Callas By Callas: The Secret Writings of "la Maria" [ILLUSTRATED] (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Roberto Allegri (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Music lovers never tire of hearing the tragic tale of one of the greatest opera divas of the twentieth century. La Callas gave all to her art, but with her voice failing anyway, she gave it all up for love; but her lover, Ari Onassis, spurned her, and then it was too late to realize the heights of her career again, and she died alone and prematurely. This, of course, is the "plot" followed in this new, oversize volume telling the story of Maria Callas' life. It differs from other accounts in the wealth of photographs documenting Callas' private and public lives and in the gathering of excerpts from her writings, primarily her correspondence. Callas worked exceptionally hard to get to the top; despite vocal flaws, she had a gift of "inhabiting [any operatic] role completely." Once admitted onto the stage of La Scala in Milan, she knew she had arrived at "divadom." She became an international celebrity; but so soon, by 1959, her career was over. Brad Hooper

Review

"I would like to give so much more in everything I do. . . . When I sing I wish that my voice would obey me always, just as I desire. . . . At times I get to the point of invoking death to liberate myself from the torment and anguish that afflict me because I cannot succeed in attaining what I want."--Maria Callas

"Callas lives! This wonderful book brings us a great artist in her own words and voice, and combines them with rare and evocate photographs, creating a new kind of portrait of the century's foremost opera star. We discover the triumphs and travails of Callas's tumultuous life as she experienced them, and we feel something new. This is the first book about Callas in which we care about her not only as an artist and an icon, but as a human being. Since reading this book I am haunted by the intensity of Callas's feelings and by her unforgettable eyes staring out from these extraordinary photographs."--Fred Plotkin, author of Opera 101: A Complete Guide to Learning and Loving Opera
-- Review

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 168 pages
• Publisher: Universe Publishing; illustrated edition edition (June 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0789301350
• ISBN-13: 978-0789301352
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 9.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,235,376 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A book without the old hackneyed information, June 27, 1998

By A Customer

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.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Very Handsome Edition, February 16, 2005

By	P. Byrne - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a surprise, April 30, 2006

By	J. Anderson (Monterey, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

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.