Callas

Leonard Bernstein once called her "...the greatest artist of the world". Indeed, the inimitable Maria Callas (1923-1977) continues to fascinate and enthrall opera lovers and cult followers even two decades after her death. Her unique voice and operatic art, preserved on innumerable studio and live recordings, generates new fans with each passing year. No less captivating is her glamorous yet tragic fairy-tale life. Callas: Images of a Legend captures the incomparable musical genius and personal relationships of the star, as revealed through photographs of her stage performances, portraits, press photos and private snapshots. Photographers from all over the world - Cecil Beaton, Horst, and Gordon Parks, to name but a few - have contributed to this unusual pictorial documentation. In this gloriously produced book, Callas is seen working and relaxing with such notables as Luchino Visconti, Leonard Bernstein, Elsa Maxwell, Aristoteles Onassis, Rudolf Bing, Sir Winston Churchill, Grace Kelly, Prince Rainier, Liz Taylor, and many others. But, perhaps even more compelling are photos of Callas on stage, in the roles she made her own as Norma, Medea, Tosca, Marta, La Gioconda, Isolde, Turandot, Aida, Leonora, and Violetta. These images are revealing testimonials to the overpowering stage presence and outstanding acting abilities of Maria Callas.