Maria by Callas

One of most impressive portraits of Maria Callas. lovely because it is answer to many expectations. explanation for the presence of her name with same intensity today, like yesterday. her vulnerability - from the egocentric perspective about life and the people around her to the chance gived by Pasolini. a film who escape to the temptation to be a pure eulogy/hommage. a film defined by the emotions you feel. more than by other pieces. so, a splendid work.

Believe me - You don't have to be a die-hard opera fan in order to appreciate this engaging celebrity bio-documentary about famed soprano singer, Maria Callas (1923-1977).

Born in Manhattan, NY, USA - Maria Callas (who had an incredibly wide vocal range and impeccable vibrato control) is unanimously regarded as being one of the most influential and renowned female opera singers of the entire 20th century.

Through stills, archival footage, and interviews - This 2-hour presentation looks at the highs, as well as the lows, of the life and times of Maria Callas.

I don't think some of the viewers understand, this is Maria by Callas. This film contains no modern commentary, it is strictly focused on Maria Callas own memoir, performances, and TV interviews. Very well inserted footage of David Frost show, Callas performances, and news-clippings from the period of about 1947-1977. The film goes deep into understanding the demons that haunted Madame Callas, pressures from spouse, pressures from the Met, and other places of performance to continue to perform and please the masses.

I heard a segment on NPR about "Maria by Callas" and wanted to see the movie. It was fantastic. What an amazing talent, what a special human being. I was so touched, I walked out of the theater with a smile and feeling really good.

Once in the height of the press media exploiting the supposedly rivalry between singers, Callas and Renata Tebadli, Callas was quoted (on comparing herself to the other singer) that it was like "comparing champagne to cognac". Tom Volf's debut documentary follows Callas's professional/personal life through its ups and downs by wonderfully, spooling in between her most famous "arias" performances.

It focuses on using archived TV interviews and scenes of "paparazzi" swarms but keeps a sharp focus on her early 50's career accomplishments until her untimely death in the mid 70s. Her early NYC childhood story and late adulthood Parisian isolation were only shown thru her interviews and the usage of a off-screen narrator reading Callas's letters and memoirs.

It also displayed her "Tigress" temperament towards the harsh reality of the Opera world as a booming recording industry and its societal environments. Volf's documentary subtlety unveils her own decadence of solitude dealing with a vocal declination and an endless love for Aristotle Socrates Onassis. A must-see for Opera lovers, truly amazing!