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Sunday, May 21, 2006
Grand tribute to opera's grande dame
Copyright © 2006 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc. | ||
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The dateline on the obituary seemed out of place. Sarah Caldwell, the first lady of opera, died in Portland in March after a robust life of 82 years. She founded the Opera Company of Boston, was the first woman to conduct at New York's Metropolitan Opera, and Time magazine featured her on its cover. A celebrity of international stature, Caldwell chose to spend her final years quietly in Maine, with little fanfare. She loved the state, felt at peace here and found comfort in Maine's awesome natural beauty, which helped center her and put into perspective her time on earth. "We were using Maine like Vacationland," said Jim Morgan, her longtime personal assistant and friend, who lived with Caldwell in Freeport. "We loved going up and down the coast, finding new villages. Sarah took full advantage of what Vacationland had to offer. She absolutely loved Old Orchard Beach, even off-season. She loved to be someplace where time stood still." It was common for Morgan and Caldwell to order breakfast from Becky's Diner, then drive to Cape Elizabeth and eat at Portland Head Light. Morgan, the marketing director for PCA Great Performances, is planning Caldwell's memorial, set for 1 p.m. Saturday at Trinity Church in Boston's Copley Square. A symbol of Boston, the revered church holds 1,300 people. No one will be surprised if Caldwell draws a standing-room-only crowd for her farewell. Morgan is planning a memorial that accents music and stays away from dramatic eulogies. "Eulogies are so seldom well done. There is no breach in nature as wide as that of an amateur and a professional. Instead of eulogies, I will have a program booklet that will list all of her productions from 1957 on, and I have asked a handful of people to write remembrances of her," said Morgan. Among those who participated is opera star Beverly Sills. She wrote, "My friend Sarah - three very important words to me. We had a profound influence on each other's lives. She was warm, caring, loving and very funny. How creative? Impossible to assess or measure. As great an artist as she was, she was a greater human being. I will miss her and am richer for having known her." The music will be both grand and reflective. Morgan has selected operas, spirituals and songs of celebration. Puccini's "Vissi d'arte" from "Tosca" is on the program, along with Gounod's "Santcus" from "St. Celia Mass" and Copland's "At the River." The final piece on Saturday's program is "When the Saints Go Marching In." "My goal is to create an atmosphere where old friends can get together and talk," Morgan said. "Just being together with grand music, some of it grandiose, is a fitting tribute. I want friends to sit there and think back to the pleasures she helped bring to the stage." Caldwell hired Morgan in the late 1970s, when Caldwell was at the height of her fame. Morgan didn't know a lot about opera. He had attended two or three, and at the time he was teaching English in suburban Boston. "After a six-month sabbatical to Asia, I found myself really quite bored teaching English. I remember coming out of a study hall one day saying, 'This won't do much longer. I have got to do something else.' " A friend familiar with Morgan's love of music and the performing arts recommended that he get in touch with the Opera Company of Boston. He had heard they were looking for someone who could keep up with Caldwell. At the time, Caldwell had a reputation for working around the clock and demanding the most from those who worked with her. She had worn out a few assistants. "They had tried hiring women, and it just didn't work," said Morgan. "Somehow we had a chemistry that allowed a very enjoyable give and take. The job certainly grew, as we came to like each other and trust each other very much." In many ways, Morgan became her soulmate, and eventually rose to the rank of opera company manager. When Caldwell left Boston for Arkansas in 1999, Morgan came to Portland to work for PCA Great Performances, bringing the expertise he learned in Boston to Maine. Caldwell went to Arkansas because the university there was hospitable to a project she initiated with Cambridge University in England and the Library of Congress to research and preserve the music of China's Tang Dynasty. She had become interested in Chinese music while in Beijing in 1981 to conduct Verdi's "La Traviata." Caldwell's time in Arkansas wasn't fruitful. She became ill, so Morgan invited her to Maine. She made the move in 2003. For Caldwell's memorial, Morgan chose a place that measured up to his friend's stature as artist and friend. "Trinity Church is in the middle of Boston, and it's a monument. She was the center of Boston's musical life for quite a while, and she was monumental." Staff Writer Bob Keyes can be contacted at 791-6457 or at:
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