Biography of prima donna of the century Maria Callas back in bookstores
The life of Maria Callas cannot be described in a few paragraphs – an icon of her times, one of the greatest singers of the 20th century, who revolutionized opera thanks to her extraordinary stage charisma. She was known not only for her thrilling dramatic interpretations and unique voice, but also for her extravagances and stormy romances.
Callas had a difficult childhood. Her mother treated her harshly and without tenderness, although she was the first to notice her daughter’s potential. Frustrated and overwhelmingly ambitious, she forced Maria to perform rigorous vocal exercises. Great talent and hard work paid off. A performance in Bellini’s opera “Norma” in 1948 turned out to be a breakthrough in Maria’s career.
She lived for art. She performed on the major opera stages in the world, such as La Scala and the Metropolitan Opera, and collaborated with the greatest artists of the era. She is called la divina – divine. With time, her sense of loneliness was deepened by numerous love disappointments. None of them hurt as much as the breakup of the stormy romance with billionaire Aristotle Onassis, who left her for Jackie Kennedy. After intensive years of stage work, the vocal performance of Maria Callas visibly declined and the singer suffered from depression. She attempted suicide, became addicted to drugs and tried to hide from the world. The biography reveals the true circumstances of the years preceding Callas’s death, including the deception perpetrated by her close and trusted friend Vasso Devetzi who had drugged her with sleeping pills and amphetamines and took over part of her estate after her death.
The author of the biography Anne Edwards shows us the real Maria Callas. She portraits the diva as a woman of flesh and blood: fascinating, brave, a Cinderella who wanted to be her own fairy godmother. The second edition of the biography, which was available in bookstores in Poland exactly 10 years ago, will be launched on February 12, a week after the release of the film “Maria” with Angelina Jolie in the role of the legendary singer. The film tells the story of Maria Callas, who returns to Paris after turbulent years of her career to come to terms with her identity and life, shortly before her death.