Maria Callas - La Divina: A Portrait

Starring:Maria Callas, Anna Magnani, Franco Zeffirelli, Giuseppe Di Stefano, Luchino Visconti, Tito Gobbi, Carlo Maria Giulini, Grace Kelly
Director: Tony Palmer
Studio: Image Entertainment
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
It is almost a quarter of a century since Maria Callas died. But the years have done little to diminish interest in this most iconic of divas. The debate surrounding the real quality of that voice continues to be fanned by her devotees and detractors, intermittently reaching fever pitch with the arrival of another biography or the commercial release of a newly discovered live recording. Tony Palmer's 1987 film portrait, now available on DVD, towers over the bulk of contributions to the Callas industry because it manages to be both passionate about its subject and objective about the forces that shaped a great musical talent and then left it in ruins.

Amazon.com

It is almost a quarter of a century since Maria Callas died. But the years have done little to diminish interest in this most iconic of divas. The debate surrounding the real quality of that voice continues to be fanned by her devotees and detractors, intermittently reaching fever pitch with the arrival of another biography or the commercial release of a newly discovered live recording. Tony Palmer's 1987 film portrait, now available on DVD, towers over the bulk of contributions to the Callas industry because it manages to be both passionate about its subject and objective about the forces that shaped a great musical talent and then left it in ruins.

Description

No other opera singer this century has aroused such public interest, such adulation and such controversy as Maria Callas, "La Divina Assoluta." Her dramatic and musical reincarnations of operatic heroines were invested with a psychological depth which made her performances and recordings definitive, and her recordings still outsell every other major classical singer. Callas transformed herself from an overweight ugly duckling into a dazzling beauty, inspired by the sylph-like Audrey Hepburn. She was labeled a "tigress" for her temperamental image, others thought her behavior so unforgivable she was pelted with eggs, but her unique and haunting voice and personality dominated public life in the 1950s and early 1960s. Tony Palmer's award-winning film charts her rapid rise to fame and offers a glimpse into the private life of this remarkable woman. 91 minutes.

Customer Reviews:

Maria Callas - La Divina: A Portrait.......2004-11-02

I especially liked the approach in this film showing Callas the artist and Maria the woman. This theme carries throughout this wonderful Portrait. There is so little footage of this greatest Soprano of her Century, that every morsel is welcomed. Excerpts from her opera performances worldwide show off her professionalism and talent. A Greek Tragedy that even Euripides would have appreciated, yet the tragedy is ours for the loss of this talented Diva at her age of 53. Callas the artist so talented and Maria the woman, so beautiful yet so vulnerable.

not just for La Divina fans.......2002-06-09

Pretty good documentary on Callas phenomenon. One certainly gets an idea of what it was all about. A bit too much of shallow psychology (Maria the artist, Maria the woman), but all in all it works. Even though there is much overlap with another documentary (Callas - Life and Art) this one is definitely better executed and gives more. If you want just the art part get Hamburg or Paris recital DVDs.

Diva Of Divas........2002-06-06

I, admittedly, am not an opera expert, by any stretch... I've seen a number of productions, enjoyed the spectacle, the talent, but don't know a mezzo from a matzho. But everyone knows Maria Callas. The first time I saw a film of this Anna Magnani with a voice, I was transfixed. I became intrigued with the legend, so I bought this video. I have re-watched several times, and I found it to be informative and revealing. She has been dissected almost more than any public figure,"the greatest", "the worst", "tempermental" ...etc.., they're all here. There are interviews with people from the very beginning of her career, when the ugly-(very large)duckling had few admirers. From her first singing teacher and a fellow student, who, upon first hearing the young Maria sing, says "my own mouth fell open", in awe, from Franco Zeffirelli, who worked with and adored her, from her friends, her "swan" period, her "tantrums", her scandalous affair with and betrayal by Onassis, her decline, her public humiliation by talentless, envious critics who weren't fit to wipe her feet, her lonely end. "Those whom the Gods love, they also destroy"...It offers a candid look at the greatest opera legend ever, who left in her wake detractors, yes, but also many who said seeing and hearing her was a once in a lifetime exposure to an almost supernatural talent..."possessed", as Signore Zeffirelli describes her here. I found this over-all very pleasing, it helped me to understand and better appreciate the woman who revolutionized an art form, and who many consider to be the greatest artist of this century.This film helps explain the continuing fascination. There was only one "La Divina". Long may she live.

Lack of information.......2001-07-28

There is not too much information in this DVD. La Callas sings many small pieces of arias but never tell you which arias are, there are many people interviewed but they never tell you who they are, the interviews of not English Language speaking people are "doubled" to English instead of just "subtitling" them etc. I do not recommend this DVD. ( I have others DVds of La Callas and are much better than this one)

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