Callas By Callas: The Secret Writings of "la Maria"

Book Description

Passionate portrayals of the great Maria Callas have appeared in countless articles and books. Yet behind the unanimous enthusiasm for the soprano's talent remains the mystery of the woman herself--restless, ephemeral, elusive. No one but "la Maria" could tell the real story of Maria Callas. Here, a new figure emerges, cultivated from the letters, memoirs, photographs, and ephemera that the authors have collected from Callas's personal archives and those of her friends. The result, in essence, is a secret diary illuminating the central episodes of her life.

Approaching Callas's most intimate self, the authors listen to her heart to narrate the story of a life which was essentially simple, though no less fascinating than the fabled existence imagined by her fans. Revealing the mysteries of her incomparable art, the secrets of her troubled soul, the tales of her joyful triumphs and painful delusions, this stunning visual chronicle brings us closer to a great star who was, above all, human. With a refined graphic presentation that includes a wealth of previously unpublished photographs, this work is a colorful and resonant tribute to the woman Callas was and the legend she continues to be twenty years since her death.

Customer Reviews:

a surprise.......2006-05-01

A beautiful and worthwhile book on Maria Callas, in a sort of guise of coffee table tome. The ivory flap cover is almost Raphaelite, but it's the photos inside really worth the price of admission. The text has little that's new. Pieces of Callas' private diaries and letters provide a unique, not extensive glance at her private life, forming at times a melancholy sense of a tenuous woman's personal fears and difficulties. Refuting a rumor that Meneghini wanted her to stop singing altogether, she denied that was his view, saying "It is not his view, because if it were I would never have sung again." Some interesting bits on Elsa Maxwell, who was apparently in love with Callas, and some of the finest photographs of Maria I've seen anywhere. The book is a genuine homage to her art, and there's nothing cheap or filler about it. It's an experience to dominate any Callas lover for a few hours, and the kind of book you can return to repeatedly. Molto recommendation.

A Very Handsome Edition.......2005-02-17

This is one of the most physically appealing Callas books on the market, although it is riddled with factual errors. The photos are cleverly utilitzed to fill space and add drama to what is eseentially a fluff job of writing. Would add it to any serious Callas collection for sheer visual impact.

Lots of beautiful pictures!!!.......2001-04-09

I loved reading this book since Callas was clearing up a lot of the rumors in her own words. Very interesting!! The pictures were amazing!! It doesn't show a lot of pictures of her in operas but it has a lot of pictures of Maria the woman. The pictures are arranged in a very interesting format. Each page has at least two pictures on it. Very Cool!!

Copyrights.......1999-03-24

One cannot copyright titles

A book without the old hackneyed information.......1998-06-27

I was somewhat perplexed by the earlier review as it had nothing whatsoever to do with the book. While Maria Callas was not an articulate spokesperson, we do, in the volume, have a rare glimpse of the inner woman as well as the outer persona. The photographs were particularly good, and surprisingly intact considering that they must have been rather old when incorporated into this volume. And, above all, they were not the 'usual old photos of Maria Callas'. For fans of hers and even if you are not, there's a lot of meat in this volume especially after most of what has been printed about her is of the coffee table variety without much substance.

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Wonderful account of a diva!
Brava!

Maria
Nadia Stancioff
Manufacturer: Dutton Adult
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0525245650

Amazon.com

Nadia Stancioff was Maria Callas's friend during the diva's unhappy final years, starting as a publicist for Callas's film of Medea. Interviewing people who had known her earlier, Stancioff sought to explore the woman from the inside--"Maria," not "Callas." Though the result offers no real information we haven't seen before, it is delivered in a personal voice that makes this memoir (first published in 1987) worth reading.

There's plenty about Callas's appearance and love life, but the tone is chatty rather than trashy. The events that Stancioff herself was there for were not especially significant (she was present, however, when Onassis paid his first visit to an agitated Callas after his marriage to Jackie Kennedy). More valuable are the stories she hears from colleagues, fans, and the singer's elusive sister. The one subtle, and indeed moving, touch is something the author doesn't do: she declines to resolve the contradictions people tell her. Maria's mother pushed her into singing; it was Maria's own desire. Maria's family was kept in luxury during World War II by her sister's boyfriend; Maria ate out of garbage cans. In the '40s, the Met offered her roles that she turned down; there was no offer. The stories aren't reconciled because Callas can't be: she exists only in the kaleidoscope of other people's impressions. Stancioff's own Maria is a difficult woman--capricious, superhumanly insecure--to whom she is utterly loyal.

The unanswered questions surrounding Callas's death have been discussed elsewhere, such as in Maria Callas: Sacred Monster. As speculated on by the chorus of voices here, the mystery is particularly unsettling. Neither Callas nor, perhaps, anyone who cared about her was in control of what she left behind. It's a sad end to the tale of a tortured woman whose aura is as strong as ever but who was, ultimately, no more knowable than any of us. --David Olivenbaum

Book Description

Never before in paperback: An intimate portrait of the private Callas

Years after her death Maria Callas remains one of the most renowned and compelling of all divas. Although much has been written about Callas the prima donna, the consummate stage magician, and the tragic lover of Aristotle Onassis, this is the first account of Maria the woman by someone who was close to her. Stancioff, a longtime friend, shares memories of the Maria who gave impromptu concerts of Beatles hits and Mexican ballads; of the Maria who starved herself to conform to the image of a celebrity but would go into rhapsodies about a plate of pasta. And to her own warm reminiscences, Stancioff adds the insights of Maria's friends, colleagues, and family. The figure that emerges is intriguing, infuriating, mystifying-and endlessly fascinating.

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful account of a diva!.......2003-07-29

The saga of Callas's life has been told by many people. Some have been close to her and some haven't. Some have been affectionate and some have been cruel. This one was the former. When reading a biography on someone as colorful as Callas you must read everything at face value, however it is nice to know her assistant cared for her. It seemed that she understood her more than anyone and that alone is quite a feat. Callas had so many troubles (family, Onassis, La Scala, press, weight, etc)and Nadia was right there for her.

You must read this as a story of course because the truth we'll never know. Take a read it's worth it for a fan of LA DIVA.

Brava!.......2000-06-02

Most people who write a biography of someone, especially a friend or relative, have a vested interest in either making the person sound like a saint or a sinner.

The author of this amazing book, however, portrayed her good friend, Maria Callas, in what can only be best described as a very objective manner.

One comes away from this book with a very real sense of the person who was Maria Calles, not particularly in the legend that was Calles, the great Diva, the great voice of the 20th Century.

And I found this book to be quite a spellbinder. It was very hard to put it down. My feelings toward the subject ran the gamut from immense like and understanding to immense dislike. I found her at once fascinating and brilliant and on the other hand somewhat stupid. One minute I would think of her as a simple, silly twitt and the next I would find myself thinking of her as a very loving and warm rather intelligent woman. In some instances she was very stingy and other instances she was very giving and generous.

