Larger than life
Sir: The BBC documentary Maria Callas: A Big Destiny was not full of inaccuracies, as Michael Scott suggested in his article, `Callas: fact and fiction' (Arts, 8 August). The programme's purpose was not just to debunk some of the myths surrounding Callas, but to pay tribute to one of the cen- tury's greatest performing artists. Closer scrutiny of the film would show that many of Michael Scott's criticisms simply do not stand up.
Scott questions the authenticity of the `Un bel di' recording used in the film. According to the world's acknowledged expert on Callas's recordings, John Ardoin, it is Callas's voice and Nina Foresti was a pseudonym used by Callas.
The film does not claim that Callas's greatness was first recognised at her 1947 Verona debut. It explicitly describes the reviews as lukewarm and Maria as disap- pointed while she spent the subsequent months without any offers of work.
The documentary does not state that Tosca was one of her greatest roles; we cite Norma instead. Clips from her 1964 Tosca were used because they are the only surviv- ing recordings of her in full costume, apart from some news snippets. They were used to illustrate her stagecraft, not the power of her (declining) voice. Michael Scott found the film's Greek contributors 'unoriginal', but it was through them that Ray Morgan, the British officer who had a relationship with Callas in 1944, was discovered. His story had eluded all the other biographers until now. Maria's sister Jackie was also contacted for the pro- gramme and her co-operation was acknowl- edged with her name in the list of credits.
It was Maria who dismissed her husband as a 'cuckold', not the documentary. We made very clear the contribution, financial and emotional, that he made to her early career.
Maria was not always obese, but she was certainly a lot heavier after the war than she was after her drastic slimming. The only time Maria was described as 'enormous' was by Richard Bonynge in reference to her 1952 appearance as Norma at Covent Gar- den. That was why we used a picture from that performance.
Martin Davidson
Producer, Maria Callas: A Big Destiny, BBC History Department, Wood Lane, London W12
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