Vilja Song

Speaking of opera, Vilja Song is one of the most lovely arias of all time (from Franz Lehar's Merry Widow).  The song itself has very little to do with the plot so I won't bother retelling it, but Vilja has a story worth telling.  Vilja (also known by Wila, Veela, Vila) is a mythical forest fairy.  Though Google delivers tantalizingly few images, Rossetti's romantic painting below works with the mood of the song (according to some legends Vilja is cursed never to find true love and if they do, that love will die a terrible death, how is that for melodramatic).

Dante Gabriel Rossetti  “The Blessed Damozel”

This version of the song is performed by Sissel Kyrkjebø (soprano from Norway).



Digging for the Dirt

I embarked on this post to dig into style icons and who they really are. My first pick is legendary soprano Maria Callas. Who is the person behind the graceful woman and lovely voice?

The elegant coat, the cateye, the jewels!
Photo: Corbis Sygm

From all appearances Maria Callas was not an easy woman nor did she have an easy life. Madame Callas had a dysfunctional relationship with her mother. She was said to be temperamental and rumored to have rivalry with another soprano. Oh yes, there is also her involvement with Aristotle Onassis that started while she was still married. In a word, a diva.

Just one more surprise in store. Maria Callas use to be …heavy. My quick scan of the web universe did not yield any photos and looking at the dramatic opera beauty it is hard to imagine, but that’s what icons are, a distillation of a person to a few images.

80 lbs later
Photo: Cecil Beaton/Camera Press/Retna

At the end of the day, primadonna or not, I could listen to her O Mio Babbino Caro for eternity.