1
00:00:19,102 --> 00:00:21,312
On the whole, there are two people in me.

2
00:00:21,313 --> 00:00:23,481
I would like to be Maria,

3
00:00:23,482 --> 00:00:26,108
but there is the Callas
that I have to live up to.

4
00:00:26,777 --> 00:00:30,071
So I'm coping with both as much as I can.

5
00:00:30,739 --> 00:00:35,117
And in a crunch,
who has to win, Maria or Callas?

6
00:00:35,369 --> 00:00:38,204
I like to think that
they both go together,

7
00:00:38,205 --> 00:00:41,499
because Callas has been Maria.

8
00:00:41,500 --> 00:00:46,671
In my singing and in my work,
my own self has been there every second.

9
00:00:47,089 --> 00:00:50,007
I've done nothing falsely.
I've worked with all honesty.

10
00:00:50,008 --> 00:00:55,221
So Maria has... if somebody really tries
to listen to me seriously,

11
00:00:55,222 --> 00:00:57,682
one will find all of myself in there.

12
00:03:23,829 --> 00:03:26,372
"Madam Callas," one music critic notes,

13
00:03:26,373 --> 00:03:29,875
"has restored the ancient luster
to the title of prima donna."

14
00:03:30,460 --> 00:03:33,379
Leonard Bernstein
calls her "pure electricity."

15
00:03:35,173 --> 00:03:36,507
Good evening, Madam Callas.

16
00:03:36,508 --> 00:03:39,301
-Good evening, Mr. Murrow.
-And welcome home.

17
00:03:39,302 --> 00:03:41,679
-Thank you very much.
-I know that many people

18
00:03:41,680 --> 00:03:44,265
are under the impression
that you're Italian,

19
00:03:44,266 --> 00:03:47,434
and are not aware that actually
you grew up in New York.

20
00:03:47,435 --> 00:03:48,978
-Isn't that right?
-Yes.

21
00:03:48,979 --> 00:03:51,522
Not only was I born in New York...

22
00:03:51,523 --> 00:03:53,691
not in Brooklyn, as they say...

23
00:03:53,692 --> 00:03:55,776
not that there's anything wrong
with Brooklyn, of course,

24
00:03:55,777 --> 00:03:57,444
but just for the sake of truth...

25
00:03:58,071 --> 00:04:02,491
but I was brought up in America,
in New York,

26
00:04:02,492 --> 00:04:04,326
and I'm rather proud of that, too.

27
00:04:04,327 --> 00:04:08,289
Madam Callas, what do you remember most
about your school days?

28
00:04:08,290 --> 00:04:12,084
Well, very happy days,
I must say, carefree days.

29
00:04:12,502 --> 00:04:14,712
I remember we had a principal
who was very severe,

30
00:04:14,713 --> 00:04:18,215
and he kept on saying,
"Now, children, self-control.

31
00:04:18,216 --> 00:04:19,925
Remember that all your life."

32
00:04:20,594 --> 00:04:22,970
I am, but...

33
00:04:22,971 --> 00:04:24,930
Though it's hard sometimes to remember it.

34
00:04:24,931 --> 00:04:29,059
And aIso, I always used to sing
each year for the graduation.

35
00:04:29,060 --> 00:04:31,729
You know, I was the little
singer of the school.

36
00:04:32,063 --> 00:04:34,565
I sang operettas, and l sang...

37
00:04:35,233 --> 00:04:37,568
well, Chinese princes and the sailors

38
00:04:37,569 --> 00:04:40,070
and certain things like that,
as much as I remember.

39
00:04:44,451 --> 00:04:46,577
<i>I've never been able to pronounce</i>
<i>the last name.</i>

40
00:04:46,578 --> 00:04:48,412
<i>-Would you do it for me?</i>
<i>-In Greek?</i>

41
00:04:48,413 --> 00:04:49,413
<i>In Greek.</i>

42
00:04:50,332 --> 00:04:52,124
<i>-Here, you ready?</i>
-Yes.

43
00:04:52,125 --> 00:04:55,586
<i>Kalogeropoulou. Well, it's rather long.</i>

44
00:04:55,587 --> 00:04:57,713
<i>And that's why your father</i>
<i>changed it to Callas?</i>

45
00:04:57,714 --> 00:04:59,298
<i>Yes, I'm afraid so.</i>

46
00:04:59,299 --> 00:05:03,218
<i>It was already done by the time</i>
<i>I understood any difference.</i>

47
00:05:08,433 --> 00:05:10,434
<i>My mother was rather ambitious,</i>

48
00:05:10,435 --> 00:05:15,439
<i>and my father wanted me</i>
<i>to have a musical education.</i>

49
00:05:15,440 --> 00:05:18,692
<i>I started on piano at eight years old.</i>

50
00:05:20,278 --> 00:05:24,239
<i>These were the times of Deanna Durbin</i>
<i>and Shirley Temple,</i>

51
00:05:24,240 --> 00:05:26,867
<i>and of course my mother was dreaming...</i>

52
00:05:27,160 --> 00:05:29,244
<i>Dreaming of what? Glory of course.</i>

53
00:05:29,245 --> 00:05:34,416
<i>She decided that</i>
<i>I should become a great singer.</i>

54
00:05:34,417 --> 00:05:37,544
<i>And I probably did have some talent,</i>

55
00:05:38,129 --> 00:05:40,339
<i>otherwise she would not have carried on.</i>

56
00:05:40,340 --> 00:05:43,425
<i>And I couldn't fight it</i>
<i>because in those days,</i>

57
00:05:43,426 --> 00:05:45,427
<i>one did as the parents decided.</i>

58
00:05:45,428 --> 00:05:48,889
<i>What could I have done? Protest?</i>

59
00:05:48,890 --> 00:05:51,642
<i>A girl like me against</i>
<i>a temperament like my mother's?</i>

60
00:05:52,852 --> 00:05:54,269
<i>It's cruelty, I think.</i>

61
00:05:54,270 --> 00:05:56,647
<i>In fact, please forgive me,</i>

62
00:05:56,648 --> 00:05:58,774
<i>but I must say</i>
<i>there must be a law against it.</i>

63
00:05:58,775 --> 00:06:01,360
<i>Children should not be given</i>
<i>this responsibility.</i>

64
00:06:01,361 --> 00:06:02,945
<i>They don't last long.</i>

65
00:06:02,946 --> 00:06:05,280
<i>Children should have</i>
<i>a wonderful childhood.</i>

66
00:06:05,281 --> 00:06:08,117
<i>I had not had it. I wish I could have.</i>

67
00:06:11,496 --> 00:06:13,789
<i>We left for Greece in 1 937,</i>

68
00:06:13,790 --> 00:06:16,583
<i>so I had just gone into high school.</i>

69
00:06:17,210 --> 00:06:21,171
<i>So, I went to Greece,</i>
<i>and I couldn't continue school there,</i>

70
00:06:21,172 --> 00:06:24,383
<i>because my mother decided</i>
<i>on my singing career.</i>

71
00:06:26,636 --> 00:06:29,471
You enjoyed your childhood?
You enjoyed being young, did you?

72
00:06:29,472 --> 00:06:32,725
Yes, the little I did have of it,
I really did enjoy it.

73
00:06:33,268 --> 00:06:35,436
And then you went to Greece,
and you were caught in Greece

74
00:06:35,437 --> 00:06:37,521
-for the duration...
-The war.

75
00:06:37,522 --> 00:06:39,231
-...duration of the war.
-Yes.

76
00:06:39,899 --> 00:06:41,358
What are your memories of that?

77
00:06:42,402 --> 00:06:43,736
That was hard.

78
00:06:44,446 --> 00:06:48,949
I confess that that was a bit hard,
but it doesn't hurt anybody.

79
00:06:48,950 --> 00:06:51,702
You know, hardship does one good.

80
00:06:52,245 --> 00:06:53,829
And as soon as I went to Greece,

81
00:06:53,830 --> 00:06:58,208
I was put into the conservatoire,
but I had an age problem.

82
00:06:58,877 --> 00:07:01,545
My age problem was
that I was only 1 3 years old,

83
00:07:01,546 --> 00:07:07,092
and I couldn't enter the conservatory
unless l was at least 1 7.

84
00:07:07,594 --> 00:07:09,928
But I was a tall girl,

85
00:07:09,929 --> 00:07:12,806
and I could justify
very well saying a lie.

86
00:07:13,016 --> 00:07:15,059
It was the first lie in my life.

87
00:07:18,438 --> 00:07:19,897
<i>My mother didn't allow me</i>

88
00:07:19,898 --> 00:07:22,983
<i>to stay in front of the mirror</i>
<i>for more than five minutes.</i>

89
00:07:23,443 --> 00:07:24,860
<i>I had to study.</i>

90
00:07:25,278 --> 00:07:27,863
<i>I couldn't waste time with such nonsense.</i>

91
00:07:27,864 --> 00:07:30,365
<i>And certainly, t owe it to her strictness</i>

92
00:07:30,366 --> 00:07:34,286
<i>if today I have vast</i>
<i>and extensive artistic experience.</i>

93
00:07:35,205 --> 00:07:39,208
<i>I was finally accepted</i>
<i>at the Conservatoire of Athens,</i>

94
00:07:39,209 --> 00:07:42,002
<i>where I was entrusted</i>
<i>to the wonderful teacher</i>

95
00:07:42,003 --> 00:07:43,796
<i>Elvira de Hidalgo.</i>

96
00:07:44,422 --> 00:07:46,799
<i>To this illustrious Spanish artist,</i>

97
00:07:46,800 --> 00:07:50,969
<i>I say, with a moved,</i>
<i>devoted and grateful heart:</i>

98
00:07:50,970 --> 00:07:54,098
<i>I owe all my stage and musical training.</i>

99
00:07:54,557 --> 00:07:59,019
<i>This elect creature, who besides giving me</i>
<i>her precious teachings,</i>

100
00:07:59,479 --> 00:08:01,688
<i>gave me her whole heart,</i>

101
00:08:01,689 --> 00:08:04,066
<i>and was a witness</i>
<i>to all my life in Athens.</i>

102
00:08:05,985 --> 00:08:09,404
<i>With her, more than anyone,</i>
<i>I felt like family.</i>

103
00:08:09,948 --> 00:08:13,575
She had this look in her eyes.

104
00:08:14,410 --> 00:08:16,578
And a way of interpreting the...

105
00:08:18,081 --> 00:08:19,081
the arias.

106
00:08:19,082 --> 00:08:22,501
She didn't know much Italian
but was singing in Italian.

107
00:08:23,753 --> 00:08:26,922
That really struck me.
She watched me the whole time.

108
00:08:27,674 --> 00:08:30,217
With that large mouth of hers

109
00:08:30,760 --> 00:08:33,220
and her expressive eyes.

110
00:08:33,805 --> 00:08:36,890
That impressed me.
I thought, "She is someone!"

111
00:08:38,101 --> 00:08:40,811
What was she like as a student?

112
00:08:41,855 --> 00:08:43,605
-Perfect.
-Meaning?

113
00:08:43,606 --> 00:08:45,941
Obedient, intelligent,

114
00:08:46,776 --> 00:08:48,360
a really hard worker...

115
00:08:48,361 --> 00:08:52,364
Such a hard worker. That was incredible.

116
00:08:52,824 --> 00:08:54,867
I never had to tell her...

117
00:08:55,618 --> 00:08:58,328
anything twice.

118
00:08:58,872 --> 00:09:01,039
She'd say, "Yes, capito."

119
00:09:02,458 --> 00:09:03,792
The next day...

120
00:09:04,836 --> 00:09:05,836
Magnificent!

121
00:09:06,462 --> 00:09:07,796
And everything was like that.

122
00:09:08,548 --> 00:09:12,342
She was very musical and a musician,
she knew a lot about music.

123
00:09:12,343 --> 00:09:15,012
She played the piano really well.

124
00:09:15,930 --> 00:09:20,893
And she always arrived first
and was the last to leave.

125
00:09:20,894 --> 00:09:22,394
That was astonishing.

126
00:09:22,395 --> 00:09:25,731
How could she keep it up like that
for five hours?

127
00:09:26,191 --> 00:09:28,025
She'd listen to all the other students.

128
00:09:28,735 --> 00:09:32,070
The coloraturas, the tenors, all of them.

129
00:09:32,071 --> 00:09:35,073
That's why she got this...

130
00:09:36,326 --> 00:09:40,287
this idea to sing,
and especially the high notes.

131
00:09:40,288 --> 00:09:42,497
She'd say:
"Will I be able to do the pichetatti?"

132
00:09:42,498 --> 00:09:46,668
I'd reply: "If you carry on like that,
yes, you'll be able to do anything.

133
00:09:47,545 --> 00:09:50,214
Anything.
But only if you keep on working like now."

134
00:13:59,672 --> 00:14:01,840
I would have preferred...

135
00:14:01,841 --> 00:14:04,759
to have a happy family and have children.

136
00:14:04,760 --> 00:14:07,929
I think that is
the main vocation of a woman.

137
00:14:08,598 --> 00:14:12,934
But destiny brought me into this career.
I couldn't get out, and...

138
00:14:14,353 --> 00:14:19,065
I was forced into it quite frequently,
first by my mother, then by my husband.

139
00:14:19,066 --> 00:14:21,318
I would have given it up with pleasure,

140
00:14:21,777 --> 00:14:25,113
but destiny is destiny,
and there is no way out.

