Maria Callas: The Pursuit of Excellence

Maria Callas, arguably one of the 20th century’s most talented and beautiful women. Here Callas is frank and philosophical about the joys and tragedies of being an artist, her strong desire for the pursuit of excellence often at the cost of being sidelined by those content with mediocrity. The result being that she stood apart, as the “greats“ or higher person often does more concerned with creating the best rather than courting popularity. The 64 minute interview is totally captivating reflecting Callas’s beauty, talent and personality. This video is the full interview of Maria Callas by Pierre Desgraupes for French television programme L’Invite du Dimanche in 1969. It features Luchino Visconti, Elvira de Hidalgo and Francesco Sicilliani. The interview is broken into the following chapters: - 00:06 - Introduction - 06:45 - Interview with Elvira de Hidalgo - Bel Canto - 11:30 - Francesco Sicilliani recalls Maria Callas’s Italian Début - 19:49 - Luchino Visconti - 28:33 - Opera and Cinema - 36:16 - The Great Female Roles in Opera - 42:19 - Greta Garbo and Laurence Olivier - 46:33 - Retiring from the Concert Stage - 55:27 - Being an Artist If you wish to see the excerpts of Maria Callas singing which are not included in this video please use the following Links: Verdi’s Il Trovatore - Aria: Vanne, ’amor sull’ ali rosee - Puccini’s Tosca - Aria: Vissi d’Arte - Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia - Aria: Una voce poco fa - Do subscribe to my other YouTube channel for more beautiful images: And my Tumblr to see wonderful images: The Three Graces - Elegance, Beauty and Style. My Philosophy for a sublime way of living. My aim - to bring a touch of old world class and glamour to the everyday. “Having taste - it’s not half the battle - it’s the whole war“ “Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use“ for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favour of fair use.“ I do not own the rights to this movie excerpt, I am using the clip for critique and comment in a non-profit manner.