MARIA CALLAS may well have been the single most influential agent in dragging post war, Italian opera out of the veristic mire of its preceding thirty years. In a cleverly devised and concisely articulated presentation at the NCH last night, Ethna Tinney endeavoured to delve into some of the things which went into the making of the wayward diva's art and life.

Musical illustrations, mainly but not exclusively drawn from Callas's stage repertoire, were provided by a trio of singers backed by Ms Tinney at the piano and her five piece Classical Graffiti ensemble.

If Marie Hegarty's sharply focused soprano related more to Callas's timbre than Kathryn Smith's softer grained tones, it was the latter artist who proved to be the better acting singer and, who provided the evening's best moment with a moving account of Violetta's Addio del passato, including the harrowing second verse, something the great lady herself never essayed. Not far behind, however, was Ms Hegarty's searing performance of Manon Lescaut's Sola, perduta, abbandonata.

Tenor contrast was provided by John Scott, whose ringing high notes were never quite in scale with his sometime pleasantly plangent, sometimes merely white delivery elsewhere and whose way with note values and phrasing was often careless. He was heard at his best in the extended Act One Cavaradossi/Tosca duet with Ms Smith.