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“Grand Marshall”
of the Columbus Parade,
Presents his new movie on Maria Callas
By Gianclaudio Angelini
THIS year the Columbus Citizens Foundation, organizers of the
Fifth Avenue Columbus Day Parade, on top of all the other exhibitions,
brought us the amazing pre-release screening of Franco Zeffirelli's
new film "Callas Forever." It won't be playing in
American theatres until the end of December. Maestro Zeffirelli
is a legend of the silver screen for works like "Romeo
and Juliet," "Hamlet," and "Tea With Mussolini,"
and in the worlds of opera and theater too ("La Boheme,"
"La Traviata"). He has directed a great many operas
at New York's Metropolitan.
Maestro Zeffirelli, welcome to New York.
“I'm here in the Big Apple because I was named Grand Marshall,
captain of the Columbus Day parade. It's a title I don't deserve,
but I am very deeply honored.”
Do you come to the US very often?
“I work at the Metropolitan a lot. In fact this season
they're doing five of my operas. Two are playing while I'm in
Manhattan: "Carmen" and "Turandot." Then
there's my movies. So yes, my presence in America is guaranteed.”
How would you describe your relationship with New York,
and with the United States?
“My life is bound to New York somewhat like one brother
to another. New York has given me so much, and I think in my
turn I've given New York plenty too. I inaugurated the new Lincoln
Center in 1966, and the new "Met." I've created eleven
new operas at the Metropolitan of which 8 or 9 are still in
the repertoire every year. New York has given me so much. As
Bernstein rightly said, if you don't find what you're looking
for in New York it's your own fault, it means you don't know
how.”
How do you explain the US's love for Italy, and in particular
for your city, Florence?
“The entire world admires us, not only America. For one
thing Italy is the part of the world where absolutely everything
happened. And Florence just as much, it's the capital city of
some of the most important stages of the events in the human
spirit.”
And has America influenced your theater and film work?
“An incredible amount. Not so much in opera, but in other
fields and sectors of the performance world, I'm thinking of
the stage, America gave us incredible authors like Williams
and Miller. I'm the one who brought "The Streetcar Named
Desire" and "Who's Afraid of Virgina Woolf" to
Italy for the first time.”
Why "Callas Forever"?
“The goddess passed away 25 years ago last September 16th.
In fact in Paris the film was shown on September 16th and it
was a great success. But not everyone remembers Maria Callas
was born right here in New York, in Brooklyn, and grew up here.
As a matter of fact she spoke English with a very American accent.”
And you directed her in many operas, Maestro?
“Five or six. We worked together in '55 at La Scala in
a Rossini opera. Then right after that, in '58, we went to Dallas
and put on "La Traviata," which in that era created
a huge sensation. Later we went back to Dallas, also we worked
together in Paris and London.”
What is it that inspired you, 25 years later, to dedicate
a film to the famous soprano?
“She became an abstract legend, her legendary voice made
her some kind of a marvelous voice-ghost. No one remembers what
it cost this ugly and overweight and poor woman to become Maria
Callas. The sacrifices, the renunciations, her vulnerability
as a woman. Her private life was truly squalid: a first marriage
with a much older man, more father than lover. Then the blow
from Onassis. She threw her entire self into the relationship
at a difficult time in her career. Onassis treated her horribly,
abandoned her for Jacqueline Kennedy, for squalid reasons. When
her voice started to fail Maria was left with nothing. Singing
got harder and harder for her, and moreso because she was a
perfectionist.”
In what sense?
“Her attitude was ‘If I'm not perfect, forget about
me.’ She had an artistic image to defend and she didn't
want to stoop to compromise when the inevitable happened and
her voice started to deteriorate. That's what cost her her life.
We were extremely worried. We knew she was isolated and had
problems, she didn't want to see hardly anyone. She had fallen
in the hands of a group of very dangerous Greeks, but none of
us thought she'd be dead at 53.”
And from these memories how did you get to the film?
"I thought before I end my career, why not tell the story
of the woman no one remembers anymore? Cinema has this extraordinary
power of being able to bring people to life, and their stories
and everyday realities. Why not use this extraordinary medium
to bring Maria Callas back to life, this woman that especially
the new generations know so little about?”
It's not a biography though.
“I've never liked biographical films. I think I've found
the way to tell the person's story, to make the person known,
without doing a real biography.”
They say the resemblance between Callas and Fanny Ardant, the
actress who plays her in the film, is more than just looks.
“It's true. Ardant has absorbed the spirit of Maria Callas
to the point where even I, who knew Callas very well, find it
difficult to find differences. The way the character has developed
is amazing.”
What is the "Zeffirelli Scholarship for the Arts”?
“The reason for the screening was to raise funds for a
scholarship with my name on it. I'm truly happy about it. The
"Zeffirelli Scholarship for the Arts" is a scholarship
for students from art schools who have distinguished themselves
in the fields of opera, directing, and entertainment. I want
to point out that the Columbus Foundation had a great to deal
to do with organizing this scholarship. I'm happy to contribute
to handing a positive and constructive message down to the new
generations. We want to help them discover their roots.”
At what age did you discover your artistic vocation?
“I had no spectacular conversion like Saint Paul's on
the Via di Tarso. As a child I was brought to the theater, to
the opera. Then as a student I decided to go to Florence to
the Accademia delle Belle Arti.
I studied architecture and scenography. Then the war ruined
all my plans. I was with the Partisans and later with the Scottish
Guards. It was hard times and I grew very much during it. After
the war, having returned to architectural work, I realized I
wanted to do theater. My career really was spectacular: I went
to Rome and became one of Visconti's students. He gave me extraordinary
projects as both scenographer and director. Then I debutted
at La Scala and from that point on it's been one satisfaction
after another.”
What advice would you give to a young person who wanted
to follow in Franco Zeffirelli's tracks?
“I'd say think it over well, and don't be afraid of the
uncertainties. Youth is the age of uncertainties. We have so
many open doors in front of us. Leave them open. Don't shut
yourself into only one direction, the wind will tell you which
way to go. Then it's important to be ready to fight. Nobody's
going to give you anything. Whatever way you follow you'll encounter
tremendous problems. Then there's the danger of complacency
and contentment, always in ambush. Don't be content with your
first victories. I'm eighty and I'm still thinking about my
next film. Like John Huston who practically died on set. Finally
I'd say a vocation toward love is indispensable. Carry it with
you all the time. Love of art, of nature, and of your neighbor.
This is the key to life. Maria Teresa of Calcutta left us an
extraordinary message: the hymn to life. It's a model of how
to live for me, try to hold steady to a positive approach.”
What is the dream, in Franco Zeffirelli's top desk drawer?
“I love the idea of creating a new great television series
on the second part of the life of Saint Francis. I did the first
part 30 years ago, the film "Brother Sun," which treats
the period of his youth, and the difficulties he had accepting
his path. In the second part I want to tell the story of the
mature Saint Francis - it'll be a series because of the large
amount of material. For now, it's "Callas Forever."
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