aria

Composed without arias or set pieces, Dargomyzhsky’s score illuminates Pushkin’s words and paves the way for the truly Russian opera, however grander, of Mussorgsky and Rimsky-Korsakov.

When the personification of Mandrex asks her why she’s allowing him to make a film about the end of her life, Maria tells him that she wants an aria as part of her third act.

In this version, Callas sings this aria while telling her maid that she has just seen the appearance of a ghost near a fountain.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the actor practiced a series of difficult Italian operas and arias, oftentimes in front of hundreds of crew members.

Paige’s big break came in wartime when she sang an operatic aria for servicemen at the Hollywood Canteen.