But I think the thing that stood out most to me was the fact that she had suffered from a good deal of betrayal in her lifetime. People had used her and emotionally and abused her. She was also financially used. And I think this made up a good deal of the woman she later became.

Like most people, Maria Callas was neither all good nor all bad. She was neither a saint nor a sinner. What I like about this book was that it gave her dignity and it gives the reader a feel for who the real Maria Callas was. Although it's written by a dear friend, someone who obviously thought highly of her, the author was nonetheless very objective in writing the accounts of Maria's life. She also told of the darker side of Maria Callas. But she did not use her own words entirely. In fact, she went to a great deal of trouble to interview other people who knew Maria well and many of them had very differing views from those of others who were interviewed.

So in the end the reader is left to draw his or her own conclusion about the type person Maria Callas was. I personally came away with a feeling of being quite touched by her life. I felt that she had suffered greatly, although she had indeed brought a lot of on herself, as we all do. I found her a very human person and quite different from the legend that we know as Callas.

There is no question that Calles, the legend, was the greatest soprano of the 20th century. She was the divas diva. The living up to the legend must have been very difficult indeed. And we find in this book an idea just how hard it was.

If you want a history of the career of Callas this is not the book you want to read. If you want what I believe to be a very factual and objective rendition of what her life as a woman was, this book has no equal.

Book Description

This detailed analysis of every record made by Maria Callas examines the development of her art from her first recordings in 1949 to the last in 1977.

Customer Reviews:

Indispensable reference for Callas and opera fans.......2001-09-13

John Ardoin's recent death is a real loss for opera buffs everywhere, as it means that there will be no more updated editions, at least by him, of this exhaustively researched guide to the recordings of arguably the greatest, certainly the most famous opera singer of the twentieth century.

At the time of its publication this incarnation had the most complete data about the diva's recordings on compact disc then available, including newly discovered complete performances of Aida and La Traviata. Even when the information goes out of date, as it inevitably will (new incarnations of live performances will appear, and perhaps rumored unpublished material will surface), Ardoin's gracefully written, knowledgeable and balanced commentaries on Callas' work will remain an endless source of pleasure. May _The Callas Legacy_ come back into print, and soon!

GREAT BOOK, GREAT LADY.......2000-07-23

This is not just an invaluable introduction to the greatest opera singer of the century. It is also a guide through those works, so that the more you know about Callas, the better this book gets.

The Best Guide to Callas' Recording.......2000-07-20

If you are a Callas fan or are planning to become one, this book is indispensable. One is faced with so many Callas recordings, both studio and live, that it is very hard to choose which ones to get without a good guide. And this book is the best you can find around. Ardoin leads you through every recording that Callas made, and he offers an objective and detailed analysis of her accomplishments. So if you are trying to decide which one out of her dozen or so Normas should be joined to your collection, you can read all about the pros and contras of every single recording. For the ones who already own an older edition of this book that dealt with Callas on records, this volume won't offer much new, there are new reviews on recently-surfaced Aida and Traviata, as well as a few concert arias, but the bulk of the book is the same as in older editions.

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Nearly three hours of landmark performances
Good CDs, shoddy editing of the text
Maria Callas, a biography
Like many Callas performances, it could have been better!
Getting to know the diva intimately

Maria Callas: A Musical Biography
Robert Levine
Manufacturer: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1579122833

Amazon.com

They called her "La Divina." Indeed Maria Callas transcended ordinary human limitations. A supreme singer and actress with a style all her own, she dominated the vocal and operatic world, exerting a deeply lasting influence on it, especially by single-handedly reviving the art and repertoire of bel canto. Volatile, iconoclastic, fearless, obstinately determined, extreme in both life and art, she stirred up endless controversy. The story of her tumultuous public and private life has aroused unceasing fascination, but Robert Levine's new book approaches it from a totally different perspective. This is no ordinary biography, though it includes an account of the major events of her tragically brief life and career. Though he leaves no doubt where his sympathy lies, Levine recounts all this with admirable--sometimes ironic--objectivity, skillfully interpolating hints of future events. Numerous quotes of Callas' judgment of herself and others, as well as their judgments of her, add depth and sharpness to the portrait. The heart of the book, however, is Levine's analytical evaluation of Callas' unique vocal, musical, and theatrical artistry, not merely by description, but by flesh-and-blood demonstration. Included with the book are two CDs of some of her best performances, as well as the texts (with translations) of the arias: an inspired idea, allowing Levine to dissect the performances word by word and note by note, within seconds of each track. Here, too, he preserves remarkable objectivity: despite his clearly boundless admiration, he is not oblivious to her vocal shortcomings. Along the way, he offers insights into the tradition that nurtured her gifts and displays an extraordinarily broad knowledge of opera, the art of singing, and singers past and present. The CDs are stunning, illustrating Callas' incredible vocal and stylistic versatility, her ability to literally inhabit the roles she portrayed, changing and adapting her voice with infinite gradations of color, nuance, and expression to project character and emotion. Her range was enormous, her coloratura impeccable; her best top notes were glorious, and she could break the heart with a downward slide or a carefully placed fermata. All this is amply documented on these records and meticulously analyzed in the text. Listeners must decide whether to read Levine's comments before or after hearing the records; they provide helpful guidance, but their very persuasiveness makes it difficult to preserve the spontaneous immediacy of one's own reactions. Copiously illustrated with wonderful photographs of Callas (and others) in private and on stage, the book is a feast for eye, ear, mind and heart. --Edith Eisler

Book Description

This unique, photo-filled musical biography includes two CDs with nearly three hours of landmark performances by the great diva, accompanied by expert commentary.

Here is a true artistic biography, focusing on Maria Callas's musical development, her influence, her critical reception--and the specific qualities that have made her a legend for our time. The book features scores of photographs from throughout Callas's life and career, including many rare production photos. The CDs, featuring key recordings from throughout her career, are keyed to detailed discussions of the performances, making Callas's work accessible and enjoyable to beginners as well as die-hard opera afficionados. Selections include Bellini's "Casta Diva" (Norma), Rossini's "Una voce poco fa" (II barbiere di Siviglia), Puccini's "Vissi d'arte" (Tosca), Gounod's "Ah! Je veux vivre" (Romeo et Juliette), Verdi's "Caro nome" (Rigoletto), Massenet's "Adieu, notre petite table" (Manon), Bizet's "Pres de remparts de Seville" (Carmen), Spontini's "O Nume tutelar" (La vestale) and many more.

A discography, a chronology, a complete performance history, and more make this the ultimate book for learning about and loving opera and one of its greatest stars.

Customer Reviews:

Nearly three hours of landmark performances.......2006-09-12

Now this is what I call a biography. Not only has a plethora of monochrome pictured of Maria in chronological order, but sound performances that thrill your imagination.

The second half of the book actually tells something of the music it's self and is laid out to follow the two included CD's.

Now it is time to visit the Black Dog Opera Library Series.

