Diva
The drama that surrounded Maria Callas, onstage and in her personal life, is brought to life fully and sensitively in this complex novel. Focusing on her relationship with music and with Aristotle Onassis, it portrays the emotional heights and depths of an exceptional woman who lived fully and with rich expression.
Covering principally the period 1956 to 1968, the author shows how the overweight Mary Anne Kalogeropoulou developed her world-famous voice, slim figure, and talent for projecting the soul of the great operatic soprano characters. Maria Callas’s portrayal of the tragic Druidic priestess Norma took all her strength and was renowned across the northern hemisphere.
But it was her affair with ultra-rich shipowner Onassis that captured the imagination of the world. He introduced her to the world’s rich and famous, to private yachts and planes, and to sexual passions that taught her the exultation of highs and devastation of lows. These enhanced the emotional content of her performances and contributed to the almost mystical reverence in which she was held by concertgoers in the world’s great opera houses.
The author deftly captures all the glamour of Callas’s life—friendships with royalty, clothing by Dior, performances on the world’s greatest stages—together with her fears, uncertainties, grief, and heartbreaks. While the focus is on her tumultuous affair with Onassis, the novel also encompasses the girl whose mother always found her second best, who endured a loveless marriage, and who worried that her voice might fail her.
The lifestyle of the wealthy and the adoration of the musical world are set in contrast to Maria’s inner turmoil and her strength as she struggles to overcome betrayal. The author presents it all with clarity, empathy, and insight, and combines high drama with meticulous detail.
