La Callas (Universe of Stars)

By Andre Tubuef and André Tubeuf

Throughout the 1950s, Maria Callas was the leading star of the international opera circuit and arguably the most flamboyant, most sought-after performer in the world. With the unrivaled quality of her... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0789303817
• ISBN13: 9780789303813
• Release Date: October 1999
• Publisher: Universe
• Length: 79 Pages
• Weight: 0.83 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.5" x 6.5"

Customer Reviews

La Divina

Maria Callas (1923-1977) achieved a level of greatness as a soprano that perhaps no one else has achieved; it was so much more than her voice, it was her presence, her grace, her sense of drama, and her strength of character. It was also the rigorous training she put herself through, and as this wonderful book describes, she was one to arrive early and leave late, even when she was an operatic superstar. Written in an almost poetic style, French music critic André Tubeuf talks briefly about her youth, when she was considered an "ugly duckling" and her older sister (ironically named Jackie) was the pretty one. Maria was myopic, and "stuffed herself with sweets," which led to her having a "substantial figure." One can hardly imagine this, as the vision in our minds of Callas is of a svelte and fashionable woman, but there are 2 gorgeous photographs in this book that prove that in her early days she was quite Rubinesque, and quite a beauty. Callas was at her peak in the 1950s, when her best recordings were made, making music that is treasured today, and for all time. Tubeauf covers this period, and then tells of how her fame, and her long relationship with Ari Onassis (who cast her aside for a bigger trophy, the widow of a president), led to her final years of isolation. Tubeauf compares her stardom that rose to mythical proportions to Garbo and Monroe, and says, "Callas was first devoured by art and then the woman was destroyed by the fires of celebrity." There are only 14 pages of text in this book, the bulk of it consists of fabulous photos, in and out of costume, with some that are most unusual, like one of her conversing with Winston Churchill, aboard Onassis' yacht. There is always sadness behind the glamour in these images of an "ugly duckling" that became one of the world's most famous swans. The photographs are not interrupted by descriptions, these come at the end of the book, next to thumbnails of them, and there is also a chronology that is helpful for those wanting to learn more about La Divina Callas. This is a small book, but it has the quality of a coffee table volume, with thick, glossy pages, and sturdy construction, and is a must for opera and Callas fans.