141
00:14:39,921 --> 00:14:44,799
<i>Madam Callas, what is your impression</i>

142
00:14:44,800 --> 00:14:48,136
<i>on the eve of this gala,</i>
<i>which is your Paris debut?</i>

143
00:14:48,137 --> 00:14:50,764
<i>I promised I would come to Paris.</i>

144
00:14:50,765 --> 00:14:56,186
<i>So t ask you to wish... for your sake too,</i>

145
00:14:56,187 --> 00:14:59,898
<i>for me to sing like never before.</i>
<i>That's all I want now.</i>

146
00:22:21,590 --> 00:22:24,384
You have a reputation
for being a good actress.

147
00:22:24,385 --> 00:22:27,220
Do you consider it necessary
and essential to be an actress?

148
00:22:27,221 --> 00:22:29,389
Oh, yes. l should say.

149
00:22:29,848 --> 00:22:31,933
I don't think
you would even want an artist,

150
00:22:31,934 --> 00:22:35,395
a real artist that cannot act.

151
00:22:35,396 --> 00:22:37,063
I'm quite sure you don't.

152
00:22:37,064 --> 00:22:39,107
You just don't bother
to go to the opera anymore.

153
00:22:39,108 --> 00:22:41,234
And opera can be a very silly thing,

154
00:22:41,235 --> 00:22:43,945
but it can be the most
gorgeous thing in the world.

155
00:22:44,446 --> 00:22:45,905
You also have a reputation

156
00:22:45,906 --> 00:22:48,825
as one of the most tempestuous
opera stars in the world.

157
00:22:49,243 --> 00:22:52,453
Well, I don't know what
you mean by "tempestuous."

158
00:22:52,913 --> 00:22:55,456
There's been lots of talk about it, too,

159
00:22:55,457 --> 00:22:58,084
and I haven't quite understood
what it means.

160
00:23:09,763 --> 00:23:13,933
<i>The saddest evening of my career</i>
<i>started out as a very promising one.</i>

161
00:23:15,477 --> 00:23:18,354
<i>I could never have predicted</i>
<i>the wave of violence</i>

162
00:23:18,355 --> 00:23:20,773
<i>and cruelty</i>
<i>that would be unleashed upon me</i>

163
00:23:20,774 --> 00:23:23,735
<i>after that performance</i>
<i>so painfully aborted</i>

164
00:23:23,736 --> 00:23:25,028
<i>on January the 2nd.</i>

165
00:23:26,905 --> 00:23:30,950
<i>The papers, not only in Rome and Italy</i>
<i>but all over Europe and America,</i>

166
00:23:30,951 --> 00:23:35,663
<i>with few exceptions that</i>
<i>moved me for being so rare,</i>

167
00:23:35,664 --> 00:23:38,291
<i>set aside all international</i>
<i>political events</i>

168
00:23:38,292 --> 00:23:40,418
<i>and reserved their front pages,</i>

169
00:23:40,419 --> 00:23:44,422
<i>their headlines</i>
<i>and their chronicles to my poor name.</i>

170
00:23:45,174 --> 00:23:47,967
<i>It was the ideal time</i>
<i>to drag it through the mud</i>

171
00:23:47,968 --> 00:23:51,054
<i>and make me pay dearly for my successes.</i>

172
00:23:53,057 --> 00:23:57,518
<i>Yet everything had begun so well,</i>
<i>superbly well, even.</i>

173
00:23:58,228 --> 00:24:01,314
<i>The rehearsals had gone</i>
<i>to everybody's satisfaction,</i>

174
00:24:01,315 --> 00:24:03,775
<i>but when I returned to my dressing room,</i>

175
00:24:03,776 --> 00:24:06,861
<i>a freezing room in a theater</i>
<i>that had been closed</i>

176
00:24:06,862 --> 00:24:08,821
<i>and unused for several months,</i>

177
00:24:09,406 --> 00:24:12,158
<i>a cold wind was blowing</i>
<i>through the cracks.</i>

178
00:24:12,951 --> 00:24:17,497
<i>I felt a sudden chill</i>
<i>and the beginnings of a rasp in my throat.</i>

179
00:24:18,791 --> 00:24:21,417
<i>I woke up in the middle of the night</i>
<i>and realized that</i>

180
00:24:21,418 --> 00:24:25,463
<i>not a sound could come</i>
<i>out of my mouth, not one word.</i>

181
00:24:25,881 --> 00:24:27,715
<i>I was completely mute.</i>

182
00:24:29,343 --> 00:24:31,677
<i>But that evening was sold out.</i>

183
00:24:31,678 --> 00:24:34,472
<i>People were expecting to see La Callas.</i>

184
00:24:35,557 --> 00:24:38,101
<i>I was suddenly swamped with fear.</i>

185
00:24:48,654 --> 00:24:50,863
<i>I have been called the Tigress.</i>

186
00:24:51,740 --> 00:24:57,328
<i>And on that evening, the Tigress entered</i>
<i>the splendid yet terrifying theater.</i>

187
00:24:58,163 --> 00:25:03,543
<i>In my dressing room, I was getting ready,</i>
<i>with my voice hanging by a thread.</i>

188
00:25:22,437 --> 00:25:26,149
<i>The numerous remedies</i>
<i>had temporarily soothed my throat,</i>

189
00:25:26,608 --> 00:25:28,067
<i>but that was not enough.</i>

190
00:25:28,610 --> 00:25:33,865
<i>I had bronchitis, which, of course,</i>
<i>could not be cured in such short time.</i>

191
00:25:34,616 --> 00:25:37,702
<i>Once the effect</i>
<i>of the treatments wore off,</i>

192
00:25:37,703 --> 00:25:40,037
<i>my voice just disappeared.</i>

193
00:25:46,211 --> 00:25:50,756
<i>Due to major unforeseen circumstances,</i>
<i>the rest of the performance is canceled.</i>

194
00:26:02,144 --> 00:26:04,687
<i>Yes, the head of state</i>
<i>was there that evening,</i>

195
00:26:05,189 --> 00:26:09,525
<i>but there was another figure</i>
<i>in the theater worthy of utmost respect,</i>

196
00:26:09,526 --> 00:26:13,070
<i>someone whose name</i>
<i>had even been printed on the posters:</i>

197
00:26:13,572 --> 00:26:15,323
Vincenzo Bellini.

198
00:26:16,658 --> 00:26:19,410
<i>I could not, for the sake of protocol,</i>

199
00:26:19,411 --> 00:26:23,706
<i>offend this great musician</i>
<i>by moaning rather than singing</i>

200
00:26:23,707 --> 00:26:25,750
<i>the other acts of his Norma.</i>

201
00:26:26,793 --> 00:26:31,339
<i>So on that evening of January 2</i>
<i>at the Rome Opera,</i>

202
00:26:31,340 --> 00:26:34,258
<i>the first act of Norma was performed,</i>

203
00:26:34,259 --> 00:26:37,178
<i>perhaps not perfectly, but well enough.</i>

204
00:26:38,055 --> 00:26:40,932
<i>The other acts were not insulted.</i>

205
00:26:46,605 --> 00:26:48,231
CALLAS LEAVE THE OPERA

206
00:26:50,525 --> 00:26:52,068
<i>The following day,</i>

207
00:26:52,069 --> 00:26:56,447
<i>I realized my lynching had begun</i>
<i>with unprecedented violence.</i>

208
00:26:57,449 --> 00:27:01,285
<i>Yet, I didn't outrage the public</i>
<i>or the institutions,</i>

209
00:27:01,954 --> 00:27:04,038
<i>I didn't disgrace the president,</i>

210
00:27:04,039 --> 00:27:08,334
<i>I didn't endanger the life</i>
<i>of Italian lyric theater.</i>

211
00:27:08,335 --> 00:27:10,962
<i>I simply had bronchitis.</i>

212
00:27:14,424 --> 00:27:17,301
<i>Then I recalled the words</i>
from La Traviata,

213
00:27:17,302 --> 00:27:19,053
<i>the words of my Violetta,</i>

214
00:27:19,054 --> 00:27:21,973
<i>which Verdi had cloaked</i>
<i>in a bitter melody:</i>

215
00:27:23,267 --> 00:27:27,520
<i>"Hence to the miserable soul</i>
<i>who one day has fallen,</i>

216
00:27:27,521 --> 00:27:31,440
<i>any hope of resurrection</i>
<i>is forever stolen."</i>

217
00:31:16,291 --> 00:31:18,501
Mrs. Callas, welcome to Chicago.
How do you feel?

218
00:31:18,502 --> 00:31:20,169
Thank you. Fine, thank you.

219
00:31:30,847 --> 00:31:32,848
Why won't you talk to the press,
Mrs. Callas?

220
00:31:32,849 --> 00:31:34,975
Why won't you talk to us?
You have a bad press

221
00:31:34,976 --> 00:31:36,769
because you won't talk to newsmen.

222
00:31:36,770 --> 00:31:40,022
-Will you discuss the Rome incident?
-I didn't discuss the Rome incident.

223
00:31:40,023 --> 00:31:42,983
It's closed for me.
Please, gentlemen, I'm here for Chicago.

224
00:31:44,444 --> 00:31:45,361
Thank you.

225
00:31:49,866 --> 00:31:52,368
Maria! Look over here, please.

226
00:31:52,369 --> 00:31:54,370
-Can we get in closer?
-Maria!

227
00:32:06,091 --> 00:32:08,842
Madam Callas, in the last few years,

228
00:32:08,843 --> 00:32:12,096
particularly since you've
been associated with the Met,

229
00:32:12,097 --> 00:32:16,559
you've received a tremendous amount
of adverse publicity.

230
00:32:16,560 --> 00:32:17,977
How do you account for that?

231
00:32:17,978 --> 00:32:21,397
I have been brought
to exasperating situations,

232
00:32:22,107 --> 00:32:25,526
as you fully realize,
and yet I have borne them with...

233
00:32:26,361 --> 00:32:28,696
calmness and with patience.

234
00:32:28,697 --> 00:32:31,156
Time does heal lots of things,

235
00:32:31,157 --> 00:32:35,286
and I'm quite sure time
will prove what I am, actually.

236
00:32:37,205 --> 00:32:39,123
<i>There came the point</i>
<i>where I had to decide,</i>

237
00:32:39,124 --> 00:32:41,959
<i>now, is Madam Callas running the Met,</i>
<i>or am I running the Met?</i>

238
00:32:43,128 --> 00:32:48,591
At that time, l was still running the Met
and said so and canceled our agreement.

239
00:32:48,592 --> 00:32:52,219
So you really did fire Maria Callas
from the Metropolitan?

240
00:32:52,220 --> 00:32:54,471
If you want to use that ugly word,
that is so, yes.

241
00:32:56,933 --> 00:32:58,726
I don't think Maria Callas is fired.

242
00:32:58,727 --> 00:33:01,270
Maria Callas is severed
from our relationship.

243
00:33:04,733 --> 00:33:05,899
Bravo!

244
00:33:08,361 --> 00:33:13,032
Why in Dallas and not here?
That's something I'd like to tell him.

245
00:33:13,033 --> 00:33:15,451
Why doesn't he do
these performances at the Met?

246
00:33:15,452 --> 00:33:16,994
And I would be there with pleasure.

247
00:33:19,331 --> 00:33:23,292
<i>Did he have to go and say,</i>
<i>"She's an impossible person!" Why?</i>

248
00:33:23,293 --> 00:33:26,253
<i>I'm quite sure he's met so many</i>
<i>other impossible people.</i>

249
00:33:26,254 --> 00:33:29,882
<i>He just completely got even with me</i>
<i>for all the things</i>

250
00:33:29,883 --> 00:33:31,884
<i>that he could not get even with</i>
<i>other people.</i>

251
00:33:31,885 --> 00:33:34,803
<i>That is what I call bad destiny.</i>
<i>I was unlucky.</i>

252
00:33:34,804 --> 00:33:37,973
<i>Because my other colleagues</i>
<i>have really hurt him much more.</i>

253
00:33:38,350 --> 00:33:42,019
<i>That's why he respects me, and he really,</i>
<i>sincerely, I'm sure, loves me.</i>

254
00:33:42,020 --> 00:33:43,646
<i>But he's a weak man.</i>

255
00:33:43,647 --> 00:33:46,523
<i>I suppose I pay the consequences</i>
<i>of so many other,</i>

256
00:33:46,524 --> 00:33:48,275
<i>you know, like a glass that fills up,</i>

257
00:33:48,276 --> 00:33:50,736
<i>and then I was the thing</i>
<i>that filled his glass up.</i>

258
00:33:55,909 --> 00:33:57,159
Of course I was appalled.

259
00:33:57,160 --> 00:34:00,746
I just refused next year's contract,
because he offered me

260
00:34:00,747 --> 00:34:05,334
the old repertoire...
that is, the old Norma staging.

261
00:34:05,335 --> 00:34:08,712
-Which you all saw.
-Which she's done time and time again.

262
00:34:08,713 --> 00:34:13,634
<i>Norma, Barbiere, Barber of Seville,</i>
<i>Traviata, Lucia,</i>

263
00:34:13,635 --> 00:34:16,595
and I said, "No, I'm sorry,
I cannot do routine."

264
00:34:16,596 --> 00:34:19,682
I want new performances, staged well.

265
00:34:20,308 --> 00:34:24,770
You know, like here, like a little young
Dallas is doing. My God.

266
00:34:24,771 --> 00:34:27,940
Yes, l suppose that made him angry.
I don't know.

267
00:34:27,941 --> 00:34:29,900
I mean, I can't explain it otherwise.

