Tony Palmer's Film About Maria Callas - 30th Anniversary Edition (2008)

A Riveting Video Biography of Maria Callas

This film by Tony Palmer was originally made thirty years ago but I had never seen it before. I have never been a huge fan of Callas (although I do think her recorded Tosca is the dramatically finest I know), and I came away from it stunned at the tragedy of her life and with immense respect for how she handled her admittedly somewhat compromised gifts. This DVD consists of a chronological retelling of her life story -- one that surely has all the makings itself of an opera; why hasn't anyone written one yet? -- and includes wonderful (mostly) black-and-white video clips of excerpts from performances by and interviews (as well as newsreel items) with Callas. The musical clips includes such things as 'Un voce poco far' (Barber of Seville), 'Oh, s'io potessi' (Pirata), 'Nacqui all'affanno' (Cenerentola), 'Tacea la notte placida' (Trovatore), 'Tu che la vanità' (Don Carlos), 'Ah, non credea mirarti' (Sonnambula), 'O mio babbino caro' (Gianni Schicchi), and a stunning 'Vissi d'arte' (Tosca). There are numerous interviews with such operatic luminaries who knew and worked with her -- Giuseppe di Stefano, Franco Zeffirelli, Graziella Sciutti, Luchino Visconti, John Ardoin, Lord Harewood, John Copley, Elvira de Hidalgo (her teacher), Tito Gobbi, Carlo Maria Giulini as well as Arianna Stassinopoulos (her biographer). Much attention is paid to her marriage to Giovanni Battista Meneghini, and her long and heartbreaking affair with and abandonment by Aristotle Onassis.

Tony Palmer constructs a biography with an operatic narrative arch, beginning with her birth in Manhattan and culminating in her death at age 53 in Paris, alone and nearly penniless. This is a superb example of video biography and I came away with new respect for this tough but fragile artist who sacrificed all for her art. I recommend it strongly not only for fans of Callas but for opera lovers in general.

Sound: Stereo; Format 16:9; Subtitles in French, Italian, Spanish, German; Total running time: 92 minutes

Scott Morrison June 6, 2008

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