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Italian-American conductor Nicola Rescigno played a significant role in developing both the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Dallas Opera, which he co-founded with Carol Fox and Lawrence V. Kelly, in 1952 and 1957 respectively. It was Rescigno who brought Callas to America for her 1954 debut, and became one of Maria Callas’s favourite conductors, alongside Tullio Serafin and Georges Prêtre.
The two met in Italy the summer before his first season in Chicago, where he heard Callas and immediately offered the titular role in the LOC’s upcoming performance of Bellini’s Norma, which would be her American debut. The two went on to collaborate on numerous performances, including her 1959 concert performance of Il pirate, at Carnegie Hall, and several albums of popular opera arias, recorded for EMI; and tours in North America and Europe.
“They were friends,” says his nephew, American conductor Joseph Rescigno. “He adored her … and because of that connection, I got to hear and see her perform many times, and I got to meet her. I watched him with her, and I could see why she loved to sing with him. He was always the kind of conductor who was a wonderful partner for singers, but the chemistry between Callas and him was quite special. There was a real rapport—a great deal of mutual respect.”
He likens the relationship between his uncle and Callas to that of members of a string quartet—a group of musicians so accustomed to creating together, that “they know what each other is thinking” and adds: “She was undoubtedly his favourite singer to work with.”
“The first time I heard her sing, I was 9 years old, in Chicago,” says Rescigno, remembering the awe of hearing Callas in an orchestra rehearsal for Verdi’s Il Trovatore. “The impact of hearing her voice in that small rehearsal room is my favourite memory of her.” The last time he heard her was in the 1959 concert performance of Il pirate for the American Opera Society. Their final encounter was not a musical one, Rescigno says, when, one day, she stopped by to say hello to his uncle, whom he was visiting in Rome.
“She is one of the absolute great artists of the 20th century, in opera,” he adds. “She was quite unique—it wasn’t just this fantastic voice, it was also a deep musical understanding. She really embodied roles. She was a total artist, totally believable. With Callas, it was a complete experience.”
The Callas Voice
Joseph Rescigno
Rescigno reflects on the mastery Callas had over her instrument, comparing the experience of hearing her perform live to that of hearing Joan Sutherland. “What people who didn’t hear them live do not understand,” he says, “is that they had very big voices. If they wanted to open up they could—they could match anybody else in size,” but they could “tone the voice down to 15 per cent of its power, if the repertoire required it.”
It was this versatility, he says, that allowed her to perform such a wide variety of repertoire at a high level. “She had a sizable instrument, but she had the ability to hone it. Because of that, she was a very impressive Medea, a very impressive Tosca and a very impressive Lucia. I don’t think there are any singers today that have the range she had.”
Beyond the qualities of her singing, though, he remarks on Callas’s dedication to her craft: “She was the first person to arrive at rehearsal, and the last person to leave.” Rescigno challenges the concept that Callas was difficult. “If anything, she was difficult with herself, but always very respectful with colleagues, and a very hard worker.”
Changes in her instrument, and her performing life, were widely recognized by audiences through the early and mid-1950s. “She just gave 100 per cent all the time, and that takes a toll.” He wonders if, perhaps, this toll was exacerbated by the “emotional roller-coaster” that resulted from her involvement with Aristotle Onassis. Rescigno compares the psychology of a classical performer to that of an athlete, noting that emotional strain can cause a depreciation in confidence. “If you begin to doubt your abilities … it can have a horrible impact on the level of your performance.”
Rescigno shares one of Nicola’s greatest regrets: “Late in his life, he told me that after Lawrence Kelly died in 1974 while still General Manager of Dallas Opera, Callas called and offered to take over the role. My uncle didn’t think it would work and didn’t take her up on it, but in retrospect, it might have given her more purpose and more years to her life.”
About Joseph Rescigno
American conductor Joseph Rescigno has worked extensively in both North America and Europe. Montreal audiences remember his performances with the Montreal Opera, l’Orchestre Métropolitain and his recordings on Analekta. His book Conducting Opera: Where Theater Meets Music, was published in 2020 and an excerpt was published in La Scena Musicale, April/May 2021. Since 2005, Maestro Rescigno has been Music Director of La Musica Lirica, a summer training institute for young singers based in Northern Italy. This summer, he will direct Puccini’s Madama Butterfly at the program.
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