Maria by Callas (2017) was directed by Tom Volf. The title tell the tale: in an interview with David Frost, Maria Callas tells us that there are two people within her. One is Maria, who would love to be a dutiful wife and mother. The other is Callas who owed it to opera lovers to sing for audiences all over the world.
From the film, it's hard to know if Callas is being honest, or just spinning a tale she wants us to believe. My thought is that Callas was always "on." Everything she wrote, and everything she said in interviews was filtered through her consciousness before the words appeared. We'll never know the truth.
Callas would have loved this documentary, because everything is told from her point of view. According to Callas, she was always victimized by jealous competitors. People criticized her for missing important concert appearances, but she was sick. Aristotle Onassis left her for Jacqueline Kennedy, but then he came back to her at the end. Her fans never stopped loving her. She triumphed against all odds. Of course there were opposing opinions, but they don't appear in the film.
This documentary worked for me because we were able to hear Callas singing complete arias. (When you think of it, many documentaries--even about performing artists--give you just snippets of their work.) And, of course, Callas may well have been the greatest soprano of the 20th Century. (I don't like to use the word "arguably," but it would fit here.) It's interesting to know what she was like, even though we just learn what she wants to tell us.
We saw this film at Rochester's excellent Little Theatre. It will work well on the small screen.
If you're an opera lover, you can't miss it. If you're not an opera lover, I think it's still worth finding and viewing.
From the film, it's hard to know if Callas is being honest, or just spinning a tale she wants us to believe. My thought is that Callas was always "on." Everything she wrote, and everything she said in interviews was filtered through her consciousness before the words appeared. We'll never know the truth.
Callas would have loved this documentary, because everything is told from her point of view. According to Callas, she was always victimized by jealous competitors. People criticized her for missing important concert appearances, but she was sick. Aristotle Onassis left her for Jacqueline Kennedy, but then he came back to her at the end. Her fans never stopped loving her. She triumphed against all odds. Of course there were opposing opinions, but they don't appear in the film.
This documentary worked for me because we were able to hear Callas singing complete arias. (When you think of it, many documentaries--even about performing artists--give you just snippets of their work.) And, of course, Callas may well have been the greatest soprano of the 20th Century. (I don't like to use the word "arguably," but it would fit here.) It's interesting to know what she was like, even though we just learn what she wants to tell us.
We saw this film at Rochester's excellent Little Theatre. It will work well on the small screen.
If you're an opera lover, you can't miss it. If you're not an opera lover, I think it's still worth finding and viewing.