Callas: As They Saw Her [Hardcover]

David A. Loew (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1986 | ISBN-10: 0804456364 | ISBN-13: 978-0804456364

This title gathers selections from Callas's memoirs and interviews, and reminiscences by critics and fellow performers.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"As an artist, Callas remains supreme. The secret of her art cannot be revealed by sifting through her private life," asserts operaphile Lowe in his introduction to this compilation of review excerpts, remembrances by colleagues (Gobbi, Sutherland), published interviews with the diva herself and scholarly debates about Callas's technique and artistry. The review excerpts are often too brief to be meaningful since Lowe quotes only the comments on Callas from reviews of complete operas, but they are exhaustive (the anti-Callas camp is fully represented) and Callas the consummate performer comes vividly alive. Lowe's research has been wide-ranging: the first review quoted is from 1942, when 19-year-old Maria Kalogeropoulos sang Tosca in Athens: "She not only sustains the role without failings and sings it correctly, but she is capable at the same time of performing it with a conviction that in many places overwhelms the audience." Lowe knows his readers want every word they can have about Callas. The brief but tart-tongued bibliography is the volume's gem: "One reads the book with fascination and then rushes to shower afterward," Lowe says of Arianna Stassinopoulos's 1981 biography. Photos. (July
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

As the title implies, Callas: as they saw her is not the customary musician's biography. Rather, it is a collection of essays, reminiscences, and critiques from various sources. The book concentrates on Callas the artist, generally presenting her in a highly favorable lighta driven, consummate professional misunderstood by her critics. The editor, an admitted Callas devotee, has a tendency to overstatement ("an achievement unparalleled in our time") but contributes an eloquent and perceptive introductory chapter and later discusses what he feels are Callas's greatest recordings. In sum, this book will be mandatory reading for Callas enthusiasts and opera buffs but a marginal purchase for most libraries. Bryan C. Stoneburner, Univ. of Hawaii Lib., Honolulu
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 264 pages
• Publisher: Ungar Pub Co (July 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804456364
• ISBN-13: 978-0804456364
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,704,843 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #38 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( C ) > Callas, Maria