Sisters - Hardcover

Callas, Jackie

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 033346740X ISBN 13: 9780333467404

Publisher: Macmillan, 1989

Synopsis

Maria Callas became the greatest opera star of the 20th century. At La Scala, Milan, they say that in opera there are two eras, BC and AC, before Callas and after Callas. Her talent brought her fame, wealth and the attention of the public. But it also led to family trauma, abandoned marriage, a failed affair with Onassis and terrible loneliness. Ghost written by David Sweetman, this details the personal memoirs of Jackie Callas, Maria's sister and closest surviving relative. It covers the early years before Maria's talent transformed her into the legendary Diva, and the painful price there was to pay for everyone caught up with the legend.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly

The reader of this memoir will feel like a therapist listening to a patient reclaim her personhood. The sister of Maria Callas and self-described "saint" repeatedly tells us that she has been much put upon: by her mother; her sister, who so disregarded her older and only sibling that there was no contact for a period of nine years; her lover, who would not marry her and died leaving his mistress of 28 years in virtual poverty; Vasso Devetzi, the diva's friend who, she charges, not only stole heavily from her sister's estate but hogged the limelight as the singer's legend posthumously grew. This tale of woe and self-sacrifice can be revealed now, presumably, because the villains have all passed on to their just deserts, and the author, too, has finally received her reward via much-wanted marriage. The reader is left not unsympathetic; this is not a cynical account, only tediously self-justifying. Photos.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Macmillan
• Publication date: 1989
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 033346740X
• ISBN 13: 9780333467404
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1