The Unknown Callas: The Greek Years

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding scholarship, moving biography...
Review: "The Unknown Callas" is uniquely devoted to Callas' early life as a child, student, and young professional in Athens during the 1930-1940s, and is without question, the finest biography of the singer ever. This powerful intimate portrait is essential to understanding the complex woman and musician of the climatic years in the 1950s and 1960s.

Petsalis-Diomidis researched this work like an archaeologist seeking every surviving document and artifact, but presents it in biographical form as a psychologist with a deep understanding of human nature. The whole is framed by discussions of the politics of the time and the harsh realities of daily life during the war. Though this is the work of a scholar, it is also that of an artist, where every care has been taken to paint a three-dimensional backdrop and recreate the atmosphere for each scene.

While much of the original research for this book consisted of interviewing every surviving person associated with the family, conservatory, neighborhoods, etc. in those years; the author never accepts statements mearly at face-value, always examining every angle. The search for truth is ever apparent, and though his devotion to Maria is unquestionable, he never gives her unearned benefit of doubt.

Beautifully typeset and printed with copious photographs, the book unfortunately does not include the many photographs of programs for school concerts and early opera performances that were featured in the original Greek version. Albeit many of these programs were in Greek, some were also printed in German and Italian during the war, and afterwards in English. Likewise, the index does not present proper names in their original Greek alphabet, so the original version is now a nice scholarly cross reference for this new English book.

But for those intimidated by scholarship, this book tells a moving story with just enough gossip to keep things interesting. For fans and detractors alike, it's a story of a girl with modest gifts and very modest beginnings, fighting to survive adolescence and make a name in the world of opera, a fight that would continue throughout her life.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding scholarship, moving biography...
Review: "The Unknown Callas" is uniquely devoted to Callas' early life as a child, student, and young professional in Athens during the 1930-1940s, and is without question, the finest biography of the singer ever. This powerful intimate portrait is essential to understanding the complex woman and musician of the climatic years in the 1950s and 1960s.

Petsalis-Diomidis researched this work like an archaeologist seeking every surviving document and artifact, but presents it in biographical form as a psychologist with a deep understanding of human nature. The whole is framed by discussions of the politics of the time and the harsh realities of daily life during the war. Though this is the work of a scholar, it is also that of an artist, where every care has been taken to paint a three-dimensional backdrop and recreate the atmosphere for each scene.

While much of the original research for this book consisted of interviewing every surviving person associated with the family, conservatory, neighborhoods, etc. in those years; the author never accepts statements mearly at face-value, always examining every angle. The search for truth is ever apparent, and though his devotion to Maria is unquestionable, he never gives her unearned benefit of doubt.

Beautifully typeset and printed with copious photographs, the book unfortunately does not include the many photographs of programs for school concerts and early opera performances that were featured in the original Greek version. Albeit many of these programs were in Greek, some were also printed in German and Italian during the war, and afterwards in English. Likewise, the index does not present proper names in their original Greek alphabet, so the original version is now a nice scholarly cross reference for this new English book.

But for those intimidated by scholarship, this book tells a moving story with just enough gossip to keep things interesting. For fans and detractors alike, it's a story of a girl with modest gifts and very modest beginnings, fighting to survive adolescence and make a name in the world of opera, a fight that would continue throughout her life.

Rating:
Summary: Overlong, but full of interest
Review: Despite the volumes of material that have been written about her, Maria Callas remains a fascinating enigma both as a person and as an artist. Nicholas Petsalis-Diomidis has taken an important step in filling in some of the gaps that remain in our understanding by tracing in exhaustive detail the singer's early musical life in Greece, where she moved with her mother and sister in her early teens and remained until returning to the United States in 1945.

The perception that her Greek sojourn was a relatively unimportant preamble to her "real" career was in part propagated by Callas herself. Petsalis-Diomidis shows that the eight years she spent there were, on the contrary, an essential part of her musical development. It was in Athens that she received her first formal vocal training from Maria Trivella and Elvira de Hidalgo (the author is careful to give the former due credit in Callas' education), and sang her first leading roles onstage with the Athens Opera. Among her credits there were operas that would form the core of her later repertory, such as Tosca, and others that she would never sing again, such as Fidelio.

