Milan, Teatro alla Scala, 7 December 1954

     Female speaker: In waiting for the beginning of the performance of Act Two, we are broadcasting a report from the Teatro alla Scala by Emilio Pozzi, our radio reporter.

     Callas: I only wish to thank Madame Ferri, who has moved me with her good wishes; let us hope they will be fortuitous.

     Pozzi: They already are. Just a few brief words for this, the quickest of interviews – which is running out anyway, since you have to get ready for the second act, which is central to the plot.

     Callas: Yes, it is true, the second act is very dramatic and heavily focused on my character, in fact.

     Pozzi: Madame Callas, would the greatest difficulty of performing this opera possibly be due to a blending of two styles – those of the 18^th and 19^th centuries?

     Callas: Yes, it is true, there is a diversity of styles; yet the work has a resemblance to many other operas in which I have sung, for example, Medea, Norma, or Alceste. It is a mixture of all of them, while not being exactly like any. Moreover, it would be another side of the Norma coin, so to speak. True, this comparison is almost silly, since Adalgisa indeed falls short of being La Vestale’ Giulia; however, the Vestal is a much more dramatic character.