Definition of Diva - Maria Callas

        The Black Geishas

This summer we read M. Butterfly with Mr. Lewenstein.  Maria Callas captured our attention.  Her name isn't mentioned in the play, nor does she appear in the movie.  It's her voice that makes us want to write.  She's one of the most famous opera singers of all time. For Maria, nothing short of the best was acceptable.  She was a perfectionist.  She was a "diva."

A diva is a woman who demands all or nothing.

It’s either her way, or no way at all.  It’s not that she is selfish or mean spirited; it means she is talented and knows exactly what she wants.  She may be a perfectionist that strives for the impossible.  That may be good for her, but it can be absolute hell on earth for everyone she works with. Divas are most often associated with opera singers, but today the term often is used for top-of-the-line performers.  (D)emanding.  (I)ntense.  (V)ivacious.  (A)ttitude.  Think J-Lo.  Beyonce.  They fought their way to the top.  And now they are looking down at the rest of us.

In the movie “Callas Forever,” Maria Callas is so committed to excellence that she is ready to kill for it.  She’s fierce.  She’s determined, but she has no voice.  Once known as the best opera singer this world has ever known, she has been asked to lip-synch scenes in a movie to her  own voice.  The sound is already perfect.   It’s her voice that had been recorded nearly twenty years before.   Here is the problem:  she lives in a world of the past, and she has no way to cope with the world of the present.  She abuses all of her friends.  She terrorizes all of her co-workers.  She will never understand why they will never be able to match her passion or talent.   In the end, she destroys the project.

In “Callas Forever,” everyone loves Maria, but that’s not good enough for a diva.  Nothing ever will be.