The play originally was staged by the Philadelphia Theatre Company in March 1995, the Mark Taper Forum and the Kennedy Center.[1]
The play premiered on Broadway at the John Golden Theatre on November 15, 1995 and closed on June 29, 1997 after 598 performances and twelve previews. Directed by Leonard Foglia, the original cast featured Zoe Caldwell (as Callas), Audra McDonald (as Sharon), Karen Kay Cody, David Loud, Jay Hunter Morris, and Michael Friel.[2] Patti LuPone (from July 1996) and Dixie Carter (from January 1997)[3] subsequently replaced Caldwell as Callas, Matthew Walley replaced Morris and Alaine Rodin replaced McDonald later in the run. LuPone played the role in the West End production at the Queens Theatre, opening in April 1997 (previews)[3][4] and Faye Dunaway played the role in the U.S. national tour in 1996.[5]
Master Class ran at the Kennedy Center from March 25, 2010 to April 18, 2010, directed by Stephen Wadsworth and starring Tyne Daly as Callas.[6] The play was then revived on Broadway in a Manhattan Theatre Club production at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, running from June 14, 2011 (previews) to September 4, 2011 for 70 regular performances and 26 previews. Directed by Stephen Wadsworth, the cast featured Tyne Daly as Callas, with Sierra Boggess as Sharon and Alexandra Silber as Sophie.[7] This production transferred to the West End at the Vaudeville Theatre from January to April 2012, with Daly as Callas and Naomi O'Connell as Sharon.[8][9]
A 2010/11 UK touring production of the play, starred Stephanie Beacham as Callas[10]
A production in Paris, Master Class – La leçon de chant (the singing lesson) in 1997 starred Fanny Ardant as Callas and was directed by Roman Polanski.[11] It was revived twice starring Marie Laforêt in 2000 and 2008.[12]
In 1997, Norma Aleandro played the role of Maria Callas at the Teatro Maipo in Buenos Aires directed by Agustín Alezzo. In 2012, Aleandro and Alezzo did a new version of the play.
An Australian production in 1997 starred Robyn Nevin as Callas. Nevin played the role in Brisbane and Sydney. Amanda Muggleton then played Callas in Adelaide in 1998 and Melbourne in 1999. Muggleton reprised the role in the 2001/02 Australian touring production and won the 2002 Helpmann Award for Best Actress in a Play.[13]
Jelisaveta Seka Sablić played Callas in the 1997 production of the Bitef theater, before touring other Belgrade and Serbian theaters, and Switzerland in 2005. Soprano Radmila Smiljanić was a music supervisor. Sablić was awarded the Miloš Žutić Award for the role.[14][15]
In 2014, Maria Mercedes brought the work to life again in Australia to critical acclaim: "It's an awe-inspiring performance by any measure."[16] She was nominated for a number of awards, winning the Green Room Award for Female Performer for Independent Theatre.[17] Her portrayal is the first time in professional theatre that a woman of Greek heritage has played Maria Callas. The production moved to Sydney in August 2015, before returning to Melbourne in September.[18]
In 2018 and 2019 a production of Master Class took place in Athens, Greece, at the Dimitris Horn Theatre with Greek actress Maria Nafpliotou in the starring role. The production has also received critical acclaim and by February 2019 counted 125 consecutive sold out performances.[19]
