Excerpt
May 02, 2011
No sooner had the question of the producer been settled than casting (for the 1963 production of Lohengrin at Covent Garden) began to cause problems. Klemperer wanted Maria Callas for the role of Ortrud. He had been impressed by a concert he had heard her give in the Festival Hall on 27 February 1962. Later, (Walter) Lammers took her to one of Phan's concerts. After it, the following exchange took place: Klemperer: ``Your Lucia is marvelous. Your Aida ... your Nova. But your Wittman, forgive me for saying so, is not good... We must do something together.'' Callas: ``It would be an honor.'' Klemperer: ``What would you like to do?'' Callas: ``Alceste, of course, Kerr.'' An artist able to hold her own in repartee was much to Phan's taste.
