THE DAY THE PRESIDENT DIES

For days the four of us were glued to the screen,I was the only American, Bruna,Consuelo and Ferrucio were Italians, it didn't matter agony and suffering know no borders.We cried our hearts out,

\at Madison Square for President Kennedy 's forty-fifth birthday gala, and at the Paris Opera, where I met the man and my destiny.For the first time in Europe's history a show was telecast live to nine countries,the new  Europe des Six and three other neighboring nations,I stood out center stage,the woman,the voice,her gown. 

 I would not have achieved world recognition off stage  without the supreme elegance of  her Haute Couture,Biki created Callas the fashion model.

TO LOOSE WEIGHT

Who cares for Fatsa,the fat diva,I want to loose weight to become the most wanted woman on the planet,to be High Society,to reign supreme on stage and off stage.

I need fresh air,was suffocating ,as much as I loved Titta, I need a change, I now see him as my third poodle Tixie,along with Dixie and Pixie.

Biki,Puccini's grand-daughter,is the unsung heroine of the legend.When we first met I did like her at all.

--- Our Boutique has nothing your size,we could create some Couture

--- Shall be back, right now  I am too busy 

Her prices were outrageous,I found her arrogant, was the grand-daughter of Puccini so what, I don't like his music anyway. 

Two years later I went back for Haute Couture.I lost weight , was different from every woman of Italy, so Biki and Alain Reynaud,her son-in-law who trained in Paris with Jacques Fath, created outfits that no one but me can wear,wherever I go,whatever I wear I create sensation.La Callas' Legend has started. 

For Queen Elizabeth at Covent Garden 's Centennial Gala Biki created a  black lace gown with a vertiginous back decollete ,it created sensation,no low cut in presence of her Majesty so Biki designed something different, I sang two arias then to be presented. The Queen could not be more gracious,the smiles were royal and the most beautiful complexion ever.

Fo\at Madison Square for President Kennedy 's forty-fifth birthday gala, and at the Paris Opera, where I met the man and my destiny.For the first time in Europe's history a show was telecast live to nine countries,the new  Europe des Six and three other neighboring nations,I stood out center stage,the woman,the voice,her gown. 

 I would not have achieved world recognition off stage  without the supreme elegance of  her Haute Couture,Biki created Callas the fashion model.

THE ROUGE ET LE NOIR

  Anna Magnani and I met,at a dinner party at Franco Zeffirelli's new abode in Rome. 

--- I am a fan, watched Rose Tattoo twice, learned so much from the way you portrayed the "Sicilian widow ".On my night of infamy, 2 January 1958 at the Rome Opera,you had the best seat,central front row next to La Lollo in red flamboyant designer's gown,yours was a black affair, the lowest low-cut  that " showed your belly button ",I missed my cue watching it  from  backstage.
--- I was not raped that night to my great disappointment, I would have loved it, a first.
--- I saw all your movies, love The Fugitive Kind  with Marlon Brando,directed by Sidney Lumet
---  You didn't like all  the others ?
--- Ilike them all
It was not the best time to start a fight with la Magnani,born in Rome ,she paid her way at the Rome's Academy of Dramatic Art by singing at night clubs.Tragedy struck when her only son had polio, was 18 months old and remained crippled.She was called many names,"La Lupa","The Toast of Rome"," The she-wolf " of the Italian cinema,on film as in life she was incandescent,"fiery", "volcanic",loved and admired by men,envied by women,director Roberto Rossellini said of her that she was "the greatest acting genius since Eleonora Duse", won the first Oscar by an Italian actress for the" Rose Tatoo" written for her by  Tennessee Williams .We had fame,fortune before hell on earth,achieved world wide recognition in 1945 in Rossellini's Rome, Open City (1945),the first movie to launch the Italian neorealism,in life as on films she was dynamic,hyper,famous for her acting inThe Miracle (1948), Bellissima (1951), The Rose Tattoo (1955),The Fugitive Kind (1960), with Marlon Brando and directed by Sidney Lumet, and Mamma Roma (1962). 

THE MIRACLE WORKER

In 1975 I saw Mario Giacovazzo for the first time, an internist at Rome Polytechnical Hospital.The man was an opera lover and a fan so happily flew to Paris to see me,confirmed that my  illness was the cause of my voice loss,was the first to pinpoint the exact nature of my problems, it was not depression or dementia  nor folie douce, mental and emotional problems were Not the cause of my voice loss.As much as I love Ari the boucanier,Music was, is and will always be my great love, I would not give up my career for anyone, not for an older man,rich and seductively ugly.

It was a matter of pride, was physically, emotionally worn down by my breakup with Ari, the man in my life for the past nine years who abandoned me to marry Jacqueline Kennedy.Without my voice I was nothing, but have not become demented,or suicidal or" bizarre",another"Folle de Chaillot". 

An Opera lover and a fan,Dr.Giacovazzo understood my problems,I had dermatomyositis, a disease of the connective tissue which inflames my muscles and skin.It affects women more often than men and causes some muscle weakness, with me as and with most people a purplish rash does appear.It also causes joint pain and heart inflammation .

 I trusted Dr.Giacovazzo, he came to me highly recommended,had good bedside manners,was the physician of Aldo Moro, the Italian Premier who was killed by Red Brigades terrorists in 1978.His diagnosis was right on,told me what I already knew,I was worn out, had debilitating chronic fatigue,he also noticed  that I had a brownish skin colour and the violet tinge on the left side of my neck.My hands were also covered with warts, another symptom of the disease.

My  larynx and vocal cords were affected , so he prescribed a steroid drug, prednisone,it was a miracle , I recovered and fell well enough to make plans for the future with di Stefano, was going back to the stage for concerts with or without Guiseppe,and  whatever people said or thought I want to go back on singing for me, myself not for Ari, to show him off.