An appreciation of the great opera singer by her friends.
'To think of Callas only as a prima donna is to miss her ultimate importance. She was a revolutionary who turned the world of opera upside down and re-set its course.'
(Franco Zeffirelli)
Maria Callas, whose electrifying voice could achieve effects beyond the reach of lesser performers, died in September 1977 at the early age of 53. This documentary film tribute, introduced and narrated by her friend and producer, Franco Zeffirelli, explores the reality behind the myth; the background story of Callas's magnetic personality, of the astonishing, often acrimonious, publicity that surrounded her life. The programme includes Callas herself singing, on film, some of her best-known arias (from Bellini's Norma, Puccini's Tosca and Verdi's II Trovatore). It also includes a filmed conversation with another producer, the late Luchino Visconti, and part of Callas's Conversations with Lord Harewood, filmed for BBC Television in 1968.
with tributes from Sir Rudolf Bing, Montserrat Caballé, Elvira de Hidalgo, Carlo Maria Giulinl, Tito Gobbi, Sander Gorlinsky, Gian-Carlo Menotti, Nicola Rescigno, Renata Scotto, Renata Tebaldi
(A WNET New York production in association with BBC Television)