Selections include major pieces form:
Vincenzo Bellini 1801-1835
Alfredo Catalani 1854-1893
Giacomo Puccini 1858-1924
Umberto Giordano 1867-1848
Giuseppe Verdi 1813-1910
Francesco Cilea 1866-1950
Gaetano Donizetti 1779-1848
Christoph Willibald Gluck 1714-1787
Georges Bizet 1838-1875
Gioachino Rossini 1792-1868
Giacomo Meyerbeer 1791-1864
Charles Gounod 1818-1891
Camille Saint-saëns 1835-1921
Jules Massenet 1842-1912

Good CDs, shoddy editing of the text.......2005-11-26

This book 'could have been a contender' but for shoddy editing. The poor grammar is distracting and could have been so easily avoided! The packaging is excellent and the extracts of Madame Callas's arias are among the best. However, one does not know the dates of the recording--some are obviously of the EMI family and a few live performances probably pirated versions. I have a new appreciation of the French composers (Gounod, Saint Saëns, Massenet) thanks to these CDs. The first two chapters (about 2/3s of the book) are worthless as they provide no new information and appear to be copy/pasted from extant biographies. The last and third chapter is a good idea not fully developed. It provides a guide on listening to the arias which may be useful to the untrained ear. The text gives the impression is was hastily written and then well-packaged. Too bad...with a little love and care, it could have been grand!

Maria Callas, a biography.......2005-07-05

The author has combined in recording and words the magnificence of this great artist. This is a book all Callas fans must have. The text is well translated and Mr. Levine describes to perfection why this woman is so great in her intereperative skills. Thank you Mr. Levine from a Callas fan. All young aspiring opera singers male or female should have this book to learn what is the stuff that makes a great singer.
Thank you,
Victor Zolezzi

Like many Callas performances, it could have been better!.......2004-03-03

This is a difficult book to comment on: having 2 CD's with Callas performances and commentary from a respected critic is marvelous, but.... One of the Big Issues in Callas' career was the way she let her voice go to pot, yet the CD tracks are not sequential, the listings do not give dates of the performances, and not all the performance notes do either. The biographical section is frequently padded, and the photographs often do not correspond with the time (or events) being described. As with most books nowadays, the publisher ran SpellCheck on the text, but no one edited it, so there are misspelled words and mis-written sentences. The CD's, though, are very much worth the price of the book, and the musical commentary is helpful. The biographical section offers no new information, but is a concise and readable summary.

Getting to know the diva intimately.......2004-02-18

If you are pretty much unacquainted with the art and life of Maria Callas, I highly recommend this book by Robert Levine, an widely-known music writer and Senior Editor of ClassicsToday.com.

I knew Maria Callas only by reputation and publicity and by my old LP of Norma, recorded in 1960, a riveting dramatic portrait, although the vocal problems that shortened her career were then very much evident. I very much wanted to know more, and to hear her sing when her voice was a little fresher, and, like another reviewer here, didn't really know where to start. This book has been a godsend for me.

The text covers Callas' life and career, and includes many photos and a discography. This book includes two CD's with arias from most of the roles Callas sang on stage and a number of ones she didn't.

The text that accompanies each aria discusses when and how it was recorded, its place in Callas' career, and the real treasure for me is that it discusses, with notations of exact timings so that one can listen to each example, the nuances of drama, emotion and technique that characterize phrases, words, sometimes single notes. It is a fascinating way to get to know the work of a most remarkable artist. I have to say that I was blown away by the Mad Scene from Lucia di Lammermour and the lovely "La mamma morta" from Andrea Chenier, both recorded in 1955, when her voice was fresher than in my later Norma.
Because of the discussion about the painstaking and creative way that Callas crafted her interpretations of the roles she sang, I have a new appreciation for her singing, and I think I finally begin to understand what was so special and moving about her art.

Amazon.com

Maria Callas is a biographer's dream. Born into poverty, she turned herself from an ugly duckling into a beautiful swan, and in the process became the most celebrated diva of the 20th century. She breathed life, drama, and passion into an art form that had hitherto remained the preserve of an intellectual elite, and was single-handedly responsible for turning opera from an arts-page sideshow to front-page news. Her bust-ups with the New York Met and her disastrous love life--culminating in a tragic obsession with Aristotle Onassis--were as enthralling as her voice, and there was a depressing inevitability about her mysterious, early death in 1977 at the age of 54.

It's hardly surprising, then, that there have been any number of books written about Callas. Most have been little more than well-researched clippings jobs. Callas spent nearly 30 years in the public eye, and there is any amount of material about her on public record. What separates Stelios Galatopoulos from the rest of her biographers is the wealth of previously unpublished material from which he draws. He is stronger than most on Callas's early years--particularly the German occupation of Greece during the Second World War--which is a period many writers try to ignore, as Callas was accused by many Greek patriots of having been a traitor to her country by continuing to perform for the Nazis in the Athens opera house. Galatopoulos is quick to absolve her of any charges of collaboration. This is probably a correct assessment, though he falls short of labeling Callas and her mother as the ruthless careerists and opportunists they undoubtedly were.

Herein lie both the strength and weakness of the book. Galatopoulos was a close personal friend of Callas; as such he was privy to her most private thoughts and he offers us some fascinating new insights into her husband, Giovanni Meneghini; her lover Aristotle Onassis; and her mother. What he doesn't always do, though, is maintain a critical eye. Whenever he deals with anything controversial, he is happy to give Callas the benefit of the doubt. But all this is really a minor quibble. Overall, Galatopoulos does a superb job in re-creating the opera world of the 1940s through to the 1970s and he excels in his assessment of Callas's artistic achievements. Maria Callas: Sacred Monster may not be the final word on the diva, but it's as close as it comes. --John Crace

Book Description

"I am not an angel and do not pretend to be. That is not one of my roles. But I am not the devil, either. I am a woman and a serious artist, and I would like so to be judged."
-- Maria Callas

This is the authoritative biography of one of the great icons of the century, Maria Callas, the most brilliant and controversial singer-actress of modern times. Written by a music scholar, opera critic, and, toward the end of Callas' life, a close friend, Sacred Monster is an account of the singer's triumphant and tumultuous public career and her private life. "There are two people in me, Maria and Callas....Their difference is only that Callas is a celebrity," she remarked. The celebrity Callas defined an age of opera. The private Callas is a source of lasting fascination.

Sacred Monster is not only the definitive portrait of one of the greatest artists of the century, it corrects the many misguided books about Callas that have appeared since her death in 1977 at the age of fifty-three. Galatopoulos writes about Callas objectively -- recognizing her flaws, her temperament, and the signs of premature vocal deterioration. He re-creates the triumph of intelligence, hard work, musical talent, grit, and fierceness that enabled Callas to rise to superstardom. He recounts her sometimes stormy relationships with the conductors, managers, and fellow stars, and with her family, husband, and lover.

