We don’t think even for an instant that this is the favorite photo of Eva Marton. Without doubt, the world famous Hungarian diva has more hundred photos, which are more worthy and more beautiful than this, but there is hardly any more memorable photo of her. In October 1986, when it was photographed, it was published in the world press. Probably, the story is well-known for many people: in aTosca-performance in the Metropolitan in New York, the Spanish baritone, Juan Pons accidentally beat Eva Marton, so the diva suffered a dislocated jaw. The soprano was able to finish the performance, even if she had splitting plain. In those days there were several articles about the intentional or incidental case of the beat, anyway, Juan Pons protested against the suspicion and he couldn’t cope with asking the diva’s forgiveness enough times.
Since that time Eva Marton has sung many performances in the Metropolitan. The last was Il trovatore, in which she portrayed Leonora with Pavarotti and other world stars. The performance was telecasted by almost every TV channel of the world, excluding the Hungarian, including – for example – the Soviet.
At the beginning of December Eva Marton was again in Hungary, in the recording sessions of her next recording. She travelled to home a day before Christmas with her son (who is a student of the Academy of Dramatic and Cinematic Art) to spend the Holy Night with his family in her home in Hamburg.
Glancing to the memorable photo she told the following: “I never wish such a moment neither for me, nor for others, because – believe it – it was horrible and it could end much more badly. But what I would like to wish in this wonderful holiday, that isn’t a personal message. I wish everybody the peace: my family, my own myself, my friends, the spectators and the politicians. I would like to believe very much in that, what starts now, it will continue and perhaps it isn’t unimaginable that some time the people can really have a word with each other. I wish good health for myself, because the next year will be very hard and – I hope – very beautiful for me. On 20 February I’ll sing the title role ofSalome in the Metropolitan and as I know, all tickets sold out. The production will be filmed, too. In Wien I’ll sing La forza del destino in April and Elektra in June and between these on 20 May I’ll have a guest performance again in the Hungarian State Opera, in my favorite role, Tosca.
(Képes7. 1988/52. December 24., p. 42.)