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I have to admit, I’m not a huge fan of opera, but Diva held me in its thrall from the off. Maria Callas’ life was fascinating: she was dramatic, striking, dedicated and vulnerable. Her mother had exploited her voice in Nazi-occupied Greece, which Maria never forgave her for, and she cuts her off when she makes it big. But even though Callas makes out that she can’t be used again for other’s financial gain, it does happen.
Then she meets Aristotle Onassis - the love of her life. This relationship must have looked so romantic at the time, and it seems that Maria thought so. She believed that Onassis saw her for who she really was. I thought this was where her vulnerability was really brought to the fore - and as she lets her guard down, he does the inevitable and lets her down.
I really liked the way this was set out: Callas’ career was interspersed with flashbacks of her early life, and as I was listening to the audiobook there were excerpts from songs (arias?)in between chapters. I actually headed to Spotify to listen to more after listening to a couple of these (there’s a playlist linked to the book: Diva by Daisy Goodwin). The narrator, Lorelei King made for an excellent Maria Callas as well as ‘just’ a narrator. She was very convincing.
I was completely sucked in to Maria Callas’ life whilst I was listening to this. She was quite some woman, and she was brought to life whilst I listened. My only complaint is that it ended too soon!
Then she meets Aristotle Onassis - the love of her life. This relationship must have looked so romantic at the time, and it seems that Maria thought so. She believed that Onassis saw her for who she really was. I thought this was where her vulnerability was really brought to the fore - and as she lets her guard down, he does the inevitable and lets her down.
I really liked the way this was set out: Callas’ career was interspersed with flashbacks of her early life, and as I was listening to the audiobook there were excerpts from songs (arias?)in between chapters. I actually headed to Spotify to listen to more after listening to a couple of these (there’s a playlist linked to the book: Diva by Daisy Goodwin). The narrator, Lorelei King made for an excellent Maria Callas as well as ‘just’ a narrator. She was very convincing.
I was completely sucked in to Maria Callas’ life whilst I was listening to this. She was quite some woman, and she was brought to life whilst I listened. My only complaint is that it ended too soon!