Galatopoulos attended more than a hundred of Callas' performances and he describes not only the brilliance of her many triumphs, the disappointments of her setbacks, and the poignance of her premature decline, but also her legacy, which resides in her continuing influence and her extensive and valuable discography. Callas chose to share many of her most frank judgments about her professional problems with Galatopoulos. Perhaps most dramatically, in this book, which might almost be called "Callas Has the Last Word," Galatopoulos sets straight the soap opera portrait some have drawn of a shattered and reclusive woman abandoned by her lover, Aristotle Onassis. In fact, Callas and Onassis resumed their friendship shortly after his marriage to Jacqueline Kennedy. This portrait of Callas shows her in retirement every bit as forceful and engaged as she was on stage.

Maria Callas: Sacred Monster is lavishly illustrated. One hundred pages of photographs show Callas' roles in a visual documentary of the period 1947 to 1965, a truly golden age of opera. Many of the images have never before been published. A complete survey of Callas' recordings and a list of her performances are also included.

Customer Reviews:

With a friend like this who needs enemies?.......1999-11-23

There's not much to recommend this book. Some of the photographs look as if they've been smeared across the pages. Others are clearly NOT Callas at all, and one has been so badly cropped as to make Callas appear to be juggling balls whilst singing Iphigenie. The text reads as if it was written for Woman's Weekly in Athens and would have benefitted from a very strong editorial hand. The author claims to have been a friend of Callas. Really - One's friends!

Throw a stick at the Met or Covent Garden [when it re-opens] or the Paris Opera and you will hit six people who could put together a better biography than this, and without the many somewhat spurious 'Callas told me's' with which this book is littered.

To date this is the author's fourth attempt at Callas biography, [and should get some sort of an award for so gallantly persisting in a task for which he so clearly unsuited] and whilst the information has changed from one edition to another, and the grammar and prose has improved [and, believe me, that's not saying much at all] I do hope this is his last book on his 'friend' until he does a little more research and just some plain old fashioned observation of photographs. I had the feeling that the author feels he 'owns' Callas, with all the obsessiveness and lack of insight of a stalking fan.

Search out the magical Thames & Hudson Callas by Fitzgerald and Ardoin, or Ardoin's Callas Legacy, and Michael Scott's Maria Meneghini Callas is a must.

Spectacular photographs in themselves make this a great buy........1999-07-19

The spectacular photographs of all of Callas's performances are in themselves worth the price of the book. In addition, the discography and quotes from reviews of the performances give this book much value as a reference source. Even if one doesn't always agree with the author's interpretation of events in Callas's personal life, the reader comes away with a profound sense of her artistry.

My own private Callas........1999-07-16

I found this book deplorable. Badly written, it could have used a strong editorial hand both in the prose and the picture captions. Especially disapointing is the re-hashing of incidents that have long since been disproved or properly researched, i.e. Callas's first audition at the Metroplitan Opera, which resulted in no offer of work from that house. Likewise, the famous incident in Rome when Callas abandoned a performance of Norma. Galatopoulos claims there was uproar in the audience whilst she was singing, but a tape exists of this performance and there is no disturbance at all at that point. These are just two of a number of incidents in the book where the author does not seem to be able to relate information long and freely available to his own conception of what happened. It is a long established fact that Callas made her Italian debut on the 2nd August 1947, but Galatopoulos sticks to the innacurate date of 3rd August which was current well into the 1970's. [The Arena di Verona celebrated the 50th anniversary of Callas's debut on 2nd August 1997] This gave me the distinct impression the author felt that he and he alone was/is THE authority on Callas and there isn't any need for him to read anyone else's scholarship on the subject. Fortunately he isn't and I had the feeling, shored up by all those verbatim conversations, this tome was simply an attempt to present the author's version of "My own private Callas." Another area of the book I found disturbing is the photographic content. I found it impossible to identify Callas in her first stage role, the picture is simply not clear enough. Whereas Callas is easily identified as Brunnhilde are those pictures of Isolde really Callas? There is one photograph supposedly of Callas in I Puritani but there is a small child in the picture with her, and the lady in the picture, wearing an off the shoulder dress, does not look like Callas. I leave readers to form their own opinions.

Maria Callas is an on-going phenomena, her voice is as inspiring and awesomely thought provoking now as it ever was. There are now generations of people who never heard or saw her live, there are only recordings and old films. A few authors; John Ardoin, Gerald Fitzgerald, Henry Wisneski and Michael Scott have shed new light on Callas the singer and Callas the woman with serious scholarship for future generations. Stelios Galatopoulos's work is not in this league.

The best biography of Callas I have ever read.......1999-06-22

I'm sorry to see that this book is getting such bad reviews, because I think it is the best biography of Callas that I have ever read. The others seem to concentrate on one side of her life: either her art or her personal life. This book deals with both and keeps a good balance between them. The pictures were wonderful! There were many pictures in this book that I had never seen before, including one from Callas' very first opera, a student production in Athens, which she sang when she was 15. I also loved the chronology of her performances and the author's comments on Callas' recordings.

A low-class job.......1999-06-20

Much as I admire the subject, I simply can't read through the book. The prose is lousy, sometimes resembling the breathless (and brainless) outpourings of those photo-romances so popular in postwar Italy, and the illustrations are of very low quality, almost as if done on a cheap photocopier. Callas would have hated this book.

Average customer rating:

Finest biography of Callas
Overlong, but full of interest
Outstanding scholarship, moving biography...

The Unknown Callas: The Greek Years
Nicholas Petsalis-Diomidis
Manufacturer: Amadeus Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 157467059X

Book Description

In this award-winning biography, Petsalis-Diomidis closely examines Maria Callas's life in Athens from 1937 to 1945. These years have been largely absent from previous works about Callas, but were crucial to her professional and personal growth. The author examines her professional development, her studies, her concertizing, and her work with the Greek National Opera. He also recounts Callas's daily life, her friendships, her rivalries at the conservatory, and her personal life. Though it is a detailed historical biography, the writing and pace are novelistic. HARDCOVER.

Customer Reviews:

Finest biography of Callas.......2003-09-02

This is by far the finest biography I have ever read of Maria Callas. So much of her life is still surrounded by myth (mostly propogated by herself and her hagiographers) that a fascinating, scholarly, non-sensationalistic book is truly special.
This book mostly covers Callas's early years in New York and Greece. Far from being an "ugly duckling" the photos and descriptions of Mary/Maria in this book suggest an attractive, ambitious young soprano who by the time she left Greece already had several lovers and admirers. Nicholas Petsalis-Diomidis somehow managed to interview every surviving neighbor, student, singer, soldier, and friend who knew Callas and her family "way back when" in Athens. He also did the impossible and got Callas's sister Jackie to speak candidly of her much more famous sister. The stories do not always match exactly, and Petsalis-Diomidis is remarkably sensitive to the viewpoints of all the sources. He is careful not to sensationalize anything. Even though the details are often horrifying (including Jackie's essentially becoming a semi-prostitute to support the family and Litsa's crude attempts to prostitute both her daughters) the tone of the book is always scholarly and respectful.
Maria Callas, even in her early years as a teenaged soprano in the Greek National Opera, tended to arouse strong feelings, both positive and negative. To her "enemies", she was crass, grossly ambitious, ruthless, mean, and worst of all, a collaborator with the occupying forces (Italians and Germans). To her admirers, she was enormously talented, intelligent, basically good-hearted, and a worthy investment of time and energy. I came away from the book feeling that both views were essentially right. Petsalis-Diomidis should be congratulated for writing such a fascinating, insightful, scholarly book.