268
00:34:29,901 --> 00:34:33,070
And then yesterday,
I received a telegram saying,

269
00:34:33,071 --> 00:34:36,949
"Either you answer me"--
yesterday at around 3:30, I think,

270
00:34:38,159 --> 00:34:41,328
just before I left
for the theater, and he said,

271
00:34:41,329 --> 00:34:43,747
"Either you answer me tomorrow
or breach of agreement

272
00:34:43,748 --> 00:34:45,249
and contract terminated."

273
00:34:45,250 --> 00:34:47,042
I don't know what got into the man.

274
00:34:47,460 --> 00:34:49,294
I cannot do those... excuse me,

275
00:34:49,295 --> 00:34:52,840
lousy performances,
and I cannot change artists

276
00:34:52,841 --> 00:34:54,800
every performance, now you can know it.

277
00:34:54,801 --> 00:34:57,261
Each performance we have,
if we do ten Macbeths,

278
00:34:57,262 --> 00:34:59,763
ten different tenors, ten baritones...

279
00:34:59,764 --> 00:35:02,558
So I'm sorry, I can't do that.
That's not art.

280
00:35:02,559 --> 00:35:05,352
Well, I mean, let's get it out
now while we're at it.

281
00:35:05,687 --> 00:35:09,064
Do you know that last year
I did Traviata never seeing the set?

282
00:35:10,358 --> 00:35:13,652
Never seeing the set,
never seeing my colleagues.

283
00:35:14,320 --> 00:35:17,197
Do you think that's right?
Is that seriously good theater?

284
00:35:17,198 --> 00:35:20,492
Now, I kept these things quiet.
All my friends knew about it.

285
00:35:33,131 --> 00:35:34,923
<i>Our job is very serious,</i>

286
00:35:35,550 --> 00:35:37,801
<i>and it helps too,</i>

287
00:35:37,802 --> 00:35:40,596
<i>but all experiences help on the whole.</i>

288
00:35:40,597 --> 00:35:42,681
<i>But of course I'm human like everyone,</i>

289
00:35:42,682 --> 00:35:45,392
<i>and I like to be entertained</i>
<i>with nice shows,</i>

290
00:35:45,393 --> 00:35:50,230
<i>things that are not too serious,</i>
<i>not dramatic all the time,</i>

291
00:35:50,231 --> 00:35:52,566
<i>and all those tragedies,</i>
<i>that we get so fed up with...</i>

292
00:36:04,037 --> 00:36:08,457
<i>When you're not busy</i>
<i>recording or appearing in opera...</i>

293
00:36:08,458 --> 00:36:10,375
<i>I know what you're going to ask:</i>
<i>What do I do?</i>

294
00:36:10,376 --> 00:36:11,543
<i>-There you are.</i>
<i>-Yes. Hobbies?</i>

295
00:36:11,544 --> 00:36:13,712
<i>-Nothing. Nothing.</i>
<i>-Nothing?</i>

296
00:36:13,713 --> 00:36:16,965
<i>-I just live a human life.</i>
<i>-Well, well, good for you.</i>

297
00:36:16,966 --> 00:36:19,343
<i>-Good for you.</i>
<i>-I have lots of fresh air.</i>

298
00:36:19,344 --> 00:36:23,388
<i>When it rains, t go out, and I don't care</i>
<i>if I get wet, you know,</i>

299
00:36:23,389 --> 00:36:24,723
<i>just to relax the nerves.</i>

300
00:36:24,724 --> 00:36:27,017
<i>-I do some cooking. I love to cook.</i>
<i>-Do you?</i>

301
00:36:27,018 --> 00:36:30,312
<i>Now, for instance, my husband bought</i>
<i>a little house on the lake,</i>

302
00:36:30,313 --> 00:36:32,105
<i>and he's buying a little motorboat.</i>

303
00:36:32,106 --> 00:36:33,607
<i>-In Italy?</i>
<i>-In Italy.</i>

304
00:36:33,608 --> 00:36:36,652
<i>And so I'm dying to learn</i>
<i>how to drive the little thing</i>

305
00:36:36,653 --> 00:36:38,320
<i>and just go and enjoy myself.</i>

306
00:36:38,321 --> 00:36:42,783
<i>And, well, I must say, I have</i>
<i>a very ridiculous and embarrassing hobby.</i>

307
00:36:43,201 --> 00:36:45,494
<i>My husband always pulls my leg for it.</i>

308
00:36:45,495 --> 00:36:49,665
<i>But it's something, you know,</i>
<i>a mania, shall we call it.</i>

309
00:36:49,666 --> 00:36:53,043
<i>I love recipes.</i>
<i>I know I'll never use them.</i>

310
00:36:53,044 --> 00:36:56,213
<i>But wherever I find a recipe,</i>
<i>on a newspaper, on a magazine,</i>

311
00:36:56,214 --> 00:36:58,382
<i>I just tear it out</i>
<i>and I stick it in a book,</i>

312
00:36:58,383 --> 00:37:00,133
<i>you know, t paste it on.</i>

313
00:37:00,134 --> 00:37:04,304
<i>It's the only hobby, really, that I have.</i>
<i>Isn't it ridiculous?</i>

314
00:37:04,305 --> 00:37:07,224
<i>-I know it is, but there you are.</i>
<i>-I'm going to cut out something</i>

315
00:37:07,225 --> 00:37:09,142
<i>I saw the other day</i>
<i>and send it to you, because...</i>

316
00:37:09,143 --> 00:37:11,270
<i>-every once in a while, I...</i>
<i>-Oh, thank you. I'd love it.</i>

317
00:37:11,271 --> 00:37:14,439
<i>...for no reason,</i>
<i>because I don't cook if I can avoid it.</i>

318
00:37:14,440 --> 00:37:17,234
<i>Then there is another hobby</i>
<i>that I would like to pick up.</i>

319
00:37:17,235 --> 00:37:19,486
<i>-It is the carillon.</i>
<i>-Oh, really?</i>

320
00:37:19,487 --> 00:37:21,822
<i>Although there is one trouble,</i>
<i>that I have too good an ear,</i>

321
00:37:21,823 --> 00:37:25,951
<i>so when I hear them, you know,</i>
<i>doing something I don't like, I get angry.</i>

322
00:37:25,952 --> 00:37:28,745
<i>-But I do love carillons.</i>
<i>-But I don't know how they...</i>

323
00:37:28,746 --> 00:37:31,331
<i>I'm afraid I'm</i>
<i>very old-fashioned even in that.</i>

324
00:37:32,750 --> 00:37:35,085
<i>Well, old-fashioned or no,</i>
<i>have you ever considered</i>

325
00:37:35,086 --> 00:37:37,254
<i>doing musical comedies, Madam Callas?</i>

326
00:37:37,255 --> 00:37:42,175
<i>Well, I've been offered musical comedy.</i>
<i>I make a confession.</i>

327
00:37:42,176 --> 00:37:44,761
<i>I think that's going</i>
<i>a little too far, though.</i>

328
00:37:45,263 --> 00:37:48,807
<i>Can you imagine me, the tragic dame,</i>
<i>singing musical comedy?</i>

329
00:37:48,808 --> 00:37:52,019
<i>Though I admit,</i>
<i>I would enjoy myself sometimes.</i>

330
00:37:52,020 --> 00:37:53,604
<i>Oh, bother the dog.</i>

331
00:37:54,188 --> 00:37:57,858
<i>He's my little one,</i>
<i>my little monster of the house.</i>

332
00:37:57,859 --> 00:37:59,610
<i>-What's his name?</i>
<i>-Toy.</i>

333
00:37:59,611 --> 00:38:02,237
<i>Well, what name could you give</i>
<i>a little thing like that?</i>

334
00:38:02,906 --> 00:38:05,741
<i>So, that's why I...</i>

335
00:38:10,997 --> 00:38:14,416
You are so sweet!

336
00:38:14,417 --> 00:38:16,168
My darling...

337
00:38:17,128 --> 00:38:18,337
My joy.

338
00:38:29,223 --> 00:38:31,558
I think it is more difficult for a woman

339
00:38:31,559 --> 00:38:35,395
to run a fabulously
wonderful family than a career.

340
00:38:36,648 --> 00:38:39,149
-But to do both is very...?
-I have made a career.

341
00:38:39,150 --> 00:38:42,819
It doesn't work together.
I doubt whether...

342
00:38:42,820 --> 00:38:46,740
being a good mother at home can make you
also a wonderful career woman.

343
00:38:47,325 --> 00:38:48,867
Not my job.

344
00:38:48,868 --> 00:38:50,827
-It doesn't work.
-Really? What would you...

345
00:38:50,828 --> 00:38:53,038
It's a full-time job, my career.

346
00:42:13,531 --> 00:42:15,740
I was dying to ask a question,

347
00:42:15,741 --> 00:42:17,659
and I was trying to think of
how to ask it.

348
00:42:17,660 --> 00:42:19,870
The gentleman, Aristotle Onassis, is a...

349
00:42:19,871 --> 00:42:24,457
a mutual friend, he's a good friend,
and I think he's a delightful man,

350
00:42:24,458 --> 00:42:27,043
and I wondered what you thought
were his greatest qualities.

351
00:42:27,044 --> 00:42:30,463
Oh, you can ask.
We're the finest of friends.

352
00:42:30,464 --> 00:42:36,052
I've always said that, and I'm quite sure
that he considers me his best friend,

353
00:42:36,053 --> 00:42:37,804
and that's a lot in life.

354
00:42:39,807 --> 00:42:41,141
He's charming,

355
00:42:41,809 --> 00:42:43,268
very sincere...

356
00:42:45,730 --> 00:42:47,105
spontaneous.

357
00:42:48,983 --> 00:42:51,276
So, these are qualities
that are very good.

358
00:42:51,277 --> 00:42:54,321
Absolutely. When did you first meet?
A long time ago or...?

359
00:42:54,947 --> 00:42:57,365
1 957, I think, in Venice.

360
00:42:58,576 --> 00:43:03,705
And we were on the beach, and we met,
and we became fine friends,

361
00:43:04,081 --> 00:43:06,291
and we've stayed, and we will be...

362
00:43:07,501 --> 00:43:09,377
all our lives, we hope.

363
00:43:15,718 --> 00:43:19,304
<i>It was destiny that gave birth</i>
<i>to my friendship with Aristo.</i>

364
00:43:21,015 --> 00:43:24,267
<i>I joined the cruise on the Christina</i>
<i>to please my husband,</i>

365
00:43:24,268 --> 00:43:25,894
<i>who was very keen to go.</i>

366
00:43:26,687 --> 00:43:30,190
<i>Battista only cared for money</i>
<i>and position.</i>

367
00:43:33,444 --> 00:43:36,738
<i>What can you do</i>
<i>when you no longer trust your husband?</i>

368
00:43:37,531 --> 00:43:40,784
<i>I thought of Meneghini</i>
<i>as a sheltering screen at first</i>

369
00:43:40,785 --> 00:43:43,662
<i>to protect me from the outside world,</i>

370
00:43:43,663 --> 00:43:47,540
<i>and he did that,</i>
<i>until my fame went to his head.</i>

371
00:43:48,125 --> 00:43:53,338
<i>Battista should have used more diplomacy</i>
<i>in his negotiations with the theaters.</i>

372
00:43:53,339 --> 00:43:57,342
<i>His methods backfired,</i>
<i>and I had to pay the consequences.</i>

373
00:43:58,219 --> 00:44:00,845
<i>That was the beginning</i>
<i>of the end of our marriage.</i>

374
00:44:01,347 --> 00:44:04,391
<i>It was not Onassis or the money.</i>

375
00:44:11,399 --> 00:44:13,441
<i>From the very beginning of the cruise,</i>

376
00:44:13,442 --> 00:44:17,904
<i>I realized that Aristo was</i>
<i>the kind of friend I had been looking for.</i>

377
00:44:19,323 --> 00:44:23,827
<i>I was very impressed by his charm,</i>
<i>his strong personality,</i>

378
00:44:23,828 --> 00:44:27,038
<i>and the charismatic way</i>
<i>he held everyone's attention.</i>

379
00:44:27,790 --> 00:44:32,585
<i>He was not only full of life,</i>
<i>he was a source of life.</i>

380
00:44:33,921 --> 00:44:37,966
<i>One night, after a long</i>
<i>and irritating argument with my husband,</i>

381
00:44:37,967 --> 00:44:41,469
<i>I went out on deck for some air</i>
<i>and some solitude.</i>

382
00:44:42,888 --> 00:44:46,975
<i>There was Aristo,</i>
<i>contemplating the dark sea.</i>

383
00:44:48,602 --> 00:44:51,062
<i>I'm sure our friendship began there.</i>

384
00:44:51,731 --> 00:44:56,276
<i>I had found something I deeply needed</i>
<i>and had never encountered before.</i>

385
00:44:57,069 --> 00:44:59,321
<i>He made me feel liberated</i>

386
00:45:00,197 --> 00:45:01,906
<i>and very feminine.</i>

387
00:45:03,159 --> 00:45:05,160
<i>I came to love him deeply.</i>

388
00:45:11,584 --> 00:45:15,670
<i>Dear Walter and Judy,</i>
<i>I've had a wonderful time on the cruise,</i>

389
00:45:15,671 --> 00:45:18,089
<i>and we were back</i>
<i>one week later than planned.</i>

390
00:45:18,758 --> 00:45:22,302
<i>I'm afraid I'm going to give you</i>
<i>some bad and shocking news.</i>

391
00:45:22,928 --> 00:45:25,055
<i>I'm separating from Battista.</i>

392
00:45:25,514 --> 00:45:28,683
<i>I hope, dear friends,</i>
<i>that this won't murder me.</i>

393
00:45:28,684 --> 00:45:32,145
<i>I've been through quite a bit,</i>
<i>and there's a lot of disillusionment.</i>

394
00:45:32,146 --> 00:45:35,523
<i>Don't be alarmed by newspapers</i>
<i>if and when they come out.</i>

395
00:45:36,317 --> 00:45:38,902
<i>Dear friends, pray for your poor Maria.</i>

396
00:45:48,788 --> 00:45:51,456
Can you talk for a minute, please, for us?

