Customer Reviews

Maria Callas: A Musical Biography

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
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If you are pretty much unacquainted with the art and life of Maria Callas, I highly recommend this book by Robert Levine, an widely-known music writer and Senior Editor of ClassicsToday.com.

I knew Maria Callas only by reputation and publicity and by my old LP of Norma, recorded in 1960, a riveting dramatic portrait, although the vocal problems that shortened her career were then very much evident. I very much wanted to know more, and to hear her sing when her voice was a little fresher, and, like another reviewer here, didn't really know where to start. This book has been a godsend for me.

The text covers Callas' life and career, and includes many photos and a discography. This book includes two CD's with arias from most of the roles Callas sang on stage and a number of ones she didn't.

The text that accompanies each aria discusses when and how it was recorded, its place in Callas' career, and the real treasure for me is that it discusses, with notations of exact timings so that one can listen to each example, the nuances of drama, emotion and technique that characterize phrases, words, sometimes single notes. It is a fascinating way to get to know the work of a most remarkable artist. I have to say that I was blown away by the Mad Scene from Lucia di Lammermour and the lovely "La mamma morta" from Andrea Chenier, both recorded in 1955, when her voice was fresher than in my later Norma.
Because of the discussion about the painstaking and creative way that Callas crafted her interpretations of the roles she sang, I have a new appreciation for her singing, and I think I finally begin to understand what was so special and moving about her art.

I recommend this book to people well-acquainted with Callas' work as well as neophytes like myself. It really is a gift.

Maria Callas: A Musical Biography is a gloriously presented biography of stellar opera performer Maria Callas. Indeed, "La Divina", as she was called is quite possibly the greatest operatic soprano of the 20th century. The travails of her personal life, as well as her impressive public career, are painstakingly chronicles by internationally known music writer Robert Levine. Over 100 rare black & white photographs, and two full-length music CD's, nicely round out this superb tribute and testimony of a grand woman's life and career. Maria Callas: A Musical Biography is a "must" for the legions of Maria Callas fans and admirers.

There are those people who know all about the greatest music, the gretest artists, the best performances and there are, well, the rest of us. I've been wanting to know more about Callas for some time but am always daunted when I go into a record store and see the row upon row of recordings. Where do you start? I suppose the best introduction would be to sit down with someone who knew a lot about her, who would tell you her story, while playing selections of some of her greatest recordings and pointing out what to listen for, relish, and occasionally criticise in each performance. However, in the absence of such a friend Robert Levine will do very nicely. The book is beautifully produced and the pictures of Callas at every stage of her career are stunning. The real joy though are the two CDs and the accompanying commentary in the book. Each aria is set in context and there are (thank goodness) librettos and timings. Levine points out special features to listen for and is also not afraid to criticise in places. There's also a list or performances and a discography. A wonderful treat.

This is a well written, easy-to-read biography with lots, really lots of photos never seen before, among them - on a whole page - of Callas as Turandot.
Two well filled CD:s from EMI are included - and in the last part of the book each aria is discussed in detail. Much value for a modest price. Why not five stars then? Well, the analysis of every aria gets a bit dull after a while. The book is, however, worth any price because so many unique photos!

This is a difficult book to comment on: having 2 CD's with Callas performances and commentary from a respected critic is marvelous, but.... One of the Big Issues in Callas' career was the way she let her voice go to pot, yet the CD tracks are not sequential, the listings do not give dates of the performances, and not all the performance notes do either. The biographical section is frequently padded, and the photographs often do not correspond with the time (or events) being described. As with most books nowadays, the publisher ran SpellCheck on the text, but no one edited it, so there are misspelled words and mis-written sentences. The CD's, though, are very much worth the price of the book, and the musical commentary is helpful. The biographical section offers no new information, but is a concise and readable summary.

Now this is what I call a biography. Not only has a plethora of monochrome pictured of Maria in chronological order, but sound performances that thrill your imagination.

The second half of the book actually tells something of the music it's self and is laid out to follow the two included CD's.

Now it is time to visit the Black Dog Opera Library Series.

Selections include major pieces form:
Vincenzo Bellini 1801-1835
Alfredo Catalani 1854-1893
Giacomo Puccini 1858-1924
Umberto Giordano 1867-1848
Giuseppe Verdi 1813-1910
Francesco Cilea 1866-1950
Gaetano Donizetti 1779-1848
Christoph Willibald Gluck 1714-1787
Georges Bizet 1838-1875
Gioachino Rossini 1792-1868
Giacomo Meyerbeer 1791-1864
Charles Gounod 1818-1891
Camille Saint-saëns 1835-1921
Jules Massenet 1842-1912

Robert Levine is an authority on opera and lavishes some of his skill and insight on one of the most outstanding opera stars in history. The biography of Ms. Callas is short and highly readable, covers the most important aspects of her life, and offers much insight into her personality and the important role it played in her rise and decline. One comes away with the feeling that this is a balanced study, not without some human sympathy but not partisan or tendentious either. Levine mainly lets the evidence speak for itself, which is about as much as anyone can do in a work of this length. Unfortunately, as others have noted, the editing is sloppy and leaves much to be desired. Some sentences are just incoherent or incomplete. The word "ignored" appears as "gnored" in one place. In a discussion of Callas' 1965 return to the Met, we are told that Robert, Edward, and Jacqueline Kennedy were in the audience the first night. Later in the book, Edward is omitted and John Kennedy is said to have been there, even though he had obviously been dead for 2 years by that time. One hopes the book may be revised one day to permit the correction of such egregious errors.

The real treasures of this volume are the photos, of which there are many, and the 2 CD's with almost 3 hours of music, coupled with Levine's valuable and fascinating commentary. For anyone looking to understand the uniqueness and power of Maria Callas' singing, Levine has performed a major service. He provides enough background about the opera and the aria being sung that one can understand Ms. Callas' motivation and approach. He also points to particular passages by the timings where they occur in order to explain what she is doing at that point and why it makes sense, dramatically. This level of commitment to teaching about the singer is really remarkable. If you want to understand why Ms. Callas changed the world of opera forever, this book is an excellent place to start.

I have probably read all biographies written about Callas and this is the finest, never judging her personal life and stressing why she was the most complete singer of our times. Listening to the recordings while reading the comments makes it yet more valuable for the ones that never heard her and for those who have listened her art many times.

This book 'could have been a contender' but for shoddy editing. The poor grammar is distracting and could have been so easily avoided! The packaging is excellent and the extracts of Madame Callas's arias are among the best. However, one does not know the dates of the recording--some are obviously of the EMI family and a few live performances probably pirated versions. I have a new appreciation of the French composers (Gounod, Saint Saëns, Massenet) thanks to these CDs. The first two chapters (about 2/3s of the book) are worthless as they provide no new information and appear to be copy/pasted from extant biographies. The last and third chapter is a good idea not fully developed. It provides a guide on listening to the arias which may be useful to the untrained ear. The text gives the impression is was hastily written and then well-packaged. Too bad...with a little love and care, it could have been grand!

The author has combined in recording and words the magnificence of this great artist. This is a book all Callas fans must have. The text is well translated and Mr. Levine describes to perfection why this woman is so great in her intereperative skills. Thank you Mr. Levine from a Callas fan. All young aspiring opera singers male or female should have this book to learn what is the stuff that makes a great singer.
Thank you,
Victor Zolezzi