Overlong, but full of interest.......2002-04-10

Despite the volumes of material that have been written about her, Maria Callas remains a fascinating enigma both as a person and as an artist. Nicholas Petsalis-Diomidis has taken an important step in filling in some of the gaps that remain in our understanding by tracing in exhaustive detail the singer's early musical life in Greece, where she moved with her mother and sister in her early teens and remained until returning to the United States in 1945.

The perception that her Greek sojourn was a relatively unimportant preamble to her "real" career was in part propagated by Callas herself. Petsalis-Diomidis shows that the eight years she spent there were, on the contrary, an essential part of her musical development. It was in Athens that she received her first formal vocal training from Maria Trivella and Elvira de Hidalgo (the author is careful to give the former due credit in Callas' education), and sang her first leading roles onstage with the Athens Opera. Among her credits there were operas that would form the core of her later repertory, such as Tosca, and others that she would never sing again, such as Fidelio.

Perhaps even more fascinating than her musical history is the multitude of detail about Callas' personal life during this difficult time. Though he tries to be evenhanded, Petsalis-Diomidis is ultimately unsparing in his condemnation of Litsa, Callas' mother, whom he regards as an amoral and destructive parent. His collection of anecdotes about the hardships of war and the professional difficulties encountered by the young Callas make for fascinating reading. Occasionally his passion for research makes the narrative seem fussy and overburdened with detail (was it really necessary to give the diva's exact weight at various times in her career?), but in the main this carefully researched volume is an essential addition to the already voluminous collection of Callas writings. Credit must also be given to the fluent and readable English translation.

Outstanding scholarship, moving biography..........2001-05-08

"The Unknown Callas" is uniquely devoted to Callas' early life as a child, student, and young professional in Athens during the 1930-1940s, and is without question, the finest biography of the singer ever. This powerful intimate portrait is essential to understanding the complex woman and musician of the climatic years in the 1950s and 1960s.

Petsalis-Diomidis researched this work like an archaeologist seeking every surviving document and artifact, but presents it in biographical form as a psychologist with a deep understanding of human nature. The whole is framed by discussions of the politics of the time and the harsh realities of daily life during the war. Though this is the work of a scholar, it is also that of an artist, where every care has been taken to paint a three-dimensional backdrop and recreate the atmosphere for each scene.

While much of the original research for this book consisted of interviewing every surviving person associated with the family, conservatory, neighborhoods, etc. in those years; the author never accepts statements mearly at face-value, always examining every angle. The search for truth is ever apparent, and though his devotion to Maria is unquestionable, he never gives her unearned benefit of doubt.

Beautifully typeset and printed with copious photographs, the book unfortunately does not include the many photographs of programs for school concerts and early opera performances that were featured in the original Greek version. Albeit many of these programs were in Greek, some were also printed in German and Italian during the war, and afterwards in English. Likewise, the index does not present proper names in their original Greek alphabet, so the original version is now a nice scholarly cross reference for this new English book.

Amazon.com

Nicholas Gage's meticulously documented and consistently absorbing account chronicles the stormy love affair between Maria Callas (1923-77) and Aristotle Onassis (1906-75). Gage sees the soprano who reinvented the art of opera and the tycoon who transformed the shipping industry as kindred spirits, drawn into romance by a deep connection to their Greek origins and a shared sense that, despite all they had achieved, something was missing. They found that absent element in a once-in-a-lifetime passion, which Onassis betrayed by marrying Jacqueline Kennedy in 1968. Gage appears to share the view of the tycoon's Greek coterie, who viewed this marriage as an act of hubris that inevitably led to financial and personal reversals which embittered Onassis in his final years. But he doesn't blame the tycoon for Callas's decline, pointing out that by the time they met, she was already experiencing severe vocal problems and was eager for respite from her taxing performance commitments. In any case, her career and his business dealings take a back seat here to Gage's evocative portrait of his subjects' outsized personalities and the jet-set society in the gaudy postwar years. Some of the new information is revelatory, particularly Gage's persuasive contention that Callas bore Onassis a son who died hours after his birth in 1960. At other times his investigative-journalist approach seems too weighty for this highly personal story of love, rage, and big, big egos. Fortunately, these lapses don't seriously mar a text distinguished by smooth prose, the seamless interweaving of several narrative strands, and a warm sympathy for its genuinely tragic protagonists. --Wendy Smith

Book Description

The love affair of Maria Callas and Aristotle Onassis scandalized and fascinated the world from the moment it began in 1959 during a cruise on the fabled yacht Christina. In the decades since, dozens of books have been written about the incandescent diva who transformed opera and the Promethean tycoon who revolutionized international shipping, but none has focused on the tempestuous relationship between them, which is widely thought to have collapsed following Onassis' celebrated marriage to Jacqueline Kennedy in 1968.

Now, Nicholas Gage, author of the acclaimed international best-seller Eleni and a former investigative reporter for the New York Times, gives us the first and only full account of this fateful romance, presenting startling new information he has uncovered. Gage was able to persuade the couple's associates, relatives, and close friends--some of whom had never spoken before--to share their most intimate recollections. He also gained access to some of Callas' most private papers, which provide an utterly new view of her personal life. His narrative shows us that the Callas and Onassis relationship, far from being a passing dalliance, was in fact the deepest and longest-lasting emotional commitment either of them ever knew.

Gage meticulously reconstructs the events leading to the affair, from Callas and Onassis' first meeting at a masked ball in Venice in 1957 to the tycoon's pursuit of her throughout Europe, culminating in the 1959 cruise. It was during this three-week summer holiday, hosted by Onassis and his wife, Tina, that Aristotle and Maria's daily encounters ignited passions before the alarmed eyes of the crew and other illustrious guests, including Sir Winston and Lady Churchill. We follow the couple through the ensuing press hysteria and the rancor of their shattered marriages; the days of bliss and battles on the island hideaway of Skorpios; the agonizing deterioration of Callas' voice; and the strange covert courtship Onassis conducted prior to his marriage to the widow of the American president, a surprise that stunned the world once again and nearly destroyed Callas.

Within days of his marriage to Jacqueline Kennedy, Onassis was back at Maria's door. Although they were never to marry, the relationship between the tycoon and the diva, Gage reveals, would continue and deepen, through tragedies and trials, until the end of their lives.

Penetrating the mass of published misinformation concerning his subjects, Nicholas Gage gives us the most reliable account ever of these legendary figures, a brilliant dual biography of two icons of the golden age of glamour. Greek Fire is an operatic spectacle of desire and loss, certain to transform our understanding of some of the most compelling personalities ever to capture our imagination.