397
00:45:51,457 --> 00:45:53,917
-Oh, I'm sorry.
-Can you tell us why you left Dallas?

398
00:45:53,918 --> 00:45:56,920
-I'm sorry. l can't talk.
-When are you gonna be going to Italy?

399
00:45:56,921 --> 00:45:58,880
I'm leaving this afternoon on the jet.

400
00:45:58,881 --> 00:46:01,633
How do you feel about the court litigation
that's coming up?

401
00:46:01,634 --> 00:46:04,177
I'm giving no interviews.
Do you mind, gentlemen?

402
00:46:04,178 --> 00:46:06,679
Mrs. Callas, did you have
any disagreement in Dallas?

403
00:46:06,680 --> 00:46:08,681
-Did that have anything to do with it?
-I'm giving no interview.

404
00:46:08,682 --> 00:46:11,559
-Did you have any trouble in Dallas?
-None at all.

405
00:46:11,560 --> 00:46:13,395
I'm giving no interview at all.

406
00:46:13,396 --> 00:46:15,897
-Why did you cut short your trip?
-Don't push me, please.

407
00:46:15,898 --> 00:46:18,274
-Are you going to marry Mr. Onassis?
-I said don't...

408
00:46:18,275 --> 00:46:20,985
I'm not answering any interview.
Now, stop it.

409
00:46:29,370 --> 00:46:32,747
Mrs. Callas,
does all this attention disturb you?

410
00:46:32,748 --> 00:46:35,333
Why not? When you're nice, l smile.

411
00:46:35,334 --> 00:46:37,252
-We try to always be nice.
-We try to be nice.

412
00:46:37,253 --> 00:46:40,505
-When you push me around, l don't like it.
-Well, we don't mean to push you around.

413
00:46:40,506 --> 00:46:42,424
I wish you'd stand still
so I wouldn't have to.

414
00:46:42,425 --> 00:46:43,883
But I have to walk, you know.

415
00:46:44,510 --> 00:46:49,806
Mrs. Callas, do you hope this trip
in Italy will end this romantic squabble?

416
00:46:51,267 --> 00:46:54,769
This is no romantic squabble.
It's a separation. That's what it is.

417
00:46:56,981 --> 00:46:58,690
Have you talked to Mr. Onassis?

418
00:46:59,316 --> 00:47:01,651
I talk to all my friends.

419
00:47:02,153 --> 00:47:04,737
Can you tell us when the last time
you spoke to him was?

420
00:47:04,738 --> 00:47:07,615
Do you expect to see Mr. Onassis
when you go to Europe?

421
00:47:07,616 --> 00:47:11,536
I hope l see all my friends,
and I hope I see Mr. Onassis. Why not?

422
00:47:12,079 --> 00:47:13,746
-Do you deny the...
-Watch out!

423
00:47:14,373 --> 00:47:16,458
I am answering no more questions.

424
00:47:17,001 --> 00:47:18,376
That's all, gentlemen.

425
00:47:26,969 --> 00:47:30,138
MENEGHINI VS CALLAS

426
00:47:33,517 --> 00:47:35,351
CIVIL COURT

427
00:48:27,112 --> 00:48:29,155
<i>It would be so nice</i>
<i>to be able to come home</i>

428
00:48:29,156 --> 00:48:31,699
<i>and have a nice,</i>
<i>honest shoulder to lean on.</i>

429
00:48:32,076 --> 00:48:35,203
<i>I had hoped that of my husband.</i>
<i>I was so wrong.</i>

430
00:48:35,204 --> 00:48:36,579
<i>Glory went to his head.</i>

431
00:48:37,289 --> 00:48:40,583
<i>Glory goes to people's heads. Not my head.</i>

432
00:48:40,584 --> 00:48:44,796
<i>Glory terrifies me, because you're</i>
<i>quite uncomfortable up there.</i>

433
00:48:44,797 --> 00:48:47,465
<i>But other people around you...</i>
<i>they get drunk.</i>

434
00:48:47,466 --> 00:48:49,259
<i>It's a wine that goes to the head.</i>

435
00:48:54,098 --> 00:48:55,974
<i>He was a good person, I thought.</i>

436
00:48:55,975 --> 00:49:00,645
<i>And with my mother, I was not well off,</i>
<i>and I was alone,</i>

437
00:49:00,646 --> 00:49:03,314
<i>and I felt that this person</i>
<i>really loved me,</i>

438
00:49:03,315 --> 00:49:07,235
<i>but I'm afraid that he loved</i>
<i>what I represented.</i>

439
00:49:07,236 --> 00:49:11,155
He wanted so much that I be La Divina.

440
00:49:11,156 --> 00:49:14,617
<i>For instance, he was taking</i>
<i>things out on people,</i>

441
00:49:14,618 --> 00:49:17,328
<i>as he was nothing special.</i>

442
00:49:28,549 --> 00:49:30,174
You mentioned you were persecuted.

443
00:49:30,175 --> 00:49:33,344
What period of your life were you
referring to? At the end of your--?

444
00:49:33,345 --> 00:49:36,222
When l separated from my husband,
that was very hard,

445
00:49:36,223 --> 00:49:38,182
and about two years before.

446
00:49:38,183 --> 00:49:41,603
I don't know why it was
sort of a style to attack...

447
00:49:42,271 --> 00:49:43,688
to attack me.

448
00:49:43,689 --> 00:49:46,357
And I'm the kind of type
that cannot defend myself,

449
00:49:46,358 --> 00:49:47,609
because I find it useless.

450
00:49:47,610 --> 00:49:50,778
First of all, the newspapermen
have the last word,

451
00:49:51,196 --> 00:49:52,739
so it's no use you fight.

452
00:49:53,407 --> 00:49:59,078
And then I don't like to defend myself.
I feel that time takes care of things.

453
00:49:59,413 --> 00:50:01,539
In what way were you perse...
You were blamed for things

454
00:50:01,540 --> 00:50:03,458
-that weren't your--?
-I was blamed for things.

455
00:50:03,459 --> 00:50:05,168
I was misunderstood.

456
00:50:05,169 --> 00:50:10,757
They took me for fiery, tempestuous,
canceling performances and this and that,

457
00:50:10,758 --> 00:50:12,634
and there was no end to that.

458
00:50:12,635 --> 00:50:14,594
I have canceled performances,

459
00:50:14,595 --> 00:50:17,430
but very few in comparison
to other singers.

460
00:50:17,431 --> 00:50:19,057
I was very famous, I suppose.

461
00:50:19,058 --> 00:50:21,768
It's a compliment, again,
but when I was not well,

462
00:50:21,769 --> 00:50:23,686
I could not do performances, so...

463
00:50:24,104 --> 00:50:26,356
I was blamed that, you know...

464
00:50:27,650 --> 00:50:29,317
And so these things, you know, hurt,

465
00:50:29,318 --> 00:50:33,196
and at a certain moment
you have to rest to...

466
00:50:34,073 --> 00:50:36,366
re-dimension things and to...

467
00:50:37,785 --> 00:50:42,121
You say you plan to get divorced
when this new law comes in Italy?

468
00:50:42,122 --> 00:50:44,499
Yes. I've been separated for 11 years.

469
00:50:45,376 --> 00:50:46,918
-Yes.
-It's a long time.

470
00:51:08,190 --> 00:51:10,858
<i>Aristo was adorable.</i>

471
00:51:11,318 --> 00:51:12,985
<i>Straight and fearless.</i>

472
00:51:13,737 --> 00:51:17,448
<i>And his boyish attitude</i>
<i>made him irresistible.</i>

473
00:51:18,200 --> 00:51:21,953
<i>He was only rarely difficult</i>
<i>and uncompromising,</i>

474
00:51:21,954 --> 00:51:24,414
<i>unlike some of his friends.</i>

475
00:51:24,415 --> 00:51:26,499
<i>He could be generous to a fault,</i>

476
00:51:27,209 --> 00:51:30,169
<i>and I don't mean only materialistically.</i>

477
00:51:30,170 --> 00:51:31,796
<i>He was never petty.</i>

478
00:51:32,548 --> 00:51:35,216
<i>He never interfered with my art,</i>

479
00:51:35,217 --> 00:51:37,510
<i>except to tell me that I should not feel</i>

480
00:51:37,511 --> 00:51:41,347
<i>under any obligation</i>
<i>to continue my singing career.</i>

481
00:51:42,307 --> 00:51:45,893
<i>Obviously, he said,</i>
<i>the stress had come to be too great,</i>

482
00:51:45,894 --> 00:51:48,855
<i>and as I had more than done my duty...</i>

483
00:51:48,856 --> 00:51:50,982
<i>his words, not mine...</i>

484
00:51:50,983 --> 00:51:56,028
<i>I was entitled to relax</i>
<i>and enjoy my well-earned money.</i>

485
00:51:58,323 --> 00:52:00,324
<i>He would have liked for me to make films,</i>

486
00:52:00,325 --> 00:52:04,328
<i>as he believed it would</i>
<i>have been less tiring for me.</i>

487
00:52:10,544 --> 00:52:11,919
<i>Dear Walter,</i>

488
00:52:12,463 --> 00:52:16,007
<i>I'll probably rest</i>
<i>for the beginning of the coming year.</i>

489
00:52:16,508 --> 00:52:20,178
<i>I owe it to myself and to my voice.</i>

490
00:52:20,179 --> 00:52:23,389
<i>Next year I'll start again, but right now,</i>

491
00:52:23,390 --> 00:52:27,018
<i>I'll just let myself be tired of resting</i>

492
00:52:27,019 --> 00:52:31,105
<i>until I feel like working again,</i>
<i>and will then work.</i>

493
00:52:32,191 --> 00:52:36,277
<i>I've really lost interest in my art,</i>
<i>with all the pushing my husband did,</i>

494
00:52:37,070 --> 00:52:42,325
<i>so now I intend to love my art</i>
<i>by desiring it.</i>

495
00:52:48,123 --> 00:52:52,126
So, I must confirm what everybody says.
You've really changed completely.

496
00:52:52,127 --> 00:52:54,212
You're another woman. Are you happy?

497
00:52:55,506 --> 00:52:56,798
Well...

498
00:52:56,799 --> 00:53:00,927
I am much happier,
but no real artist could be happy.

499
00:53:00,928 --> 00:53:05,932
It has been said that even your voice
has changed in quality.

500
00:53:06,975 --> 00:53:09,477
An artist develops in years.

501
00:53:10,938 --> 00:53:14,482
Shall we say that now you've become
a tamed animal;

502
00:53:14,483 --> 00:53:18,361
before, you're just...
you know, you just do things by instinct.

503
00:53:18,362 --> 00:53:22,406
I still do.
In fact, if people come during...

504
00:53:22,407 --> 00:53:25,910
to my performances, they will never find
them exactly the same.

505
00:53:25,911 --> 00:53:29,664
Because I feel that it should be,
at the moment, given...

506
00:53:30,666 --> 00:53:31,749
instinctively.

507
00:53:31,750 --> 00:53:37,880
But we also learn,
we suffer, we develop, we mature,

508
00:53:37,881 --> 00:53:40,591
so therefore, from year to year,

509
00:53:41,301 --> 00:53:43,594
we, of course, change our interpretation.

510
00:53:43,929 --> 00:53:49,433
But I have to feel what I do.
I have to like people to be with them.

511
00:53:50,561 --> 00:53:54,313
I just cannot learn
the art of being a hypocrite.

512
00:53:54,314 --> 00:53:55,606
I wish I could.

513
00:58:37,180 --> 00:58:39,390
<i>In France, people let you be.</i>

514
00:58:39,391 --> 00:58:41,517
<i>That's something I really enjoy.</i>

515
00:58:41,518 --> 00:58:45,437
<i>That's why I chose to stay here for now,</i>

516
00:58:45,438 --> 00:58:48,566
<i>at least for a few months,</i>
<i>because anyhow, we travel all the time.</i>

517
00:58:48,567 --> 00:58:51,193
<i>Sure, I stay at home a lot.</i>

518
00:58:51,194 --> 00:58:53,737
<i>People leave you alone, here.</i>

519
00:58:53,738 --> 00:58:56,157
<i>They don't smother or bother you.</i>

520
00:58:56,158 --> 00:58:58,534
<i>French people have a very special way...</i>

521
00:58:59,578 --> 00:59:03,038
<i>of loving and respecting artists.</i>

522
00:59:03,039 --> 00:59:05,416
<i>People have a particular subtlety here.</i>

523
00:59:05,417 --> 00:59:09,587
<i>No one comes at your door to watch you</i>
<i>like some kind of strange beast.</i>

524
00:59:09,588 --> 00:59:14,425
<i>Whereas in some countries, people do that.</i>
<i>You're in a city to give a concert</i>

525
00:59:14,426 --> 00:59:16,886
<i>and you can't even walk the streets.</i>

526
00:59:16,887 --> 00:59:19,722
<i>They don't let you go shopping.</i>

527
00:59:19,723 --> 00:59:23,058
<i>It's bad because then</i>
<i>you stay locked up inside.</i>

528
00:59:23,059 --> 00:59:25,895
<i>But we all need to get some fresh air</i>

529
00:59:25,896 --> 00:59:28,606
<i>and to live freely,</i>
<i>it's vital for our nerves.</i>

530
00:59:38,867 --> 00:59:42,328
I think that, as a woman,
I'm perfectly normal.

