A fictionalised account of the well-known and not so widely known details of the tempestuous and passionate, creative and private life of the internationally acclaimed diva. The soaring heights of her talents, the fears of her decline, written from a psychological, highly controversial perspective.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Alma Halbert Bond is a retired Freudian psychoanalyst whose love of opera and the fabled soprano Maria Callas led her to write this partly fictionalized psycho-autobiography, in the form of a novel. This is an ambitious psychological look at Callas's life, and Bond's claim to authority is in the analytical end, not the historian's craft, but she has done her homework.
Some intense Callas fans have taken Bond fiercely to task for even daring to write a book dealing with their goddess's motivations and feelings. No one can know what goes on in the mind of another, and this sort of psychological analysis--which does not benefit from any first-hand consultation with its subject--can only be educated guesswork at best. Still, many of Bond's educated guesses make sense and help to fill in the puzzle that was Maria Callas. If the first-person narrative sometimes fails to work as planned, Bond's love of her subject shines through, and fans of the great diva should give this book a try. --Sarah Bryan Miller --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Review
"An admirable job of balancing fact and conjecture, with a sense of the Callas I knew. . . ." -- DALLAS MORNING NEWS, by John Ardoin
"Weds fact and fiction into an extraordinary portrait of Maria Callas: daughter, sister, wife, lover, thwarted mother, artist . . . who, in the still small hours of the morning becomes a vulnerable, fragile creature who weeps tragic tears into her pillow. . . ." --Joy Davidson, world-renowned mezzo-soprano
"Weds fact and fiction into an extraordinary portrait of Maria Callas: daughter, sister, wife, lover, thwarted mother, artist . . . who, in the still small hours of the morning becomes a vulnerable, fragile creature who weeps tragic tears into her pillow. . . ." --Joy Davidson, world-renowned mezzo-soprano
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Singer and lover of Callas, I loved this book!,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Autobiography of Maria Callas: A Novel (Paperback)
As a singer of classical music, which includes opera arias, art songs and many of the pieces that Maria Callas sang in her repetoire, I have read as much as I can possibly imbibe on the life of Callas. At long last, we are given an opportunity to have an inside look at the complexities of this greatest of singers's life. Any one of us can find the historical, professional bios of the greats, but to get "down and dirty" and have the chance to feel them on a personal and emotional level is a rare treat. Dr. Alma Bond, as a psychoanalyst with many years of private practice under her belt, has at her disposal, through her exhaustive research and vast experience, the means by which to take us on a tour of the psyche of this many-faceted diva. Dr. Bond's approach to this exploration comes in the form of autobiography, which, unfortunately, Maria Callas never wrote. I find this novel approach to her life to be quite clever as I find the lack of of a personal autobiography to be quite disappointing. Through this book, I experienced a sense of closure with Maria, who died too tragically young. Anyone with a curiousity of not only singing or opera, but of the trials and tribulations inherent to the endless disciplines, and pressures of greatness will find this a must read.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
remember it's a novel!!,
By
This review is from: The Autobiography of Maria Callas: A Novel (Paperback)
This is a fact & fiction portrait of one of the great operatic artists. Maria Callas as daughter, sister, wife, lover, thwarted mother & prima donna assoluta.Do take out one of Maria Callas' CDs as you read this author's fictional autobiography of this darling of the rarified reaches of haute couture, drama & music. Dr. Bond comes by her ability to see inside another person's mind, honestly. She spent 40 years doing just that as a Freudian analyst in the Mother of All Cities, New York! A golden voice is no guarantee of a golden life, & if you have no idea who Maria Callas was, then this novel, written in the first person, will go a long way to re-creating this woman with a divine voice who had a leaden private life. She was, when all is read & done, a child of her era & a woman of her time. Did I like THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MARIA CALLAS: A novel? Not really, then I'm not a huge opera fan nor a Maria Callas aficionado. Do I admire Dr. Bond's effort? Absolutely! Is it a work of art? You betcha!
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The story enhances the pleasure of the music.,
By herbert@keysdigital.com Mary-Alice Herbert (Sugarloaf Shores, Florida) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Autobiography of Maria Callas: A Novel (Hardcover)
Who has not heard the voice of Maria Callas and not wondered about the woman? And who has not heard the voice? If not live, then recorded. In truth, many who have never listened closely to the music of Maria Callas know more about her as a great celebrity, a dark and sultry diva who sang and played upon the international stage during the 1950s and 1960s. Famous. Infamous. Part of the myth of our times--with or without her music. In Alma Bond's book, THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MARIA CALLAS: A NOVEL, if Callas is larger than life as most of us know it, it is because the great ones usually are. Bond tells the story of Maria, the story of the woman, her family, her loves, her career--her suffering and joy--with empathy, authenticity, and grace. As if listening to Maria herself, Bond gives us what we trust from the start is the truth. Bond is a listener, a trained and experienced psychoanalyst, who brings that insight to the page. Bond is a scholar, a trained and experienced researcher, who brings accurate opera history and criticism to the page. And Bond is an artist, a trained and experienced actress who always gives Maria center stage in the a dramatically enthralling story of struggle, genius, disillusionment, and triumph. If you listen to the music, you will hear the passion of the woman--all the better for this book. You will be drawn even more strongly to the music.
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