Customer Reviews:

A GOOD BOOK.......2006-07-28

I bought this book at a Supermarket Charity book sale, and I liked it. It told of the relationship between Ari and Maria as well as Jackie. I couldn't put it down, and it is a great summertime reading book.

false claims.......2006-01-02

This is a trashy book and the reader can only feel disgust at the indignities heaped upon this great artist. There are numerous inconsistencies and fabrications which defy reason and are not consistent with known facts, as follows:

If Maria Callas had been pregnant the world would have known about it because her condition would have become increasingly visible with each passing month. Gage states on pg 201 that after december 1959 "she would not appear in public for the next several months," ie. until March 1960 when according to him, she gave birth to a son.

This is a ludicrous claim as there are many photographs taken in February 1960 of Maria Callas in public, where she is as slim as ever and wearing dresses tightly fitted at the waist. One example is with Antonio Ghiringhelli at the première of Fellini's La dolce vita on 5 February 1960, in the Teatro Capitol in Milan and in the 2nd week of February in Paris she was photographed with famous coiffeur Alexandre and her agent Michel Glotz at the Théâtre des Champs Elysée, among others. The photographs prove that it is not possible by any stretch of the imagination to claim that in February 1960 Callas was 7 months pregnant.

According to Gage, on pg. 204 Maria said in an interview with France-soir on 13th Feb 1960 "«I don't want to sing anymore. I want to live, just like a normal woman, with children, a home, a dog..." If Callas no longer wanted to sing, what about her famous performances later in the same year, of Norma at the Epidaurus theatre in Greece, negotiations for which began in Jan/Feb 1960? It should be noted that Maria officially denied that this supposed interview with France-soir ever took place! Her denial was reported in the Greek press on 19th Feb 1960.

Another ridiculous claim in the book is that Maria Callas wanted to deliver the child early, at 8 months, and that "the clinic was not equipped to deal with the crisis", etc.
In the 60's cesarians would only be performed if severe medical abnormaliies were detected. In Italy (largely catholic) physicians were forbidden from assisting patients in either the prevention or termination of pregnancy. At that time over 50% of babies born before 37 weeks died, and physicians were well aware of the dangers to both mother and baby. No physician would have allowed themselves to be pressured into taking such a risk, especially with somebody of the stature of Maria Callas.

Finally, the 'documentary evidence'for the birth and death of the supposed baby son are not evidence at all. Nowhere does it state the names of the baby's parents or the date and time of death which would be the case in official records. The issue date on these 'documents' is 23/10/1998 and 22/10/1998 (can be seen near bottom left in the poor reproducions) these documents were therefore not found in Maria Callas' private papers at the time of her death, as Gage states on pg 207. There is no concrete evidence linking these papers to Maria Callas at all.

It also seems too convenient that Maria's maid Bruna Lupoli who has always refused to speak to anyone about Callas, waited 40 years before revealing to Gage (a complete stranger, whom she has never met!!) this sensational secret of a baby son. This is surely stretching credibility.

The reason why this book seems believable and has perhaps fooled so many people is that Nicholas Gage is a skilled journalist and therefore able to successfully fabricate a story and make it sound credible, no matter how false or ridulous the individual 'facts'.

I would advise anybody who appreciates the great art of Maria Callas not to touch this book, as it is demeaning to her as an artist and a woman.

The story of this supposed baby born to Maria Callas is a complete fabrication and should be refuted wherever possible for the sake of historical truth.

Excellent book!.......2005-10-28

I read this when it first came out in paperback and cannot recommend it enough. This book sizzles! Anything and everything you have ever wanted to know about Callas and Onassis. This is a book that is difficult to put down. I read this in one sitting.

Could Not Put it Down Kind of Book!.......2005-09-30

I loved this book. I am the type of person who cannot seem to finish a book unless it totally captures my interest but this book from the beginning to end poured information about both Callas and Onassis that were so interesting. Although I felt the detailed day-to-day schedule on the voyage of Christina when Callas was on it was a bit boring due to too much details but it was still facinating. Mr. Gage, just seems really committed to relating facts, which is above all most important when writing biographies. Thank you for the wonderful book, Mr. Gage. Bravo! on a wonderful job.

good gossip on remarkable lovers.......2002-08-14

This is a great vacation book, well researched and by a very good reporter. The trouble is, should we care about the melodramas therein? I would arge yes, as they were outsized personalities and changed their times as much as reflected them.

The reader will be treated to a real view of the glitterati, from Callas and Onaissis, to Jackie Kennedy as she used the designer dresses he would buy to "launder" money by reselling them. It is sleaze at its best and a first-rate reporter to look under all the rocks for the voyeur, that is, me and you.

Customer Reviews:

A Master Play.......2007-09-07

I saw this performance a number of years ago (with the incredible Zoe Caldwell) and I was completely paralyzed by the end of the performance. When the curtain finally fell - I couldn't move out of my seat - so great was the story and the acting.
The story is about Maria Callas and it begins with the audience being "invited" to sit in one of her master classes. As she begins to listen and analyze a student's performance, we are drawn into her mind as she recounts her life, her love for Onasis, and the difficulties she faced in the opera world. What makes the play so incredible is that in her recounting the stories and dialogue, the character Maria Callas transforms herself into the other people she is talking about. She "becomes" Onasis and reconstructs the conversation she had with him years before.
I truly recommend this play to anyone who loves opera, Maria Callas as well as to any student actor looking for what is almost a one woman show.

Ho dato tutto a te........2004-11-13

The spirit of Maria Callas propells this play. Certainly an homage from McNally to her, and for me a good introduction into her personality and place in theatre history. In a way this is a one-woman piece, with accompaniment, from student singers and a pianist, as Callas the character engages them and the audience in a ride on her spirit, in the guise of a Master Class. Because of the play I looked into Callas on the net and learned of her connection to Aristotle Onassis and Jackie Kennedy as well. This was new to me, and serves the play too, in trance like reminiscences where she speaks to Onassis and husband Battista Meneghini, as well as her audience(s).

Master Class is a powerful theatre piece, full of simple yet difficult truths about performing and a life in the theatre, about artists and giving ones life, heart and soul to your craft. She gave us everything, and with a load of bitterness and a load of love she comes alive in the place that she made and the place that made her.

Do Your Homework First.......2001-12-17

Although the play itself was entertaining, I found it confusing, because I knew nothing about Maria Callas. Before I reached the end of the play, I could make almost no sense of her long, emotional flashback narratives. I plan to do research on the woman and reread the play, and I advise others to do so as well. As a singer I appreciated the depiction of Maria Callas and her students as artists who want to have something special that other artists can envy and strive for. Every artist experiences the wish to be different from those who possess the same dreams, and this play shows that truth. The sarcastic dialogue etches for the reader a distinct picture of Maria's character in the play. (Whether or not it is accurate to her true personality, I cannot tell.) I appreciate this play for its accurate portrayal of the struggling artist, but I am sure I will appreciate it more after I have done my homework on Maria Callas.