531
00:59:42,829 --> 00:59:44,580
As for my character,

532
00:59:44,581 --> 00:59:49,543
do you mean on the stage of life
or on the theater stage?

533
00:59:49,544 --> 00:59:50,961
Maybe both?

534
00:59:50,962 --> 00:59:54,590
No, they're two completely
different things.

535
00:59:54,591 --> 01:00:00,304
Yet equal.
The spiritual part is always mine.

536
01:00:00,847 --> 01:00:03,140
It belongs to me, and...

537
01:00:03,767 --> 01:00:07,353
You don't see that in life,
because you see just a woman

538
01:00:07,354 --> 01:00:11,023
who likes to walk down the streets,
simple, joyful...

539
01:00:12,400 --> 01:00:17,613
who doesn't like to be watched
because, frankly, l get embarrassed.

540
01:00:17,614 --> 01:00:22,534
When I'm complimented on the street,
I don't know where to hide.

541
01:00:22,535 --> 01:00:24,620
Because obviously it...

542
01:00:25,205 --> 01:00:27,581
it's a bit embarrassing.

543
01:00:28,708 --> 01:00:31,460
Call it shyness or whatever.

544
01:00:31,461 --> 01:00:33,254
And that's hard to believe

545
01:00:33,255 --> 01:00:37,591
because people have a different
impression of me as Callas.

546
01:00:37,592 --> 01:00:41,720
Whereas the woman has simple tastes,
likes to watch TV, read nonsense,

547
01:00:41,721 --> 01:00:46,475
listen to pretty things, of course,
read...

548
01:00:47,102 --> 01:00:51,063
and play the intellectual,
which I'm not as I've never had the time.

549
01:00:51,940 --> 01:00:55,109
I've always been working on
the stage, so...

550
01:00:55,110 --> 01:00:58,654
As an intellectual,
I just learn here and there, that's all.

551
01:02:31,581 --> 01:02:33,082
Maria Callas!

552
01:02:40,840 --> 01:02:45,094
For the last few months,
I only opened my mouth to laugh,

553
01:02:45,095 --> 01:02:47,721
thank God!

554
01:02:47,722 --> 01:02:52,184
I haven't practiced every day
for a long time,

555
01:02:52,185 --> 01:02:54,686
and I just had a look at the lyrics,

556
01:02:54,687 --> 01:02:56,772
so I may stumble on the words.

557
01:02:56,773 --> 01:02:58,357
I'll do my best.

558
01:03:56,916 --> 01:03:59,334
<i>My dear and illustrious colleague.</i>

559
01:03:59,335 --> 01:04:02,087
<i>As t explained to you</i>
<i>in my letter from Monte Carlo,</i>

560
01:04:02,088 --> 01:04:04,465
<i>I was operated on for a hernia</i>

561
01:04:04,466 --> 01:04:09,761
<i>and was unable to offer my beloved maestro</i>
<i>the apogean performance he well deserved.</i>

562
01:04:10,722 --> 01:04:13,765
<i>I do not have, dear friend,</i>
<i>the physical strength</i>

563
01:04:13,766 --> 01:04:15,767
<i>to face the arena once more.</i>

564
01:04:16,603 --> 01:04:20,397
<i>Everyone has faith in me.</i>
<i>You, the maestro, the critics...</i>

565
01:04:20,857 --> 01:04:23,859
<i>but I cannot get over</i>
<i>that evening at the Rome Opera</i>

566
01:04:23,860 --> 01:04:25,694
<i>and how much I suffered.</i>

567
01:04:26,446 --> 01:04:30,115
<i>Perhaps if t had been 20 or 30,</i>
<i>I wouldn't care,</i>

568
01:04:30,116 --> 01:04:33,118
<i>and the joyful dance</i>
<i>of the spirit, as you say,</i>

569
01:04:33,119 --> 01:04:35,370
<i>would help me forget and move forward.</i>

570
01:04:35,914 --> 01:04:38,874
<i>But I don't think I have</i>
<i>the strength to risk facing</i>

571
01:04:38,875 --> 01:04:41,001
<i>such cruelty any longer.</i>

572
01:04:42,212 --> 01:04:43,670
<i>My soul would not recover.</i>

573
01:04:44,422 --> 01:04:46,131
<i>At least that's how I feel now.</i>

574
01:04:47,926 --> 01:04:49,426
<i>I need time.</i>

575
01:04:50,053 --> 01:04:52,930
<i>I would like to thank you</i>
<i>from the bottom of my heart</i>

576
01:04:52,931 --> 01:04:57,351
<i>for having written to me</i>
<i>and for the respect you have shown me.</i>

577
01:04:57,352 --> 01:05:00,145
<i>Please know that I will never forget it.</i>

578
01:05:00,563 --> 01:05:02,397
<i>And thank your wife also.</i>

579
01:05:02,982 --> 01:05:04,691
<i>I envy your family.</i>

580
01:05:05,276 --> 01:05:07,569
<i>There is no greater wealth on earth.</i>

581
01:09:30,124 --> 01:09:33,794
As you look back,
are there things you'd like to change,

582
01:09:33,795 --> 01:09:36,880
or do you buy the package wholesale?

583
01:09:36,881 --> 01:09:38,590
I'll buy the package wholesale.

584
01:09:38,591 --> 01:09:43,178
My God, l never would have dreamed
to come to such a privileged position,

585
01:09:43,179 --> 01:09:45,138
with its good and with its bad.

586
01:09:46,349 --> 01:09:48,892
I have had the possibility

587
01:09:48,893 --> 01:09:52,771
of having inside something that
I could expose to the people,

588
01:09:52,772 --> 01:09:55,065
give to the people and be understood.

589
01:09:56,192 --> 01:09:58,652
You call this little?

590
01:10:00,029 --> 01:10:02,197
I have had, on the other hand,

591
01:10:02,198 --> 01:10:05,408
I didn't have a family, as I wanted to,

592
01:10:05,409 --> 01:10:10,330
and this and that, but...
being right here is already a privilege.

593
01:10:10,331 --> 01:10:15,585
Being able to talk,
even if I'm talking badly, is a privilege.

594
01:10:22,426 --> 01:10:25,554
<i>Miss Callas, how did it feel</i>

595
01:10:25,555 --> 01:10:28,306
<i>to come back to New York</i>
<i>and the Metropolitan</i>

596
01:10:28,307 --> 01:10:31,685
<i>after an absence of seven long years?</i>

597
01:10:31,686 --> 01:10:36,690
<i>First of all, enormous happiness to be,</i>
<i>shall we say, at home.</i>

598
01:10:36,691 --> 01:10:40,735
<i>Then I must say, though,</i>
<i>that all the New Yorkers</i>

599
01:10:40,736 --> 01:10:43,405
<i>really made it...</i>

600
01:10:43,698 --> 01:10:46,324
<i>quite clear that they've</i>
<i>considered me back home,</i>

601
01:10:46,325 --> 01:10:49,661
<i>which was, of course,</i>
<i>the first happy thought about it.</i>

602
01:10:49,662 --> 01:10:53,456
<i>Before I went back,</i>
<i>I really sincerely tell you,</i>

603
01:10:53,457 --> 01:10:54,749
<i>I was terrified.</i>

604
01:10:55,167 --> 01:10:58,753
<i>I didn't want to, and I was trying</i>
<i>to find excuses not to go.</i>

605
01:11:03,634 --> 01:11:05,760
Dennis, how about you?
What brings you out to the line?

606
01:11:05,761 --> 01:11:08,013
Is it Miss Callas
or just plain a love of opera?

607
01:11:08,014 --> 01:11:10,348
Maria Callas. She's the greatest.

608
01:11:10,349 --> 01:11:12,934
Only for her would I do this. Nobody else.

609
01:11:13,603 --> 01:11:16,021
How about you, Lex?
What brings you out in the line?

610
01:11:16,022 --> 01:11:18,398
Well, I've come specifically
to see Callas.

611
01:11:18,399 --> 01:11:20,734
I think it's a shame
that she hasn't been here.

612
01:11:20,735 --> 01:11:22,986
And now that she has agreed to come back,

613
01:11:22,987 --> 01:11:25,488
I think to miss her
would be really a crime.

614
01:11:25,489 --> 01:11:28,992
This woman is undoubtedly
the greatest singer of this century and...

615
01:11:28,993 --> 01:11:30,785
Why do you think she's so great?

616
01:11:31,203 --> 01:11:34,289
Well, first of all,
as a technician, she's magnificent.

617
01:11:34,290 --> 01:11:36,833
As an actress, she is...

618
01:11:36,834 --> 01:11:38,793
there's no word to describe her.

619
01:11:38,794 --> 01:11:42,339
And just her magnetism:
she could sing a poor performance--

620
01:11:42,340 --> 01:11:44,841
I've never had an occasion
to hear it, but she could,

621
01:11:44,842 --> 01:11:47,469
and she would still be
just as magnetic as ever.

622
01:11:47,470 --> 01:11:49,054
This woman is just amazing.

623
01:11:49,347 --> 01:11:55,060
Every line, every rest in the score
has some meaning to Madam Callas.

624
01:11:55,061 --> 01:11:57,896
In your eyes,
then, it's just pure, raw genius.

625
01:11:57,897 --> 01:11:58,897
You bet.

626
01:12:00,191 --> 01:12:01,858
How long have you been in the line?

627
01:12:01,859 --> 01:12:04,402
I've been in line since yesterday at 4:00.

628
01:12:04,403 --> 01:12:06,237
How have you passed the time?

629
01:12:07,490 --> 01:12:10,533
I've just sat, and went across
and had something to eat.

630
01:12:10,534 --> 01:12:14,245
What's going to happen when she finally
gets to appear here after seven years?

631
01:12:14,246 --> 01:12:17,958
She'll get around a 30-minute ovation,
and most likely it will be standing,

632
01:12:17,959 --> 01:12:20,335
even if I have to be
the only one to stand.

633
01:12:20,336 --> 01:12:22,379
-I'm very sure.
-You think you'll have company?

634
01:12:22,380 --> 01:12:24,881
Oh, I'm sure l will. Very sure, yes.

635
01:12:28,052 --> 01:12:31,513
Bravo! Bravo!

636
01:12:39,355 --> 01:12:42,857
<i>As soon as I came out,</i>
<i>the applause started enormously.</i>

637
01:12:43,442 --> 01:12:46,152
<i>And you had to stand there</i>
<i>freezing in a position.</i>

638
01:12:46,153 --> 01:12:50,240
<i>Exactly, freezing in a position that you</i>
<i>don't know how and what to do about,</i>

639
01:12:50,241 --> 01:12:52,325
<i>but especially the great emotion.</i>

640
01:12:52,326 --> 01:12:53,952
<i>I wish we weren't emotional.</i>

641
01:12:53,953 --> 01:12:57,497
<i>I really was crying, and t had to sing.</i>

642
01:12:57,498 --> 01:12:59,499
<i>You know, it kept on for about ten minutes</i>

643
01:12:59,500 --> 01:13:01,793
<i>during my singing.</i>
<i>I was just too emotional</i>

644
01:13:01,794 --> 01:13:04,004
<i>to do anything really properly well.</i>

645
01:13:04,005 --> 01:13:05,880
<i>It was so overwhelming.</i>

646
01:13:05,881 --> 01:13:07,340
<i>-Really incredible.</i>
<i>-I think that...</i>

647
01:13:07,341 --> 01:13:09,884
<i>-the warmth of the reception itself is...</i>
<i>-The warmth of the American public,</i>

648
01:13:09,885 --> 01:13:11,886
<i>I'm afraid it is unique.</i>

649
01:13:11,887 --> 01:13:14,723
<i>And they made a point of showing me</i>
<i>how much they love me,</i>

650
01:13:14,724 --> 01:13:18,810
<i>so they deserve every</i>
<i>best part of me, actually.</i>

651
01:13:19,562 --> 01:13:22,564
<i>And I couldn't even start</i>
<i>to thank all of the people--</i>

652
01:13:22,565 --> 01:13:26,693
<i>the letters, the presents,</i>
<i>the flowers, the adoration</i>

653
01:13:26,694 --> 01:13:30,488
<i>that I have had, which I never,</i>
<i>never thought, honestly.</i>

654
01:13:30,489 --> 01:13:32,240
<i>That was really unique.</i>

655
01:13:44,462 --> 01:13:48,173
It seems nowadays,
the public is much more aware

656
01:13:48,174 --> 01:13:52,677
of the effort you put in,
of all the tension it involves,

657
01:13:52,678 --> 01:13:54,637
-and the love...
-That's true.

658
01:13:54,638 --> 01:13:57,891
A lot of love
and a lot of gratitude, curiously.

659
01:13:58,309 --> 01:14:01,853
They thank me all the time.
It surprises me, you know.

660
01:14:01,854 --> 01:14:03,772
So you're a happy woman?

661
01:14:03,773 --> 01:14:07,108
That's true, I should think so more often.

662
01:14:07,109 --> 01:14:08,693
-You should.
-I should.

663
01:14:08,694 --> 01:14:11,905
-It's the best way to be...
-I just don't always realize it.

664
01:14:12,907 --> 01:14:16,743
What sort of music makes you feel...
at home?

665
01:14:17,036 --> 01:14:19,120
Of course, the music

666
01:14:19,121 --> 01:14:22,040
of Rossini, Donizetti,
Bellini especially...

667
01:14:22,750 --> 01:14:24,542
-That's...
-Bel canto.

668
01:14:24,543 --> 01:14:26,419
Bel canto, exactly.

