Stars: Maria Callas

Summary: A documentary tracing the career of the great artist and produced in collaboration with Maria Callas' family. Includes concert footage, interviews and previously unavailable archive material.

Through a combination of archival footage and interviews, filmmaker Tony Palmer profiles the at once soaring and tragic life of opera legend Maria Callas, "La Divina Assoluta." Filmed on location in Athens, Rome, Milan, New York and London.

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It is almost a quarter of a century since Maria Callas died. But the passing years have done little to diminish interest in this most iconic of divas. The debate surrounding the real quality of that voice continues to be fanned by her devotees and detractors, intermittently reaching fever pitch with the arrival of another biography or the commercial release of a newly discovered live recording. Tony Palmer's 1987 film portrait, now available on DVD, towers over the bulk of contributions to the Callas industry because it manages to be both passionate about its subject and objective about the forces that shaped a great musical talent and then left it in ruins.

Lengthy interviews with colleagues and confidants embrace both Callas' undoubted theatrical genius and the emotional traumas that propelled her stumbling private life. The scene is set from the moment this documentary's producer John Ardoin, himself a Callas biographer, declares the story of Callas the woman to be one of the great tragedies of our time. From that point, the film forges potent links between the evolution of the diva's artistry through her great performances--Tosca, in particular--and the defiant soul captured in a considerable archive of media encounters that range from the intense and contemptuous to the coquettish. This is 90 essential minutes for anyone interested in the Callas legend. Her story will never be better told. --Piers Ford

Aspect Ratio:	4:3 Full Frame
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Subtitles:	French
Year:	1987
Release Date:	July 3, 2000
Runtime:	92 minutes
Certification:	Exempt.
Catalogue Number:	100 052
Keywords:	General, Entertainment, Maria, Callas, Portrait, La, Documentaries, Biographies, Divina
Genre:	Documentaries & Biographies