Do Your Homework First.......2001-12-17

Oh, if only there was an audio tape to go with this script!.......2000-10-23

When Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington listen to Maria Callas sing "La Mamma Morta" in the film "Philadelphia," I am sure most viewers did recognized neither the aria nor the diva. If the name of Maria Callas is mentioned it is as likely because she was Aristotle Onassis' mistress as it is that she was one of the world's greatest opera singers. In 1971 Callas returned to the stage to teach master classes at Julliard, which were transcribed and collected into a book edited by John Ardoin. A quarter century later Terrence McNally was inspired by those lectures to write his play, Master Class," which may do as much as anything to restore Callas to her rightful spot in the history of opera as anything since her death.

McNally's great conceit in this play is to make the theater audience the members of the master class. The house lights never go completely down during the course of the play, allowing Callas to lecture (harangue) the audience along with her master students who she puts through the wringer, usually reducing them to tears. The play uses an accompanist, two sopranos and a tenor to play and sing the music, while Callas comments on both the meaning of the texts and their performances. When she performed on stage the key description of Callas was that she was "dramatic" as a singer. In this play McNally tries to make it clear why this is true, for even if the diva can no longer sing, she retains her total understanding of each piece under discussion.

Because Callas is talking about music in general and various arias in particular, there is certainly a missing dimension to this script. I am serious when I say it would be nice if there was an audio tape of the arias that you could play while Callas talks about them (e.g., Verdi's "Macbeth"). Unfortunately, I am ashamed to admit my opera collection is inadequate to the task of putting together my own tape. But it is certainly fun to listen to those particular works as they are discussed. Not as good as actually seeing this play in performance, but that is unlikely to happen since it requires not only someone with the commanding presence of Zoe Caldwell but several singers like Audra McDonald. This is a fascinating portrait of a person who was as dynamic a personality as she was a performer. As much as I enjoyed reading this play, I have to lament the fact that reading it deprives me of the musical dimension that is at the heart of "Master Class." If you enjoy opera, musical theater or the creative process of the performing arts, this is a wonderful play for you to read.

Average customer rating:

Excellent biography. Read it when it first "came out!"

a page-turner

The Best Biography I've Ever Read

Maria Callas: The Woman Behind the Legend
Arianna Stassinopoulos
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0671255835

Book Description

This is the story of Maria Callas, who transformed herself from a chubby, painfully shy girl into a magnificent celebrated soprano, the likes of which we've yet to see again.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent biography. Read it when it first "came out!".......2007-09-10

The number one recall I have about this book still haunts me to this day... her abortion. Onasis giving her the choice, him or the child.
Haunting. Horrible.
Above all, this book was a major "undertaking" for the author which she executed superbly! What a story! What a book!

a page-turner.......2006-08-05

(To the reviewer before me: Now we're two.)

I have not read any other biography on Callas, but I listen to her avidly (her La Wally aria is particularly addictive) and have her Tosca performance on DVD as well as the documentary Maria Callas: Life and Art. But Callas's music alone has always made me wonder about her. Such deeply mined emotions in her singing, such ferocity, such purity, such power. How does she get all these in her performances? Where does she mine them? Zefirelli has compared her to Michelangelo, Bernstein has called her the greatest artist in the world. This book answers these questions and explains why. I have to say that it is a compulsive page-turner, even now in the twenty-first century where opera is no longer mainstream. There's always something interesting in each page. At the same time the biographer doesn't belabor a particular episode or detail in Maria's life as to make it boring or overly dramatized. And Arianna Stassinopoulos is no Kitty Kelly: everything seems very well-researched and reliable.

The Best Biography I've Ever Read.......2006-01-29

I can't believe no one has reviewed this book...so although I have never written one before here goes....
Critics say that this is the best book on the intensely private yet captivating Maria Callas. I'll go farther than that and say that it is the best biography I have personally EVER read and I am a huge fan of biographies. Yet, I can't quite put my finger on why its so good. Maybe its because Arianna Stassinopoulos shows a profound empathy for the diva or perhaps it's because she interviewed practically every living person who knew her. Maria Callas, the love interest of Aristotle Onassis who later dropped her for Jacqueline Kennedy, and of course the greatest dramatic opera singer who ever lived, is brought to life right in front of you in this fantastic, well ..... just read this book. You'll love it as much as I do.

Average customer rating:

Warning!!!
Actress Of The Opera: The Life Of Maria Callas
Dont Waste Your Time
Subpar
Waste of time

Maria Callas: An Intimate Biography
Anne Edwards
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: B0001PBXL4

Amazon.com

Anne Edwards has made a career out of writing intelligent biographies of prominent women, from the tortured (Vivien Leigh, Judy Garland) to the indomitable (Katharine Hepburn, Shirley Temple). Her gift for vivid characterization and lively narrative is once again in evidence in this readable portrait of opera's revolutionary diva, Maria Callas (1923-77).

Edwards doesn't add anything new to the well-known story of Callas' tumultuous life, and she disagrees with Nicholas Gage's controversial assertion (in the book Greek Fire) that Callas bore Aristotle Onassis a son who died shortly after his birth in 1960. But the author lays out the familiar facts deftly, nailing each of the forceful personalities who shaped Callas' destiny, from the obsessively ambitious mother who pushed her into performing and denied her a childhood to Onassis, the great love of her life, who broke her heart after a nine-year affair when he married Jacqueline Kennedy. Most forceful of all is Callas herself, who transformed opera with the revelation that great singing became even greater when buttressed by great acting.

Callas' fanatical devotion to the libretto, her deep understanding of character, and her incomparable musicianship get as much attention from Edwards as her famous feuds (most notably with Renata Tebaldi), the diet that transformed her into a sex symbol, and the notorious cancellations that occurred with increasing frequency to match the worsening of her vocal problems, which eventually forced her retirement from performing. The result is an exemplary popular biography that judiciously balances juicy anecdotes with critical commentary, giving the general reader a colorful, poignant portrait of Maria Callas the woman without ever losing sight of Callas the visionary artist. --Wendy Smith