669
01:14:26,420 --> 01:14:32,842
Do you feel you've given Bel canto
something special, which is yourself?

670
01:14:34,303 --> 01:14:37,263
I realize people like it a lot more.

671
01:14:37,264 --> 01:14:40,725
Rather than saying: "Opera is so boring!"

672
01:14:40,726 --> 01:14:43,311
Unfortunately,
opera was considered boring.

673
01:14:43,312 --> 01:14:48,233
Obviously, if it's sung badly,
it can be very boring.

674
01:14:48,901 --> 01:14:50,944
But also...

675
01:14:51,403 --> 01:14:55,532
it's the way in which
I express myself best.

676
01:14:55,533 --> 01:14:59,702
It's my world, if you like.

677
01:15:01,247 --> 01:15:05,125
I feel elevated above everything.

678
01:15:05,126 --> 01:15:10,213
It's my way of expressing myself
and of giving, perhaps...

679
01:15:11,090 --> 01:15:16,094
giving the public perhaps an illusion
of something better in life.

680
01:19:43,529 --> 01:19:46,697
<i>February 1 8, 1 965.</i>

681
01:19:46,698 --> 01:19:48,408
<i>To Elvira de Hidalgo.</i>

682
01:19:49,159 --> 01:19:54,163
<i>Dear Elvira, my gratitude</i>
<i>for your affection is immeasurable.</i>

683
01:19:54,623 --> 01:20:00,545
<i>You know me. I'm shy and rather strange,</i>
<i>but you know how to love me as t am.</i>

684
01:20:01,672 --> 01:20:07,135
<i>The rehearsals went magnificently well,</i>
<i>with the high notes just like before.</i>

685
01:20:07,761 --> 01:20:11,347
<i>In the third act,</i>
<i>I had a moment of panic and fatigue,</i>

686
01:20:11,348 --> 01:20:16,352
<i>but I still sang the C well,</i>
<i>and even the last time, superbly well.</i>

687
01:20:17,604 --> 01:20:21,774
<i>If I manage to control myself,</i>
<i>everything should go as planned.</i>

688
01:20:22,443 --> 01:20:27,488
<i>I am still studying, and I think of you</i>
<i>with so much love and respect.</i>

689
01:20:27,948 --> 01:20:29,157
<i>Your Maria.</i>

690
01:20:31,118 --> 01:20:32,577
<i>To Grace Kelly.</i>

691
01:20:33,245 --> 01:20:35,872
<i>Dear Grace, I wanted to answer you sooner,</i>

692
01:20:35,873 --> 01:20:38,499
<i>but I was busy</i>
<i>gathering my nerves and strength</i>

693
01:20:38,500 --> 01:20:40,918
<i>to fight back on the next performance.</i>

694
01:20:41,295 --> 01:20:43,921
<i>It went perfectly, thank God.</i>

695
01:20:44,840 --> 01:20:46,966
<i>It's hard work, isn't it?</i>

696
01:20:46,967 --> 01:20:50,136
<i>There's always some enemy</i>
<i>ready for a moment of weakness.</i>

697
01:20:51,472 --> 01:20:54,348
<i>I'm dying to finish my work</i>
<i>so I can take a nice rest.</i>

698
01:20:54,349 --> 01:20:55,808
<i>I certainly need it.</i>

699
01:20:56,477 --> 01:20:59,437
<i>I do so hope to see you</i>
<i>and Rainier very soon.</i>

700
01:20:59,438 --> 01:21:03,774
<i>And thank you, dear Grace,</i>
<i>for your lovely flowers and letters.</i>

701
01:21:04,193 --> 01:21:06,027
<i>Lots of love, Maria.</i>

702
01:21:06,695 --> 01:21:09,655
<i>P.S. Aristo sends you both his love.</i>

703
01:21:10,073 --> 01:21:13,284
-Bravo, Maria!
-Bravo!

704
01:21:13,285 --> 01:21:14,952
Bravo!

705
01:23:07,816 --> 01:23:09,775
Ladies and gentlemen,

706
01:23:09,776 --> 01:23:12,987
since the beginning of this performance,

707
01:23:12,988 --> 01:23:16,949
madam Maria Callas has been trying
to overcome extreme weakness

708
01:23:16,950 --> 01:23:18,618
and severe depression.

709
01:23:19,161 --> 01:23:23,205
Unfortunately,
despite her exceptional courage,

710
01:23:23,206 --> 01:23:26,917
for which we thank her,
and the care of her doctor,

711
01:23:26,918 --> 01:23:31,339
it is absolutely impossible for her
to finish this performance.

712
01:23:31,340 --> 01:23:34,050
She is deeply distraught about this,

713
01:23:34,051 --> 01:23:37,511
and we ask you to join us in excusing her.

714
01:24:14,549 --> 01:24:17,468
<i>June 4, 1 965.</i>

715
01:24:18,470 --> 01:24:21,972
<i>Dear Elvira, I've wanted</i>
<i>to write to you for a while now,</i>

716
01:24:21,973 --> 01:24:24,975
<i>but I couldn't find the time</i>
<i>or, rather, the energy.</i>

717
01:24:26,144 --> 01:24:27,895
<i>Changing my voice and technique</i>

718
01:24:27,896 --> 01:24:30,690
<i>during the performances</i>
<i>did no good for my nerves,</i>

719
01:24:30,691 --> 01:24:34,360
<i>which were already strained</i>
<i>after all these years.</i>

720
01:24:35,904 --> 01:24:38,531
<i>After New York, my body shut down.</i>

721
01:24:38,949 --> 01:24:41,200
<i>My blood pressure dropped to seven.</i>

722
01:24:42,119 --> 01:24:43,494
<i>I took a month off to rest,</i>

723
01:24:43,495 --> 01:24:45,913
<i>but it was obvious</i>
<i>that my nerves could not bear</i>

724
01:24:45,914 --> 01:24:47,707
<i>a huge role like Norma.</i>

725
01:24:49,000 --> 01:24:51,252
<i>Now my fatigue is endless,</i>

726
01:24:51,962 --> 01:24:55,589
<i>and my rage even more so</i>
<i>for having crumbled like this.</i>

727
01:24:57,968 --> 01:25:01,971
<i>I found an apartment,</i>
<i>and I'm taking care of it for the moment.</i>

728
01:25:02,889 --> 01:25:05,224
<i>36 Avenue Georges Mandel.</i>

729
01:25:06,685 --> 01:25:08,519
<i>I am at peace here at home.</i>

730
01:25:09,646 --> 01:25:12,857
<i>Peace that has nothing to do</i>
<i>with happiness,</i>

731
01:25:12,858 --> 01:25:15,526
<i>but which at least allows</i>
<i>my nerves to calm down.</i>

732
01:25:16,486 --> 01:25:19,363
<i>They were the real culprit</i>
<i>for everything, as you once said.</i>

733
01:25:21,783 --> 01:25:26,370
<i>I began at 1 3, and now t am 41.</i>

734
01:25:26,371 --> 01:25:29,498
<i>I'm not complaining, but it's a long time.</i>

735
01:25:30,792 --> 01:25:33,335
<i>The soul burns out, and the energy, too.</i>

736
01:25:35,213 --> 01:25:36,922
<i>I'm studying alone.</i>

737
01:25:36,923 --> 01:25:39,759
<i>I have my records to teach me</i>
<i>what I used to do</i>

738
01:25:39,760 --> 01:25:42,553
<i>and my tape recorder</i>
<i>to play me back what t do now</i>

739
01:25:42,554 --> 01:25:44,180
<i>and what I shouldn't do.</i>

740
01:25:44,181 --> 01:25:45,973
<i>If it works, all the better.</i>

741
01:25:45,974 --> 01:25:48,017
<i>If not, I'll give it all up.</i>

742
01:25:48,977 --> 01:25:52,438
<i>Besides, I have Aristo.</i>
<i>What more could I want?</i>

743
01:25:53,899 --> 01:25:57,943
<i>Don't you find Aristo</i>
<i>has changed a lot for the better?</i>

744
01:26:15,295 --> 01:26:17,588
You've given up your citizenship.
That's correct?

745
01:26:17,589 --> 01:26:18,714
Yes, that is correct.

746
01:26:18,715 --> 01:26:20,549
And you're taking
your Greek citizenship back?

747
01:26:20,550 --> 01:26:22,718
I've already taken
my Greek citizenship back.

748
01:26:22,719 --> 01:26:24,678
What is the reason behind this,
Madam Callas?

749
01:26:24,679 --> 01:26:27,223
Well, the real reason l could even say it

750
01:26:27,224 --> 01:26:31,894
is that l am a free woman,
you see, because... during...

751
01:26:32,687 --> 01:26:36,941
with the Greek Iaw,
who is not married after 1 946,

752
01:26:36,942 --> 01:26:39,693
in church, is not married.

753
01:26:41,655 --> 01:26:43,656
-So you understand?
-I understand completely.

754
01:26:43,657 --> 01:26:46,200
Now, do you have any intention
to marry Mr. Onassis?

755
01:26:46,201 --> 01:26:49,245
Oh, well, those are not questions to...

756
01:26:50,413 --> 01:26:52,706
No, right now I'm a free woman,
and very happy to be,

757
01:26:52,707 --> 01:26:56,627
so that is why I had to give up
this American citizenship, unfortunately.

758
01:26:56,628 --> 01:26:58,212
You understand?

759
01:27:02,801 --> 01:27:04,635
<i>Aristo, my love,</i>

760
01:27:05,345 --> 01:27:08,097
<i>I know this is a meager birthday present,</i>

761
01:27:08,098 --> 01:27:11,851
<i>but I must tell you that,</i>
<i>after eight and a half years,</i>

762
01:27:11,852 --> 01:27:13,978
<i>with so much we went through,</i>

763
01:27:14,729 --> 01:27:17,982
<i>I am happy to tell you</i>
<i>from the depths of my heart,</i>

764
01:27:18,525 --> 01:27:20,192
<i>I am proud of you,</i>

765
01:27:20,777 --> 01:27:26,073
<i>I love you, body and soul,</i>
<i>and only wish that you feel the same.</i>

766
01:27:26,950 --> 01:27:31,495
<i>I feel privileged to have reached</i>
<i>the highest level in a tough career</i>

767
01:27:31,496 --> 01:27:34,456
<i>and to be graced by God to have found you,</i>

768
01:27:34,457 --> 01:27:38,085
<i>who went through hell also</i>
<i>and reached the heights,</i>

769
01:27:38,086 --> 01:27:40,921
<i>and to have us together, as we are.</i>

770
01:27:42,924 --> 01:27:48,178
<i>Try, oh, please do,</i>
<i>to keep us united always,</i>

771
01:27:48,179 --> 01:27:51,724
<i>for t do need your love</i>
<i>and respect forever.</i>

772
01:27:53,894 --> 01:27:56,645
<i>I am too proud to admit it,</i>

773
01:27:57,606 --> 01:28:00,816
<i>but know that you are my very breath,</i>

774
01:28:01,568 --> 01:28:05,195
<i>brain, pride and tenderness,</i>

775
01:28:05,196 --> 01:28:08,490
<i>that if you could see</i>
<i>into my feelings for you,</i>

776
01:28:08,491 --> 01:28:13,037
<i>you would feel the strongest</i>
<i>and richest man in the entire world.</i>

777
01:28:15,206 --> 01:28:17,499
<i>This is not a child's letter.</i>

778
01:28:18,418 --> 01:28:22,671
<i>This is a hurt, tired, proud woman</i>

779
01:28:22,672 --> 01:28:27,301
<i>that gives you the most fresh</i>
<i>and youthful sentiments ever felt.</i>

780
01:28:28,511 --> 01:28:30,137
<i>Never forget that,</i>

781
01:28:31,014 --> 01:28:34,224
<i>and be always as tender with me</i>
<i>as these days.</i>

782
01:28:35,226 --> 01:28:37,770
<i>And you make me the queen of the world...</i>

783
01:28:38,980 --> 01:28:40,064
<i>my love.</i>

784
01:28:40,607 --> 01:28:43,317
<i>I need affection and tenderness.</i>

785
01:28:44,152 --> 01:28:45,235
<i>I am yours.</i>

786
01:28:45,862 --> 01:28:47,613
<i>Do as you will with me.</i>

787
01:28:51,785 --> 01:28:53,035
<i>Your soul...</i>

788
01:28:54,037 --> 01:28:55,120
<i>Maria.</i>

789
01:29:08,885 --> 01:29:12,388
There is one prayer that I do.
It's my own.

790
01:29:12,389 --> 01:29:15,474
-I hope you won't laugh at me.
-No. What is it?

791
01:29:15,475 --> 01:29:18,894
Every now and then, I say:
"God, help me...

792
01:29:18,895 --> 01:29:22,356
give me what you want.
I have no choice, good or bad.

793
01:29:22,357 --> 01:29:26,276
But give me the strength also
to be able to overcome it."

