Customer Reviews

The Autobiography of Maria Callas: A Novel

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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.

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!

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.

The story begins on the second of December 1923, with the birth of a girl was born at the Flower Hospital in New York. Christened, Cecilia Sophia Anna Maria Kalogeropoulos, her name was just the beginning of her problems. Her mother totally rejected her for the first four days of her life.

This rejection was brought about by Litza, her mother, wanting another son to replace the one she lost to typhoid when he was three. In later life Maria understood he mother's pain in losing her son. But she never forgave her mother for rejecting her. She believed she had a mother who never really loved her.

Maria felt that her mother saw her as a commodity because of her singing talent. Her older sister Jackie was much more attractive than Maria. This fact not only got Jackie plenty of boyfriends, but she received much attention from Litza.

All through her developing years as a singer and a person, Maria was fat and pimply. This did not give her great confidence in herself and was to hold back her development as a human being. Not until she shed 62 pounds, between 1952 and 1954, did she begin to blossom into her true self.

At the age of 26, Maria married Giovanni Battista Meneghani in Veron on April 12 1949. It heralded a period of relative stability in her life that lasted until their divorce in 1966. By that time her need for Giovanni waned and another man became the center of her world.

That man was none other then the Greek tycoon Aristotle Onassis. They led a tempestuous life together until his death in 1975. He allowed her to be the woman she felt she always was, but could never escape from her cage.

Although she needed Aristotle to exist he never felt the same way. His ego demanded other conquests and she was faced with periods of extreme depression and loneliness. It hurt her to her very core when he turned his attention to other women, yet she needed him still.

The book gives great insight into the world of opera. How the politics of the art ebb and flow as individuals preen their egos. All the glitter and the romance portrayed on the stage, hides the uglier side of opera.

Despite her great success in an activity she just loved with all the fiber of her heart and soul, Maria Callas never found the internal peace she craved. The early rejection by her mother tortured her existence.

Doctor Bond has produced a memorable book about a very talented lady. It lays bare the soul of Maria Callas, as none other has done before.

For a riveting read one could do no better.

Ultimately, we can never know what goes on in another's mind, but psychologist and author Bond does a lyrical job of imagining the inner workings of one of the best singers in history. She's not a musician reviewing Callas' musical life, but a therapist imagining her inner life - and it's a good read that I thoroughly enjoyed.

How refreshing to read a different take on the great Callas. Like the unique "Colors of Callas" by Taylor Pero, this book dares to look at Callas as not an icon, but a human being, with foibles and fabulous atributes. I had to chuckle to myself when I read the typical queeny dish about this book from some poor NYC opera queen who could not stand the fact that Callas sat on the stool like the rest of us.

This is the worst that could have happened to the already excessive iconography on Callas. After all the lies, misperceptions and inaccuracies that have been said about her we do not need this pseudo-whatever-genre of "psychoanalytical" insight into Callas mind. Additionally, the book is full of mistakes (for example, the reference to Evangelia Callas as "Liska" instead of "Litsa" and so on). The book is also plagued of typos. This book is just awful. If somebody isinterested in Callas' life it would be better to read Ardoin and Fitzgerald's book (unfortunately out of print) or Stelios Galatopoulos and Michael Scott's biographies.

Dr. Bond does a magnificent job of taking the reader deep within the mind of the greatest diva of all time. Dr. Bond's psychoanalytic background combined with her writing expertise enable the reader to journey from Maria Callas's childhood through her middle age. We see Callas through the eyes of a psychologist who has spent a lifetime understanding and analyzing people. This unique perspective gives the reader insight into the makings of a genius as we learn why and what inner forces drove Callas to the heights of achievement and then the depths of despair. This account of Callas's life is unique in its approach and a delight to read.

This book is a pathetic, mercenary attmept by the "author" to capitalize on the Callas story. It is a completely frustrating, dreadful read. Inaccuracies and misspellings abound. Trust the previous reviewer above and SAVE A TREE by not buying this book. I own dozens of books on Callas, including the definitive works by Ardoin, Fitzgerald, and Wisneski, so please take my advice and avoid this awful book. I wish I had seen the reviews here before I wasted my money.

I love her voice and sytle, however this psysobable is intolerable. I had to stop reading and listen to her sing just to regain my sanity. Sorry to say but stay away far far away