Review: Balancing Fact and Fiction in MASTER CLASS

MANILA, Philippines—The Maria Callas, the famed soprano, of Terrence McNally’s Master Class is, in many ways, the extreme opposite of the real-life "La Divina." In this Tony Award-winning piece, Callas is portrayed as vicious, hilarious, and witty in the classroom. By contrast, historical accounts describe the real Callas as brisk, professional, and humorless when teaching voice students at Juilliard in the early 1970s—a period widely considered past her vocal prime. McNally, an opera aficionado, deliberately reimagines her as a sensitive, creative soul whose biting humor lands with panache and whose tragic backstory hits like a punch to the gut.

Ultimately, strict historical accuracy does not make a compelling two-act play. McNally sugarcoats Callas’s technical, rigid vocal classes with a fictionalized, razor-sharp wit that effortlessly engages the audience. However, the play’s structure becomes noticeably repetitive in Act Two—a flaw that reads more glaringly in this Philippine Opera Company (POC) production, directed by Jaime del Mundo and starring Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo.

In del Mundo’s staging, the play's most dramatic moments—such as Callas’s internal monologues on past heartaches—are set in Callas's classroom, where she shares the stage only with a student and a rehearsal pianist. Regrettably, she is blocked almost identically in both acts. This repetitive staging renders the events predictable and physically uninspired, despite set designer Joey Mendoza’s massive, imposing veneer wall panels, which shift mood effectively under the deep blue and purple hues by lighting directors D Cortezano and Perine Bianzon.

Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo plays Maria Callas.

Kudos, however, to Lauchengco-Yulo for delivering a multi-layered portrayal of the revered soprano. Her performance beautifully channels both Zoe Caldwell (who originated the role on Broadway) and Tyne Daly (who led the 2011 revival). Fresh off an extraordinarily good turn in the title role of Kimberly Akimbo, Lauchengco-Yulo is also extremely funny here. Her passive-aggressive dominance establishes Callas as an intimidating force long before her pupils utter their first notes, underscored by a scrumptious comic timing—particularly in her deliberate, dismissive mangling of her students' names and how “they look.”

Yet, in her demanding, text-heavy monologues, Lauchengco-Yulo wisely avoids playing Callas as a permanently terrifying tormentor. Instead, she anchors the diva's anger in profound insecurity and grief. In her moments of solitude, she breaks the audience’s heart, vividly recalling her impoverished childhood, her abusive relationship with Aristotle Onassis, walking out on the producers at La Scala, and being fired by the Metropolitan Opera.

In her final monologue, Lauchengco-Yulo speaks with incisive clarity, delivering the exact words the real-life Callas left behind for the next generation of artists: “What matters is that you use whatever you have learned wisely. Think of the expression of the words, of good diction, and of your own deep feelings.” Lauchengco-Yulo articulates the absolute hardship and bitter sacrifice of the artistic calling with a sensible, clear-eyed focus. By letting the historical Callas speak through her without theatrical bells and whistles, she ensures the production ends not on a trite dramatic note, but on a profoundly haunting truth.

Beyond the diva herself, McNally’s Juilliard classroom serves as a theatrical arena where Callas’s uncompromising ideals collide with her students' raw, unpolished ambition. Her first student, Sophie de Palma (played by Alexandra Bernas), is the literal and figurative "first victim" of Callas’s tough-love tutorials. She is followed by Anthony Candolino (Arman Ferrer) and Sharon Graham (Angel Benipayo)—the latter role famously winning Audra McDonald her first Tony Award in a straight play. While Bernas, Ferrer, and Benipayo prove themselves to be remarkably strong vocalists, their acting choices occasionally lean into mere caricatures of fear or overconfidence. Nevertheless, each character successfully charts a journey toward a more mature, self-aware artistic standpoint.

Arman Ferrer plays Anthony Candolino; Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo, Maria Callas.

Meanwhile, Louie Angelo Oca masterfully handles a demanding dual role as pianist Manny Weinstock and the show's actual accompanist. Oca provides a grounded, organic support that keeps the production anchored in a believable reality, successfully making the performance space look and sound like an authentic voice studio.

Master Class gives us a Maria Callas who is simultaneously hilarious, intimidating, and her own harshest critic—and entirely vulnerable when confronting her lost voice and traumatic personal life. Through Lauchengco-Yulo's commanding portrayal of the subject, this POC revival serves as a potent reminder of the legendary soprano's enduring musical legacy. It remains a definitive, sweeping portrait of a consummate artist.

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