Master Class
Now Closed
Booking Period
- Show Opened
- 21st Jan 2012
- Booking Until
- 28th Apr 2012
Running Time
Age Restrictions
Suitable for children ages 12 and over.
What's it all about?
Maria Callas was the original diva: the greatest soprano of the 20th century, with a tempestuous personal life and feisty temperament to match.
Fresh from Broadway success, this is a rare chance to see Terrence McNally’s Tony Award-winning play about the life behind the legend – from her glory days at Milan’s La Scala opera house to her stormy affair with the billionaire Aristotle Onassis.
We can’t promise you a night of opera – after all, no one has a voice like Callas – but Verdi, Puccini and Bellini certainly get a look-in in this moving and witty play.
Who's in it?
Many talented actresses have given outstanding performances in this plum part, from Oscar-winning Faye Dunaway to Les Misérables original cast member Patti LuPone. Even Roman Polanski has had a crack at directing it, with Fanny Ardant as his leading lady.
Now Tony Award-winner Tyne Daly (best known as the latter half of Cagney and Lacey) revives the role for the 21st century, and it’s a dazzling performance that really captures the spirit, humour and humanity of the woman behind the icon.
Joining Tyne Daly are Dianne Pilkington (formerly Glinda in Wicked), opera singer Naomi O'Connell, Gerard Carey (Spamalot), tenor Garrett Sorenson and Broadway cast member Jeremy Cohen.
Suitable for
Clearly, you’ll love this if you’re a Callas enthusiast, but Master Class isn’t just for opera buffs. It will appeal to all serious theatre-goers, especially fans of feisty females.
So if you saw Janet McTeer and Harriet Walter in Mary Stuart, Marion Cotillard’s Oscar-winning performance as Edith Piaf in La Vie En Rose, or Meryl Streep playing The Iron Lady, you’ll enjoy this insight into the trademark wit and wisdom of a singing sensation.
What's the story?
If you’ve listened to a recording of Maria Callas’s voice, you’ll know she was a one-off. But her private life was every bit as dramatic as the operas she sang.
By the 1970s, she was giving masterclasses to the next generation of singers at prestigious arts school Juilliard. Sitting in on one of these, you’ll be transported back in time as she recalls a career full of triumphs and tragedies.
From her “ugly duckling” phase to La Scala successes, her run-ins with rivals and love affairs with powerful men, it’s a fascinating story that asks us all: how far would you go to achieve your dreams?
Staff Reviews
I thought the show was very well presented and suited the intimate setting of the theatre. The script was excellent and the acting (especially Tyne Daly) was superb.
I thoroughly enjoyed this show. It is a true thespian's and theatregoer's show: poignant, powerful and interesting. Read up about Maria Callas (if you do not already know her life story or work) and simply imagine you are a witness to one of her famously unique 1970s Master classes. Unforgettable.
Tyne Daly did a great job. She may not look like a typical Maria Callas but she had the expressions and the demeanour spot on. I enjoyed the interaction between the cast and the audience and the simplistic nature of the set; this helped to create an intimate setting, which is harder to do in a large theatre like the Vaudeville. It was also very funny at points.
What the critics say
Mesmerising and often wonderfully funny
Daly gives the evening the touch of class
Tyne Daly is astonishingly good
Spellbindingly performed by Daly
Stephen Wadsworth's production gives Daly room to captivate, and she consistently does just that
A towering stage presence
Pitch perfect and enthralling
Tyne Daly is passionately brilliant
Customer Reviews
My friend and I thought this was a fantastic play. We were completely absorbed from start to finish. All the actors were excellent and Tyne Daly was superb. I know little about Maria Callas' life so found the text very interesting. Nothing to fault!
Excellent show and Tour de Force by Tyne Daly.
Really enjoyable- Tyne Daly was excellent - as were all the supporting staff. Only shame was that we were in dress circle, and leg room was very cramped.
What a wonderful show from start to finish. Much funnier than I expected yet dramatic and emotional, Tyne Daly"s performance was superb. The singers gave me these tingling moments that I get when I hear beautiful music sung by wonderful singers. I feel privileged to have seen Miss Daly's final performance and would have seen her perform over and over again had I the opportunity a wonderful night
For the first fifteen minutes of the show I found slightly iritating and didnt think I would last the course, but thankfully after that it really took off and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The cast were brilliant Tyne Daly was amazing and very edgy(wouldnt want your mobile to go off with her on stage). Grret Sorenson's voice made my spine tingle. Would definately reccomend this .
Just great!
