiculous. Hisses and yells do not frighten me, for I am fully aware of the enmity of claques. When my enemies stop hissing, I'll know I've failed. They only make me furious, make me want to sing better than ever to complete the performance, but that night in Rome I was unable to sing... Many singers have had colds, and many of them have been substituted for even during the performance. It happens all the time. The opera house must either have a substitute ready, or else it must take the responsibility, Rome did neither.

In the morning a doctor sent by the opera house examined me and reported that I had bronchitis and tracheitis but could possibly sing again in five or six days. The President's wife telephoned and said, "Tell Maria we know she was sick and could not continue." Unfortunately she did not say that to the newspapers. The press demanded pictures of me sick in bed, but I am a serious artist, not a a soubrette, and I do not pose for pictures in bed. I refused, and the newspapers decided that it would be more interesting to imply that I was perfectly healthy but had lost my nerve because of the insults... My names was seriously damaged by this unjust incident'."

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FILM ID:1507.3

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