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Tyne Daly’s Master Class
Revival of Terrence McNally’s Award-Winning Play
Terrence McNally’s Master Class returns to the stage this summer at the Manhattan Theatre Club, being their first play in the Broadway 2011-2012 season. The play is set in a Juilliard lecture hall where a master class in vocalism is taught by Maria Callas, the legendary opera singer whose career was sensational, but short-lived.
Through a series of vocal sessions, Callas alternates between humorously insulting and upstaging her students, to emotionally recollecting her personal triumphs and tragedies. The audience experiences Callas’ past with increasing depth, with her recollections ranging from old rival relationships to a forced abortion. The emotion and experiences culminate in Callas delivering a heart-felt message about making sacrifices in the name of art.
“This is a classroom, not a theatre,” Callas states in her introduction to the class.
It is all very familiar, the fading teacher bestowing advice and knowledge to her students. However, Master Class extends its lessons beyond the classroom. The interconnection of art and its artist is explored as music triggers memories, reflecting Callas’ own principles and relationship with her craft. It is a lesson in life and art, a piece on self-reflection, and a sensitive examination of the artist.
Terrence McNally admired Maria Callas’s singing since he was a teenager, stating, “She was, for me, the greatest singer of my life time.” Later in life, he experienced his own frustration with teaching at Juilliard, and found inspiration for Master Class after sitting in and observing a vocal training lesson.
Master Class won numerous awards, including the 1996 Tony Awards for Best Play and Best Leading Actress, and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play. His previous well-known works include Love! Valour! Compassion!, Kiss of the Spiderwoman, and Ragtime, which have also won Tony Awards.
Playing the role of Maria Callas is Tyne Daly, who has won six Emmy awards for her work in television, as well as the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for Gypsy: A Musical Fable.
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