794
01:29:37,539 --> 01:29:42,334
<i>Dear Elvira, I'm doing fairly well,</i>
<i>given the circumstances.</i>

795
01:29:42,335 --> 01:29:45,045
<i>It's as if I've been hit hard</i>
<i>over the head</i>

796
01:29:45,046 --> 01:29:47,256
<i>and I still can't catch my breath.</i>

797
01:29:48,550 --> 01:29:52,553
<i>I received three phone calls,</i>
<i>one I didn't answer.</i>

798
01:29:53,388 --> 01:29:55,639
<i>When I answered the two others, it was...</i>

799
01:29:56,141 --> 01:29:57,474
<i>it was horrible for me.</i>

800
01:29:58,101 --> 01:30:00,269
<i>As t told you, he is irresponsible,</i>

801
01:30:00,270 --> 01:30:03,355
<i>and therefore it's</i>
<i>really disgusting for me.</i>

802
01:30:04,441 --> 01:30:08,444
<i>I'm at home in Paris</i>
<i>trying to sort things out in my head,</i>

803
01:30:08,445 --> 01:30:10,821
<i>which hurts so terribly.</i>

804
01:30:11,781 --> 01:30:14,533
<i>I'm just trying to survive</i>
<i>these few months.</i>

805
01:30:15,285 --> 01:30:18,579
<i>I don't make too much effort,</i>
<i>as my mind is weakened,</i>

806
01:30:19,372 --> 01:30:21,248
<i>and so my psyche, too.</i>

807
01:30:22,709 --> 01:30:26,045
<i>I really wouldn't know where</i>
<i>to go to get a little rest.</i>

808
01:30:27,672 --> 01:30:29,006
<i>I am so lost,</i>

809
01:30:29,632 --> 01:30:34,511
<i>after so many years of work</i>
<i>and sacrifices for one man,</i>

810
01:30:35,513 --> 01:30:38,724
<i>that I find myself incapable</i>
<i>of knowing where to go.</i>

811
01:30:39,559 --> 01:30:41,393
<i>It's the last straw.</i>

812
01:30:45,273 --> 01:30:48,734
<i>Anyway, if you wish, write to me here.</i>

813
01:30:49,402 --> 01:30:51,070
<i>I send you all my love.</i>

814
01:30:51,988 --> 01:30:54,364
<i>I hope that you don't worry</i>
<i>too much about me.</i>

815
01:30:55,575 --> 01:30:58,077
<i>God has always been my guide.</i>

816
01:30:58,620 --> 01:31:00,537
<i>He will show me the way again,</i>

817
01:31:01,039 --> 01:31:02,998
<i>and I hope that</i>
<i>he will give me the strength</i>

818
01:31:02,999 --> 01:31:05,042
<i>to get through this crisis, too.</i>

819
01:31:07,128 --> 01:31:09,963
<i>My dear, sweet, longtime friend.</i>

820
01:31:11,674 --> 01:31:14,593
<i>Your Maria, always.</i>

821
01:31:30,485 --> 01:31:33,654
<i>Thank you, dear Elvira,</i>
<i>thank you for your kind letter.</i>

822
01:31:34,447 --> 01:31:37,699
<i>It's cruel, isn't it?</i>
<i>But they're both paying for it.</i>

823
01:31:37,700 --> 01:31:39,993
<i>Or they will pay. You'll see.</i>

824
01:31:39,994 --> 01:31:44,456
<i>What is worst of all is that he said</i>
<i>nothing to me about the marriage.</i>

825
01:31:44,457 --> 01:31:48,710
<i>I think he at least owed me that</i>
<i>after nine years by his side.</i>

826
01:31:48,711 --> 01:31:52,172
<i>I shouldn't have found out</i>
<i>about it in the papers.</i>

827
01:31:52,173 --> 01:31:54,133
<i>But I consider him a fool,</i>

828
01:31:54,134 --> 01:31:57,052
<i>and as such,</i>
<i>I am erasing him from my mind.</i>

829
01:31:57,804 --> 01:32:00,430
<i>I need to work as soon as possible.</i>

830
01:32:00,431 --> 01:32:03,809
<i>Anyhow, I won't be able</i>
<i>to do anything until next year.</i>

831
01:32:05,019 --> 01:32:08,272
<i>I'm coping rather well</i>
<i>under the circumstances,</i>

832
01:32:08,273 --> 01:32:10,691
<i>and I thank you for all of your affection.</i>

833
01:32:11,109 --> 01:32:14,945
<i>I will write to you soon to tell you</i>
<i>about my possible projects,</i>

834
01:32:14,946 --> 01:32:17,698
<i>given that I haven't decided</i>
<i>anything for now.</i>

835
01:32:18,408 --> 01:32:20,784
<i>All my affection and respect.</i>

836
01:32:21,578 --> 01:32:24,121
<i>As always, your Maria.</i>

837
01:32:29,169 --> 01:32:33,088
<i>For nine years,</i>
<i>you've been living a hidden life</i>

838
01:32:33,089 --> 01:32:36,008
<i>and a humiliating life</i>
<i>for a person like I am,</i>

839
01:32:36,009 --> 01:32:39,094
<i>and you're not cured in two months,</i>

840
01:32:39,095 --> 01:32:41,471
<i>and I don't have</i>
<i>that much time to get cured.</i>

841
01:32:42,015 --> 01:32:44,266
<i>Next year I've got to sing,</i>
<i>somehow or another,</i>

842
01:32:44,267 --> 01:32:45,851
<i>I don't care at what price.</i>

843
01:32:45,852 --> 01:32:48,562
<i>I've given up a hell of a career,</i>

844
01:32:48,563 --> 01:32:51,648
<i>and it's too easy to say,</i>
<i>"Oh, thank you very much."</i>

845
01:32:51,649 --> 01:32:54,902
<i>For eight years, nine years,</i>
<i>we did our best to be happy.</i>

846
01:32:54,903 --> 01:32:57,196
<i>"Oh, ain't that sweet,"</i>
<i>as they say of all this.</i>

847
01:32:57,197 --> 01:32:59,239
<i>It's so easy to say no one is immature.</i>

848
01:32:59,240 --> 01:33:03,535
<i>Christianity says you must forgive,</i>
<i>you must have no resentment.</i>

849
01:33:03,536 --> 01:33:06,622
<i>I don't have resentment, but I have hurt.</i>
<i>How can I get rid of that?</i>

850
01:33:08,082 --> 01:33:10,167
<i>One last cigarette, and you drive me home?</i>

851
01:33:18,218 --> 01:33:22,596
The phenomenal publicity that surrounds
your friendship with Aristotle Onassis,

852
01:33:22,597 --> 01:33:24,640
to what extent does that limit your life?

853
01:33:24,641 --> 01:33:27,517
Does that, in fact,
create a barrier that prevents you

854
01:33:27,518 --> 01:33:30,979
meeting and talking because you know
that flashbulbs are going to flash?

855
01:33:31,481 --> 01:33:33,774
Of course, it's not pleasant, because...

856
01:33:34,567 --> 01:33:36,777
there is no relaxation.

857
01:33:36,778 --> 01:33:39,780
He is a married man.
Before, I was a married woman.

858
01:33:39,781 --> 01:33:43,408
I still am, but I'm going to get a divorce
if the divorce law comes out.

859
01:33:43,993 --> 01:33:47,120
And well, they have created problems.

860
01:33:47,121 --> 01:33:49,414
He had a family. He had children.

861
01:33:49,415 --> 01:33:51,625
Now he has a wife; I've never met her.

862
01:33:52,377 --> 01:33:54,211
Never. And so...

863
01:33:55,129 --> 01:33:58,423
naturally, not having met her,
it could create problems.

864
01:33:58,424 --> 01:34:00,801
I don't know. I hope not.

865
01:34:01,552 --> 01:34:05,555
'Cause I'm not the kind of type
that would create problems.

866
01:34:05,556 --> 01:34:08,225
But I mean, a meeting like that
is made much more difficult

867
01:34:08,226 --> 01:34:09,977
by all the publicity, I presume.

868
01:34:10,561 --> 01:34:11,979
Well, I don't know.

869
01:34:11,980 --> 01:34:15,274
It depends on whether the man needs you.

870
01:34:15,275 --> 01:34:20,862
There are many a time that I'm sure
Onassis needs me as a friend,

871
01:34:20,863 --> 01:34:22,614
because I would tell him the truth.

872
01:34:23,533 --> 01:34:25,575
Not that you men like the truth.

873
01:34:26,202 --> 01:34:27,452
-Oh.
-Not...

874
01:34:28,746 --> 01:34:31,123
-Hey, well...
-Don't we? Oh, we love it.

875
01:34:31,124 --> 01:34:33,000
-Oh, no.
-We're so grateful for it.

876
01:34:34,210 --> 01:34:37,129
-You're lying.
- We're so grateful for the truth.

877
01:34:37,130 --> 01:34:38,463
We can't get enough of it.

878
01:34:39,382 --> 01:34:44,344
I'm quite sure, though, that Mr. Onassis
would always come to me with his problems,

879
01:34:44,345 --> 01:34:49,433
knowing that I would never repeat
and he would find an objective mind.

880
01:34:51,185 --> 01:34:55,647
Now, I bet you're wondering,
would I need his friendship?

881
01:34:55,648 --> 01:34:57,691
Yes, l suppose.

882
01:34:57,692 --> 01:34:59,568
And would you go to him with a problem?

883
01:35:00,361 --> 01:35:04,823
Yes, but l have many friends, also,
that in the meantime have taken place.

884
01:35:04,824 --> 01:35:06,992
I mean, just plain good friends.

885
01:35:07,618 --> 01:35:10,037
I would. I would.

886
01:35:26,387 --> 01:35:28,263
Medea is your first film,

887
01:35:28,264 --> 01:35:31,683
but is it the first film
you've ever been offered?

888
01:35:31,684 --> 01:35:33,727
No, I've been offered several,

889
01:35:33,728 --> 01:35:38,023
but it's the first one
I thought was worthy enough

890
01:35:38,024 --> 01:35:39,983
for me not to say no.

891
01:35:39,984 --> 01:35:44,196
For an actress,
I think it's a wonderful role.

892
01:35:46,824 --> 01:35:49,326
You're a friend of Pasolini, l believe.

893
01:35:49,327 --> 01:35:52,079
I've become his friend, I think.

894
01:35:52,080 --> 01:35:55,707
My collaboration with Mr. Pasolini
has really been...

895
01:35:57,168 --> 01:35:59,669
It's been very...

896
01:36:00,296 --> 01:36:04,132
very moving and very real,
every minute of the day.

897
01:36:06,636 --> 01:36:09,971
(speaking French)

898
01:36:14,394 --> 01:36:16,269
<i>Everything is timing in life.</i>

899
01:36:16,771 --> 01:36:22,067
<i>What we are trying, I may say,</i>
<i>is to find the human part of Medea.</i>

900
01:36:22,276 --> 01:36:23,360
A woman.

901
01:36:25,613 --> 01:36:27,572
With all the experiences of a woman.

902
01:36:28,783 --> 01:36:31,618
Even more so. Everything is bigger.

903
01:36:32,703 --> 01:36:34,579
Bigger sacrifice, big...

904
01:36:34,580 --> 01:36:36,832
Everything is bigger.
The scenery is bigger.

905
01:36:37,333 --> 01:36:40,419
But the hurt is just there,
just the same as any other woman.

906
01:36:41,045 --> 01:36:42,379
Even more so.

907
01:36:51,180 --> 01:36:53,640
(speaking Italian)

908
01:37:01,482 --> 01:37:03,733
How much would you like
to make more films?

909
01:37:05,403 --> 01:37:07,404
I don't have that much experience.

910
01:37:07,405 --> 01:37:09,573
I don't know what
this experience will bring me,

911
01:37:09,574 --> 01:37:12,659
so I think we should
talk about that a little later

912
01:37:12,660 --> 01:37:15,996
when I've finished this work.

913
01:37:16,289 --> 01:37:20,834
But I must say that this role is the...
at least the way we've built it up.

914
01:37:20,835 --> 01:37:22,210
I don't know whether you know it,

915
01:37:22,211 --> 01:37:24,379
and I don't know how the public
will take it, but...

916
01:37:24,380 --> 01:37:29,718
I don't think you can find roles
as hard and as vast as this one.

917
01:37:29,719 --> 01:37:32,804
I think we are starting at the end
instead of at the beginning.

918
01:38:01,751 --> 01:38:06,087
<i>I'll let Mr. Pasolini speak</i>
<i>because he's got to know me.</i>

919
01:38:06,088 --> 01:38:09,090
<i>He can judge me objectively.</i>

920
01:38:09,091 --> 01:38:11,760
<i>What am I like, Pier Paolo, really?</i>

921
01:38:11,761 --> 01:38:14,554
<i>The thing you like most is work.</i>

922
01:38:14,555 --> 01:38:16,848
<i>-That's true.</i>
<i>-And then life.</i>

923
01:38:16,849 --> 01:38:18,183
<i>Life itself.</i>

924
01:38:18,184 --> 01:38:21,353
<i>So you see me as a life enthusiast.</i>

925
01:38:21,354 --> 01:38:24,231
<i>-I take part...</i>
<i>-You always have strong feelings.</i>

926
01:38:24,232 --> 01:38:27,984
<i>When you're happy,</i>
<i>you're completely and utterly happy.</i>

927
01:38:28,319 --> 01:38:30,612
<i>The same when you're unhappy.</i>

928
01:38:30,613 --> 01:38:32,322
<i>Yes, but I hide, don't I?</i>

929
01:38:32,323 --> 01:38:35,617
<i>-Is there room for love then?</i>
<i>-Yes, but love is so difficult.</i>

930
01:38:35,618 --> 01:38:38,495
<i>And you pay a heavy price.</i>

931
01:38:38,496 --> 01:38:42,415
<i>Good God, love is something very noble,</i>

932
01:38:42,416 --> 01:38:45,043
<i>but, my God, it can be difficult...</i>

933
01:38:49,715 --> 01:38:54,135
In the coming years, you have to realize

934
01:38:54,136 --> 01:38:57,430
that I can't go on singing forever,
obviously.

935
01:38:57,431 --> 01:39:01,142
If I'm considered, at least,
a decent actress,

936
01:39:01,143 --> 01:39:02,978
that's already a great deal for me.

