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In this loving tribute to Maria Callas, Zeffirelli imagines what could have happened at the end of her life at the age of 53.Franco Zeffirelli was and is clearly in love with Maria Callas, but unlike the average Callas fan, as a movie director, he was able to do something about it. This superbly made film, about the last few months of the great soprano's life in 1977, moves easily between fact and fantasy to express that love and to give her a more upbeat ending than the one that fate actually dealt her. It is made with the attention to small details that is a hallmark of Zeffirelli's work.
In reality, Callas became a recluse in her luxurious Paris apartment, mourning the loss of her voice, the breakup of her relationship to Aristotle Onassis and the disintegration of her ! career. Her final days were a nightmare. But Zeffirelli uses his imagination to rewrite that unhappy ending. He invents a rock producer, Tom Kelly (Jeremy Irons) who clearly is a Zeffirelli figure (the names rhyme). Kelly used to be her manager and has a scheme to revive her career in movies: he will film her greatest roles, using her recordings as soundtracks; she will go through the motions and lip-synch the words. It might have worked; experiments with Carmen, which she recorded but never sang onstage, were certainly promising. But Callas turned down the plan, on grounds of artistic integrity.
But in fact, Zeffirelli does make it work in this movie. Fanny Ardant does a marvelous job as Callas, not only shaping the words of her various arias (digitized and sounding better than ever) but also using facial expressions that speak as eloquently as words. Here is Callas reborn, with all her temperament, anguish and pride. Raw emotions are unleashed, particularly i! n a production of Tosca, when she stabs the villainous ! Scarpia (Justino Diaz) shouting savagely "muori dannato, muori, muori, muori" ("die , damn you, die, die die") She is avenging all the insults and disappointments of her life; Ardant becomes Callas in such moments. --Joe McLellanInternationally acclaimed director Franco Zeffirelli (Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet) beautifully recreates the magic, passion and artistry of the opera diva Maria Callas, known as "the voice of the century." In this loving tribute to his longtime friend, Zeffirelli imagines what could have happened at the end of Callas' life close to her death at the age of 53. Popular French actress Fanny Ardant perfectly fits the role of the temperamental diva, capturing all the fiery intensity of the legend on and off the stage. Oscar-winner Jeremy Irons shines as the diva's former manager who persuades her to re-launch her career, despite her fading powers. A unique, rare gem of a film featuring actual sound recordings of Callas in performance, CALLAS FOREVER makes ! a lasting impact as a stunning human portrayal of one of the greatest artists of our time.Franco Zeffirelli was and is clearly in love with Maria Callas, but unlike the average Callas fan, as a movie director, he was able to do something about it. This superbly made film, about the last few months of the great soprano's life in 1977, moves easily between fact and fantasy to express that love and to give her a more upbeat ending than the one that fate actually dealt her. It is made with the attention to small details that is a hallmark of Zeffirelli's work.
In reality, Callas became a recluse in her luxurious Paris apartment, mourning the loss of her voice, the breakup of her relationship to Aristotle Onassis and the disintegration of her career. Her final days were a nightmare. But Zeffirelli uses his imagination to rewrite that unhappy ending. He invents a rock producer, Tom Kelly (Jeremy Irons) who clearly is a Zeffirelli figure (the names rhyme). Kelly used to be h! er manager and has a scheme to revive her career in movies: he! will fi lm her greatest roles, using her recordings as soundtracks; she will go through the motions and lip-synch the words. It might have worked; experiments with Carmen, which she recorded but never sang onstage, were certainly promising. But Callas turned down the plan, on grounds of artistic integrity.
But in fact, Zeffirelli does make it work in this movie. Fanny Ardant does a marvelous job as Callas, not only shaping the words of her various arias (digitized and sounding better than ever) but also using facial expressions that speak as eloquently as words. Here is Callas reborn, with all her temperament, anguish and pride. Raw emotions are unleashed, particularly in a production of Tosca, when she stabs the villainous Scarpia (Justino Diaz) shouting savagely "muori dannato, muori, muori, muori" ("die , damn you, die, die die") She is avenging all the insults and disappointments of her life; Ardant becomes Callas in such moments. --Joe McLellanThis di! gital document is an article from Siempre!, published by Thomson Gale on July 25, 2004. The length of the article is 817 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: MarÃa Callas vista por Franco Zeffirelli.(Callas Forever)(Reseña de pelÃcula)
Author: Tomás Pérez Turrent
Publication: Siempre! (Magazine/Journal)
Date: July 25, 2004
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 51 Issue: 2667 Page: 76(1)
Article Type: Reseña de pelÃcula
Distributed by Thomson GaleUn grupo de rock llega a ParÃs, donde les recibe un grupo de admiradores, periodistas y fotógrafos entre vÃtores y ! aplausos. Acompaña al grupo su manager, un señor inglés de ! cincuent a años que responde al nombre de Larry Kelly; en el pasado Larry organizó varias giras para MarÃa Callas. Larry intenta sin éxito llamar por teléfono a la famosa cantante de ópera. Se acerca al apartamento de MarÃa en ParÃs, donde sabe que lleva viviendo un tiempo como una ermitaña, y le intenta convencer de que haga una aparición especial con el nombre de Callas Por Siempre. MarÃa no es ni la sombra de lo que era, de la mujer elegante y segura de sà misma que todos conocemos. Tiene insomnio y se pasa todas las noches en vela escuchando los discos que grabó. Durante el dÃa vive voluntariamente exiliada con la ayuda de drogas varias. Rechaza la oferta de Larry con firmeza. Su carrera ha terminado. Pero Larry sabe que sigue ejerciendo cierto poder sobre MarÃa y con la ayuda de Sarah, una periodista inglesa amiga de toda la vida de la cantante de ópera, la convencen de que le acompañe a un estudio de televisión. En el estudio le explican que el proyecto consiste en una serie de vÃdeos en los que MarÃa recreará las más memorables de sus actuaciones acompañada por la voz de sus antiguos discos. Fascinada por las posibilidades tecnológicas de hoy dÃa, MarÃa accede a hacer el primer vÃdeo, Carmen, una ópera que nunca cantó sobre el escenario.
