Callas - A Documentary Plus Bonus / John Ardoin, Franco Zeffirelli
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DVD details
Actor: Franco Zeffirelli, Maria Callas, Renata Scotto, Rudolf Bing, Tito GobbiDVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Original Language), Mono; English (Unknown), Mono
Format: Black & White, Classical, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 117 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-12-07
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Bel Canto Society
DVD Reviews of Callas - A Documentary Plus Bonus / John Ardoin, Franco Zeffirelli
DVD Review: Worth having!
Summary: 5 Stars
For fans of Callas, this is about as good as it gets, and you must have it in your library. The interviews with her, taken out of the context of the whole, make this documentary worth having. Insecurities and other emotional baggage notwithstanding, Callas knew who Callas was. She provides an excellent perspective of her place in the art of music and opera specifically. Her views on art are a revelation.
For fans of opera, but not necessarily Callas--And, yes, she is an acquired taste!--the documentary is instructive on a revolutionary period in the history of opera. The documentary earns its place as an historical document.
Callas was a teacher on many levels. Her inspired mentoring of Caballe, for example, contributed much to the body of art we have today. Without Callas, we may not have had the magnificence of Caballe's "Norma". I only wish there was footage of Callas's master classes. I wish I knew something about the singers she coached, and where they are today.
Zeffirelli's narrative, handling of the contributing artists. and smooth transitions among archival footage and interviews are especially fine. Zeffirelli, himself, understates, rather than overstates his case. One has the sense that one is seeing and hearing the truth. Caballe's thankful tribute, however brief, was lovely. Gobbi's anecdotal comments will bring an iceberg to tears. Gobbi, all by himself, provided such an insight into Callas's inner being.
Enough! Read the other reviews! Then, buy it!
DVD Review: A True Diva
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a documentary that has all the right ingredients. Old colleagues, peers, and rivals reminisce. There are archival operatic scenes showing the amazing talent of Maria Callas. There is footage of her interviews.
Maria Callas was not only a great soprano but also one of the best operatic actresses I have ever seen. The "Vissi d'arte" aria alone (from "Tosca") is worth the price of the DVD. She was the queen of the most famous opera in the world, La Scala in Milan.
Franco Zefferelli does a wonderful job as narrator. A great director himself, he directed Callas in one of her greatest performances as Tosca. The documentary also covers her controversial personal life and the loneliness of being a true prima donna.
The interview footage of her shows an elegant, refined woman totally dedicated to her art and her audience. I rented this first, and after seeing it, ordered it through Amazon. You do not have to be an opera fan to really enjoy this. She was a fascinating woman.
DVD Review: Remastered DVD
Summary: 5 Stars
This DVD was remastered in March 2006, using some new devices. The quality is significantly improved.DVD Review: The First Lady Soprano
Summary: 5 Stars
This documentary is to remember a great soprano.When you talk about Maria Callas,it's like talking about a costliest gemstone,a jewel.Maria Callas is widely known throughout the World. The best singing actress ever remembered!!!powerful voice,full of vibrations and passions at the same time.Unique and beyond comparisons.Far from the voice,we must look at her also as a person,an artist,the music and a human being like all of us.This entertainment (dvd) contains interviews with some celebrities such as Monserrat Caballe and Renata Tebaldi.
Maria left behind one of the most valuable inheritances to mankind in the world story of music.
DVD Review: Informative DVD
Summary: 5 Stars
The previous reviewer may not realize that this documentary was originally produced in the late 70s for television, after Callas' death. The footage quality is what one would expect from something of that time and no amount of DVD remastering could fix it. The DVD has a wealth of information about Callas. The interviews are particularly fascinating and insightful.
Description of Callas - A Documentary Plus Bonus / John Ardoin, Franco Zeffirelli
Extensive performance footage including some real rarities.
Newsreel footage: her funeral cortege; the Rome Walkout ("I would spit in the faces of my enemies...and make them go on their knees in front of me! I can! I will! And I must!"); her break with Ghiringhelli, Callas reading Bing's telegram firing her ("I cannot do routine"); Meneghini, Onassis and Churchill; Callas hounded by the press on her private life; Callas dancing with Onassis; her return to New York (1965); press conference about the Medea film (plus clips from the film); Callas as co-stage director with Di Stefano, directing Vespri in Turin; in a bathing suit with Onassis; Onassis's death.
Interviews: Bing ("She became intolerable!"..."She was more difficult than others because she was more intelligent"); Nicola Rescigno ("Her body was like that of a pachyderm"); Menotti; Scotto (on Sonnambula and Medea--"Cut Glauce's aria"); Caball??; Gobbi on her lost confidence and unhappiness; De Hidalgo on Callas as a student; manager Gorlinsky on the Callas-Di Stefano concert tour; Tebaldi on their rivalry; Visconti in discussion with Callas, including the "radish" incident.
Other topics: Sound vs. the use of sound; her debut at 15; "No agent would give me a job because immediately after my debut I wasn't loved that much. I was something new to listen to and they disliked anything that took them away from tradition"; her history at La Scala; her weight loss; Jackie Onassis; Zeffirelli and Gobbi on the London Toscas, her loneliness, her death.
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