Perhaps even more fascinating than her musical history is the multitude of detail about Callas' personal life during this difficult time. Though he tries to be evenhanded, Petsalis-Diomidis is ultimately unsparing in his condemnation of Litsa, Callas' mother, whom he regards as an amoral and destructive parent. His collection of anecdotes about the hardships of war and the professional difficulties encountered by the young Callas make for fascinating reading. Occasionally his passion for research makes the narrative seem fussy and overburdened with detail (was it really necessary to give the diva's exact weight at various times in her career?), but in the main this carefully researched volume is an essential addition to the already voluminous collection of Callas writings. Credit must also be given to the fluent and readable English translation.

Rating:
Summary: THE TRUTH ABOUT CALLAS
Review: First of all one must comment the sceintific way Mr Petsalis has used in his writting. All of the information is always reported along with the sources from which each info came. That is the way of how a true Historian functions.
Second of all, for the first time we look upon Callas' first career which was not to be underestimated at all thus the "Myth" of a Callas whose voice lasted from 1947-1959 is completely set to its true basis because Petsalis reveals that Callas first sang the dreadfuly heavy role of Santuza at the age of 15 and by the time she was 22 she had sung 2 douzins Toscas and several times Fidelio, roles of heavy dramatic soprano that are absolutely forbidden for youngsters (along of course with the repertoire of the lyrical and coloratura soprano which included Handel, Mozart etc). It is outrageous to suggest that today's singers who sing their first heavy role -which most of the times is very light- after the age of 31 -Sutherland sang her first Lucia when she was 33 in Covent Garden in 1959- keep their voices for longer periods. Even R Fleming had said that Callas' voice lasted too little and that is such a mistake. I wouldn't like to see how long Fleming's voice would have lasted if she had sung Santuzza at the age of 15 and Tosca at the age of 19.
Third this book is the first authoritative description of Callas' voice as a soprano sfogato at the prototype of Pasta and Malibran and as a combination of a true dark soprano falcon and a light coloratura giving us the full description as a Dramatic Coloratura d'agilita. In this book we read how the teenager Callas auditioned before Elvira de Hidalgo with the heavy aria of "Ocean thou mighty monster" one aria that de Hidalgo forbade the young Maria from singing again if she wanted to preserve the health of her voice (of course Callas never obeyed to such advices, thank God!!!).
Then we read of the unspeakable war that Callas received from her colleagues in the Opera in Athens -Nausika Galanou the former prima donna used to sit at the side when Callas was singing and she kept whistling and whispering to her to go home because she was so untalented while another prima donna's husband had punched Maria in the eye in order to prevent her from going on stage...) As much as this info sounds unbelievable it only truly shows of what an enormous hatred such Talents create into the hearts of others.
On the gossip side you will read perhaps "too much" info about Maria's love life -she was NOT the Virgin Jefirelli described- and about her family. This information seems that crosses the line of Ethics regarding the info that each of us has the right to keep private.
Overall I'd say that this is the ONLY sceintific approach to Callas' art and voice and reveals that her first career of all those incredible roles which we would die if we had them recorded was truly a great reason which led Callas into losing her voice at the age of 36.

Rating:
Summary: Finest biography of Callas
Review: This is by far the finest biography I have ever read of Maria Callas. So much of her life is still surrounded by myth (mostly propogated by herself and her hagiographers) that a fascinating, scholarly, non-sensationalistic book is truly special.
This book mostly covers Callas's early years in New York and Greece. Far from being an "ugly duckling" the photos and descriptions of Mary/Maria in this book suggest an attractive, ambitious young soprano who by the time she left Greece already had several lovers and admirers. Nicholas Petsalis-Diomidis somehow managed to interview every surviving neighbor, student, singer, soldier, and friend who knew Callas and her family "way back when" in Athens. He also did the impossible and got Callas's sister Jackie to speak candidly of her much more famous sister. The stories do not always match exactly, and Petsalis-Diomidis is remarkably sensitive to the viewpoints of all the sources. He is careful not to sensationalize anything. Even though the details are often horrifying (including Jackie's essentially becoming a semi-prostitute to support the family and Litsa's crude attempts to prostitute both her daughters) the tone of the book is always scholarly and respectful.
Maria Callas, even in her early years as a teenaged soprano in the Greek National Opera, tended to arouse strong feelings, both positive and negative. To her "enemies", she was crass, grossly ambitious, ruthless, mean, and worst of all, a collaborator with the occupying forces (Italians and Germans). To her admirers, she was enormously talented, intelligent, basically good-hearted, and a worthy investment of time and energy. I came away from the book feeling that both views were essentially right. Petsalis-Diomidis should be congratulated for writing such a fascinating, insightful, scholarly book.