937
01:39:04,855 --> 01:39:08,108
And it opens up
the possibility of working,

938
01:39:08,109 --> 01:39:10,610
in the few young years which I have left.

939
01:39:10,987 --> 01:39:11,987
Honestly.

940
01:39:11,988 --> 01:39:14,239
Why do you say "young years"?

941
01:39:14,240 --> 01:39:17,117
Surely one can act at any age?

942
01:39:17,118 --> 01:39:19,911
That's true.

943
01:39:19,912 --> 01:39:23,206
But I can see very clearly
into the future,

944
01:39:23,207 --> 01:39:25,584
and I'm a young woman...

945
01:39:25,585 --> 01:39:27,794
but not so young anymore.

946
01:39:27,795 --> 01:39:32,257
You say you need to work,
so why haven't you sung for four years?

947
01:39:32,258 --> 01:39:33,633
I wasn't well.

948
01:39:34,885 --> 01:39:37,637
My health was...

949
01:39:37,638 --> 01:39:40,307
I can't say l fell apart, but...

950
01:39:40,766 --> 01:39:43,059
ever since I was a child,

951
01:39:44,145 --> 01:39:46,855
I seem really, really strong,

952
01:39:47,356 --> 01:39:49,274
but in fact, I'm not.

953
01:39:49,942 --> 01:39:53,194
Then there was my career,
which was really tough

954
01:39:53,195 --> 01:39:54,779
though really wonderful,

955
01:39:55,448 --> 01:39:57,657
with all the stress and so on...

956
01:39:57,658 --> 01:40:00,910
And of course,
the body cannot withstand it all.

957
01:40:01,537 --> 01:40:03,163
I'm a woman, after all.

958
01:40:04,206 --> 01:40:09,210
Do you have a precise plan
or a desire you would like to fulfill?

959
01:40:11,172 --> 01:40:14,633
I'm open to any... to any...

960
01:40:15,843 --> 01:40:17,302
temptation.

961
01:40:17,303 --> 01:40:20,263
Now that I've made a start,
if people like me,

962
01:40:21,265 --> 01:40:23,642
maybe I can start having a little fun.

963
01:40:24,352 --> 01:40:25,769
Lady Macbeth?

964
01:40:26,228 --> 01:40:30,023
That's very tempting.
I've done it on the opera stage.

965
01:40:30,524 --> 01:40:32,817
I have to admit, I'd be tempted.

966
01:40:33,277 --> 01:40:34,402
What else?

967
01:40:34,403 --> 01:40:36,821
Even comic roles, I'd like that.

968
01:40:43,663 --> 01:40:45,705
Madam President!

969
01:41:12,483 --> 01:41:16,277
The 38th Artists' Gala is now open.

970
01:41:16,737 --> 01:41:18,655
Let the attractions begin!

971
01:41:59,905 --> 01:42:01,823
Maria? Maria!

972
01:42:46,869 --> 01:42:50,246
<i>At first,</i>
<i>I would not let him into the flat,</i>

973
01:42:51,165 --> 01:42:54,709
<i>but imagine that one day</i>
<i>he kept on whistling outside,</i>

974
01:42:54,710 --> 01:42:58,797
<i>as young men used to do</i>
<i>in Greece 50 years ago.</i>

975
01:42:59,715 --> 01:43:02,091
<i>They wooed their sweethearts with song.</i>

976
01:43:02,968 --> 01:43:06,012
<i>So I had to let him in</i>
<i>before the press realized</i>

977
01:43:06,013 --> 01:43:08,681
<i>what was going on</i>
<i>in Avenue Georges Mandel.</i>

978
01:43:09,725 --> 01:43:13,770
<i>Nevertheless, at the time,</i>
<i>I was terribly upset</i>

979
01:43:13,771 --> 01:43:16,397
<i>and thought him a proper bastard.</i>

980
01:43:17,149 --> 01:43:20,276
<i>I used other words</i>
<i>I do not care to repeat.</i>

981
01:43:21,320 --> 01:43:24,447
<i>It was later, when he came back,</i>

982
01:43:24,448 --> 01:43:28,326
<i>and when I began to regain my lost pride,</i>

983
01:43:28,327 --> 01:43:33,915
<i>that I was able to put things in a wiser</i>
<i>and more realistic perspective.</i>

984
01:43:35,084 --> 01:43:39,754
<i>Of course, his immediate explanation</i>
<i>was that his marriage was a mistake.</i>

985
01:43:39,755 --> 01:43:44,133
<i>His mistake, not his wife's,</i>
<i>as I bluntly told him.</i>

986
01:43:44,718 --> 01:43:47,554
<i>He got exactly what he had bargained for,</i>

987
01:43:47,555 --> 01:43:50,849
<i>and he had only himself to blame.</i>

988
01:43:50,850 --> 01:43:53,017
<i>His so-called "marriage contract"</i>

989
01:43:53,018 --> 01:43:56,020
<i>was a bizarre arrangement</i>
<i>I could never understand.</i>

990
01:43:57,982 --> 01:43:59,399
<i>I took him back.</i>

991
01:44:01,026 --> 01:44:04,571
<i>That is how my great friendship</i>
<i>with Aristo was born.</i>

992
01:44:04,572 --> 01:44:06,990
<i>Let's say, a passionate friendship.</i>

993
01:44:11,996 --> 01:44:14,664
<i>After his marriage, we never quarreled.</i>

994
01:44:15,624 --> 01:44:19,752
<i>We talked things through constructively.</i>
<i>He stopped arguing.</i>

995
01:44:20,963 --> 01:44:23,840
<i>There was no longer the need</i>
<i>to prove anything,</i>

996
01:44:23,841 --> 01:44:26,968
<i>either to ourselves or to one another.</i>

997
01:44:29,430 --> 01:44:31,931
<i>My affair with Onassis was a failure,</i>

998
01:44:33,017 --> 01:44:34,934
<i>but my friendship with him...</i>

999
01:44:35,936 --> 01:44:37,520
<i>was a success.</i>

1000
01:44:47,698 --> 01:44:51,034
You recently said
in a newspaper interview:

1001
01:44:51,035 --> 01:44:53,745
"I believe I must be
just a little American kid

1002
01:44:53,746 --> 01:44:58,249
at the back of my mind,
because I wanted someone, Prince Charming,

1003
01:44:58,250 --> 01:45:01,085
to come in and take me away."

1004
01:45:01,086 --> 01:45:03,546
-Very true.
-Do you think he ever will?

1005
01:45:03,547 --> 01:45:06,841
Up to now, he hasn't. Or rather, he has.

1006
01:45:08,802 --> 01:45:10,887
You know the man I'm talking, of course.

1007
01:45:10,888 --> 01:45:14,057
It was only the second man
and probably the only one,

1008
01:45:14,058 --> 01:45:16,935
a non-husband, Mr. Onassis.

1009
01:45:16,936 --> 01:45:19,479
And, you see...

1010
01:45:21,315 --> 01:45:23,274
You hope a lot. Maybe it's my fault.

1011
01:45:23,275 --> 01:45:28,738
I put a man on a pedestal,
and... I hoped a lot,

1012
01:45:28,739 --> 01:45:32,200
and I probably was disappointed,
and it probably was my fault.

1013
01:45:32,993 --> 01:45:35,620
-Do you still hope?
-Hope in what?

1014
01:45:35,621 --> 01:45:38,164
-To find...?
-You still hope Prince Charming will come?

1015
01:45:38,624 --> 01:45:40,917
Well, it won't be
Prince Charming at our age.

1016
01:45:40,918 --> 01:45:43,419
At my age, I don't expect
a Prince Charming.

1017
01:45:43,420 --> 01:45:47,340
I expect a mature man
who will accept me as I am

1018
01:45:47,341 --> 01:45:49,467
-and wilI guide me--
-Would you give up singing then?

1019
01:45:49,468 --> 01:45:51,177
-Oh, naturally.
-You would?

1020
01:45:51,178 --> 01:45:52,762
Well, at this age, yes.

1021
01:45:53,430 --> 01:45:58,267
It has been said Maria Callas
gave up singing for Aristotle Onassis.

1022
01:46:00,980 --> 01:46:07,318
Well, I could do without answering that,
but I think it's an honest question.

1023
01:46:10,072 --> 01:46:14,534
I thought that when l met a man I loved
that I didn't need to sing.

1024
01:46:15,160 --> 01:46:19,956
Because I think that a woman necess...
the most important thing in a woman

1025
01:46:19,957 --> 01:46:24,293
is to have a man of her own
and to make him happy.

1026
01:46:24,294 --> 01:46:27,422
And I have integrity,
which is a very expensive...

1027
01:46:27,798 --> 01:46:30,842
using Onassis' words,
it's a very expensive...

1028
01:46:31,635 --> 01:46:34,095
price to pay for integrity and honesty.

1029
01:46:35,472 --> 01:46:37,015
But I can pay that price.

1030
01:47:05,502 --> 01:47:08,713
Maria! Maria!

1031
01:47:09,298 --> 01:47:14,177
Maria! Maria! Maria!

1032
01:47:35,282 --> 01:47:36,991
Maria!

1033
01:47:42,414 --> 01:47:46,250
I must say, this evening,
I was a little more emotion than usual,

1034
01:47:46,251 --> 01:47:50,254
because when a public loves me that much,
I have to give that much more...

1035
01:47:51,090 --> 01:47:52,548
and there's no end to it.

1036
01:47:58,222 --> 01:48:01,849
So I'll try a little more,
and I'll do the usual song,

1037
01:48:01,850 --> 01:48:04,560
<i>which I... "O mio babbino caro."</i>

1038
01:48:04,561 --> 01:48:06,395
"O my public caro."

1039
01:48:36,760 --> 01:48:39,178
<i>It's really very, very rewarding.</i>

1040
01:48:40,514 --> 01:48:45,226
<i>They were probably applauding</i>
<i>what they were hoping to hear.</i>

1041
01:48:45,227 --> 01:48:49,063
<i>I don't know if they were really...</i>
<i>if I deserved all that,</i>

1042
01:48:49,064 --> 01:48:52,108
<i>but you can never fight the public.</i>

1043
01:48:52,109 --> 01:48:54,735
<i>So they seem very happy,</i>
<i>but I must say also,</i>

1044
01:48:54,736 --> 01:48:58,948
<i>they were very grateful, as I was also,</i>

1045
01:48:58,949 --> 01:49:00,741
<i>that I was able to come back.</i>

1046
01:49:01,618 --> 01:49:06,289
You can't just applaud the legend,
if you don't give them something to...

1047
01:49:07,416 --> 01:49:09,292
And after all, what is the legend?

1048
01:49:09,293 --> 01:49:10,793
The public made me.

1049
01:49:11,378 --> 01:49:12,628
What is a legend?

1050
01:49:13,964 --> 01:49:17,508
I think l'm a very human, human being.

1051
01:49:17,509 --> 01:49:20,511
If I wasn't human,
I probably would have sung better.

1052
01:49:21,096 --> 01:49:23,973
I had a touch of nerves
in the beginning, and...

1053
01:49:25,225 --> 01:49:28,519
You see, when a public loves you so much,
you want to do so much more.

1054
01:49:29,229 --> 01:49:33,774
And what I want more is
never what I would like to.

1055
01:49:33,775 --> 01:49:35,735
Not even in the good old days.

1056
01:50:50,978 --> 01:50:53,771
<i>When I saw Aristo for the last time,</i>

1057
01:50:54,523 --> 01:50:58,442
<i>he was calm and,</i>
<i>I think, at peace with himself.</i>

1058
01:50:59,027 --> 01:51:03,364
<i>He was very ill, and he knew</i>
<i>that the end was near,</i>

1059
01:51:03,365 --> 01:51:05,324
<i>though he tried to ignore it.</i>

1060
01:51:09,246 --> 01:51:11,998
<i>We did not speak about old times</i>

1061
01:51:12,499 --> 01:51:14,375
<i>or much about anything else.</i>

1062
01:51:15,836 --> 01:51:19,422
<i>We mostly communicated</i>
<i>with each other in silence.</i>

1063
01:51:21,258 --> 01:51:23,301
<i>As I was about to leaνe,</i>

1064
01:51:23,302 --> 01:51:25,761
<i>he made a special effort to tell me...</i>

1065
01:51:29,308 --> 01:51:30,683
<i>"I loved you.</i>

1066
01:51:31,810 --> 01:51:36,022
<i>Not always well,</i>
<i>but as much and the best I could.</i>

1067
01:51:37,316 --> 01:51:38,524
<i>I tried."</i>

1068
01:51:42,612 --> 01:51:44,572
<i>I have written my memoirs.</i>

1069
01:51:45,949 --> 01:51:48,117
<i>They are in the music I interpret,</i>

1070
01:51:49,244 --> 01:51:51,787
<i>the only language I really know.</i>

1071
01:56:06,209 --> 01:56:11,130
<i>I want to thank all the public,</i>
<i>who remained close to me,</i>

1072
01:56:11,131 --> 01:56:15,426
<i>in difficult times,</i>
<i>not only in times of glory.</i>

1073
01:56:16,136 --> 01:56:18,637
<i>They wrote to me, they adored me,</i>

1074
01:56:18,638 --> 01:56:22,308
<i>they understood me,</i>
<i>generally they loved me.</i>

1075
01:56:22,309 --> 01:56:25,436
<i>So for that too I am very grateful.</i>

1076
01:56:25,437 --> 01:56:27,980
<i>I feel only gratitude towards the world.</i>

1077
01:56:28,523 --> 01:56:29,523
<i>That's all.</i>