Maria La Divina
This fictionalized biography of opera diva Maria Callas (1923-1977) follows her life beginning with her difficult childhood in Astoria, New York. Her mother, Litsa, wanted a boy and preferred Maria’s older sister. When Maria was thirteen, Litsa ran off to Athens with her two daughters. There a former opera star, now tutor for aspiring singers, took Maria on. Soon Athens was overrun by Nazis, Greek patriots, and Italians, but Maria found paying performances. After
WWII, she moved back to the U.S. and went wherever great opera roles took her. She cut best-selling albums, and all who collaborated with her admired her voice, appearance, and stage command.
Maria wrestled with a tormented spirit. From girlhood on, she was chubby and struggled with a love for rich foods. Nearsightedness plagued her so badly that she had to memorize stage sets to not trip or fall. Yet she easily read musical scores and rehearsed to perfection. Her husband managed her but also stole from her until she divorced him. The love of her life, Aristotle Onassis, left her for Jackie Kennedy.
Charyn impressively covers events, places, and people (even an older Winston Churchill) with a solid pace that never stalls. The main and secondary characters all feel real. However, the book could benefit from a glossary of the many names and nicknames of people in the story. Charyn’s prose fits with Maria’s genius and turmoil. “Her silences were as powerful as her songs.” His details allow readers to “see” her costumes and movements and “hear” her rehearsals and grand arias. “[H]er hands were like wild animals.” We suffer through her ailments, bad choices in men, and the inevitable ravages of time. “The tigress had turned into a cub.” The complex genius of the Divine Diva will stay with any reader of this work.