Book Description

Maria Callas continues to mesmerize us twenty years after her death, not only because she was indisputably the greatest opera diva of the 20th century, but also because both her life and death were shrouded in a Machiavellian web of scandal, mystery and deception. Now Anne Edwards, well known for her revealing and insightful biographies of some of the world's most noted women, tells the intimate story of Maria Callas-her loves, her life, and her music, revealing the true woman behind the headlines, gossip and speculation.The second daughter of Greek immigrant parents, Maria found herself in the grasp of an overwhelmingly ambitious mother who took her away from her native New York and the father she loved, to a Greece on the eve of the Second World War. From there, we learn of the hardships, loves and triumphs Maria experienced in her professional and personal life. We are introduced to the men who marked Callas forever-Luchino Visconti, the brilliant homosexual director who she loved hopelessly, Giovanni Battista Meneghini, the husband thirty years her senior who used her for his own ambitions, as had her mother, and Aristotle Onassis, who put an end to their historic love affair by discarding her for the widowed Jacqueline Kennedy. Throughout her life, Callas waged a constant battle with her weight, a battle she eventually won, transforming herself from an ugly duckling into the slim and glamorous diva who transformed opera forever, whose recordings are legend, and whose life is the stuff of which tabloids are made.Anne Edwards goes deeper than previous biographies of Maria Callas have dared. She draws upon intensive research to refute the story of Callas's "mystery child" by Onassis, and she reveals the true circumstances of the years preceding Callas's death, including the deception perpetrated by her close and trusted friend. As in her portraits of other brilliant, star-crossed women, Edwards brings Maria Callas-the intimate Callas-alive. AUTHORBIO: Anne Edwards, hailed as "the queen of biography" (Kirkus Reviews), is the author of many bestselling biographies, including Ever After: Diana and the Life She Led, Katharine Hepburn: A Remarkable Woman, and Matriarch: Queen Mary and the House of Windsor. She is known for her meticulous research and ability to portray her subjects with passion and sympathy. She has also written biographies of Vivien Leigh, Margaret Mitchell, and Sonya, Countess Tolstoy. She currently lives in Beverly Hills, California.

Customer Reviews:

Warning!!!.......2004-03-18

I have to admit that I have not read this book. I was reading the reviews published here to decided whether or not to read it. I was amazed at the number of errors in the review by Rudy Avila. For example, Callas never married Onassis...that's a biggie. And, who on earth wouldn't know that Jackie Kennedy is usually spelled with an "ie" and not a "y"? Of course, if he really knew his stuff, he would know that Mrs. Kennedy never referred to herself as "Jackie", preferring the more formal "Jacqueline". If he got his information from this book, then this book is extremely inaccurate and misleading. If he is just making stuff up, he should not be writing reviews. Now that I have gotten myself all worked up over this, I suppose that I will have to read it and write an ACCURATE review when I am done.

Actress Of The Opera: The Life Of Maria Callas.......2004-02-05

Anne Edwards has written several biographies on famous women, among them actress Katherine Hepburn, singer-actress Judy Garland and legendary actress Vivien Leigh. She does extensive research into the lives of these female artists and their lives, both personal and public, giving us the real scoop on who they were as well as providing the reader with an authentic look at the 20th century. Maria Callas (1923-1977) is synonymous with opera. Any real opera fan will know who she was and what she was all about. She was a legend in the opera world and raised the bar for other sopranos that would follow in her footsteps- among them Leonie Rysanek, Joan Sutherland and Shirley Verrett. This biography describes in detail everything there is to know about Maria Callas - her origins as a Greek immigrant living with her parents in New York City, the frustration she endured after being rejected to perform at the Met, her trouble with her weight (even bulimia), her impressive career, her marriages, the last being wed to Aristotle Onaissis the Greek millionaire who would divorce her to marry the widowed Jacky Kennedy. This is truly an intimate biography as the title reveals and we feel as if Anne Edwards herself had lived as Maria Callas herself.

Maria Callas was born in Greece. Throughout her life, though she adopted American culture and nuances (even becoming a staunch follower of Audrey Hepburn's supermodel glamour)she remained innately Greek. Her passion, her fire and her temperament was all expressive of her Greek blood. Yes, she was infamous for her diva attitude (and this was before Diana Ross) and she was even known to have struck a reporter/paparazzi when he dared to get her in business, but we like our Maria Callas that way. Can you imagine how uninspired her performances at the opera would have been had she not been a strong woman ? It is her intensity that most attracts us to the great Maria Callas.

Never was her Greek soul more pronounced than in her opera performances. This is why people overlooked her flaws- Maria Callas had faults in her voice (at times her tessitura and dramatic vocals can sound too harsh and scratchy,at times her chest voice was so deep she sounded like a man). One can also comment on the fact that she sang only in Italian, never bothering to expand her repertoire into the German operas of Wagner, Mozart or the French operas of Massenet, Bizet, etc. When she sang Carmen, which was written in French, she sang in Italian and she mostly sang Italian versions of otherwise French or German operas. She overcame these issues by truly delivering drama, acting, for she knew that opera was as much about acting as it was about singing. She reigned supreme in the role of Bellini's Norma, caused a great sensation in the fiery roles of Puccini's Tosca, Turandot, La Vestale and most notably as Medea. For Medea, she appeared in one film version, her only film work she ever did. She was said to be the most acclaimed Violetta in Verdi's La Traviata, the best Lucia of the Donizetti opera, and the best Madam Butterfly. Working with Maria Callas might have proved difficult. She was extremely dedicated but egotistical. Somehow, she managed to work with other such big egos as conduct Herbert Von Karajan and tenors Franco Corelli and John Vickers.

Maria's opera performances were a blaze of glory, but all good things come to an end. Eventually, her voice wore thin. By the 70's she was not performing with dynamic frequency if she was performing at all. She was in her 50's when she died, in a luxurious apartment in Paris. She had been addicted to sleeping pills since she had always been a nocturnal woman and had trouble sleeping at night. Contrary to the popular legend, Callas did not die of a broken heart when her last husband millionaire Onaissis divorced her to marry Jackie Kennedy. She was a strong woman who would not pine for a man she loved for very long. She had just simply become tired of life and was decidely single but proud in the last years of her life. And she had reason to be. She had lived quite a life. Behind her was a career in opera that many sopranos still envy

Dont Waste Your Time.......2004-02-05

This biography of Maria Callas is the worst kind of tabloid trash. Derivative, poorly written and researched, riddled with errors and inaccuracies, it can't even begin to compete with other, better books on the Diva. Its primary concern is Maria Callas' sex life, and in fact the author appears obsessed with sex - who is getting it and who is not, who is cheating on whom, who is a great lover and who is a lousy lover, and who is gay and who is straight. Of Callas the Artist you will learn little here

The book reads like a Harlequin Romance version of Callas' life, with breathless, overwritten prose that runs the gamut from annoying to sick-making. Worst of all is the endless stream of factual inaccuracies, many of them real howlers, which expose not only the shoddy research and editing but also the author's embarassing ignorance of matters operatic.

I'm giving this book one star because I have to in order to publish this review. But if I had the option, I would not give it any at all.

Don't waste your time or money on this turkey.

Subpar.......2002-06-06

Edwards' bio of Callas borders too much on the tabloidish side, hardly on her career. Certain sections reads like she was pulling an alnighter in writing it, and the last two pages had serious editing problems. Try Callas works by John Ardoin, Henry Wisneski and Michael Scott

Waste of time.......2002-03-02

Poor job indeed. It's not just that one wouldn't find anything new in this biography (it's hard to expect anything really new about Callas after all that has been written) but it's not even the story told from a new angle... This book is like a patchwork of things cut and pasted from different sources and lacks consistency in style etc as if Ms Edwards couldn't decide whether she wanted to write just a "documentary" or something more "personal". Anyway, it is a waste of time to read this, if you want a Callas biography get Galatopoulos and Jellinek ones.

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