Aristotle Onassis The Golden Greek (Maria Callas soundtrack)

Aristotle Onassis 1906-1975 was the smartest businessman of Asia Minor and Greece.
The immigrant from Smyrni, made his first million by his wits alone. Nobody helped him. He was 23.
Flamboyant, tempestuous, raucous, truculent, and belligerent, lavish and generous, loving and cruel, loved wine, women and song, in that order. He collected women.
Onassis was a big spender. He worked hard and played hard. He "sailed in high winds" and made it.
Aristo was a winner. He had big dreams. Big ideas. His projects were big, bigger than anyone else's, and he executed the plans perfectly.
Relentless in the single minded pursuit of his objectives.
Never afraid to speak his mind. His enemies, and he had many, called him "the old Turk", but never to his face.
Self educated, by the shores of Smyrni, no Continental Engineering and London School of Economics degrees, like the current crop of shipowners.
Aristo could recognize political talent when he saw it. He spent $10,000 for a night with Eva Peron:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14272407@N03/2043592868/
Maria, always adored him, wanted desperately to be his wife, spent 9 years of her life with him. Her and another million women, wanting to wed the richest man in the world. Callas was not another woman, Maria was the voice of the twentieth century.
Callas, the American born, Greek soprano, was also the best operatic heroine in the world. Her love affair with Ari, was the stuff Greek tragedies are made of.
He run to her, after Alexandros' death.
Callas' last pilgrimage was to Skorpios and his grave.
Maria, "the divine one" as Aristo called her, stated once: "I would like to be Maria, but there is "La Callas" who demands that I carry myself with her dignity."
Aristo freed the Maria in herself. He opened her up, gently like a rose and make her feel like a woman, for the first time in her life. Callas confided to Franco Zeffirelli(no big fan of Onassis or women): "I felt like a virgin with Aristo."
Onassis met Kings, Presidents, Sheiks and dictators. Dated Princesses, stars, starlets and divas. He had seen it all, and done it all. Maria Callas, the divine one, was the only true love of his life.
Aristo's advice on being successful: "To be successful, keep looking tanned, live in an elegant building (even if you're in the cellar), be seen in nice restaurants (even if you only nurse one drink) and if you borrow, borrow big."
Aristo said once: "After a certain point, money is meaningless. It ceases to be the goal. The game is what counts."
Aristo, was true to his name, the very best player in the game.
The soundtrack's first Aria is from the Opera Norma, written in 1831, the piece is "Casta Diva" by Vincenzo Bellini, the conductor was Tullio Serafin conducting the Milan Teatro alla Scala Orchestra, an EMI label release, in stereo. The exact part Maria Callas is singing in "Casta diva" with an English translation can be found here:
http://www.aria-database.com/translations/norma04_casta.txt
The second Aria, is from the Opera La Wally, written in 1892 by Alfredo Catalani, the piece is "Ebben" , the conductor was again Tullio Serafin, conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra, an EMI label release, a mono recording. DSP chips can do miracles even in mono recordings with Callas' voice.
The heroine in Act I of La Wally, vows to escape an arranged marriage and contemplates the dangers of the long journey away from home. Dangers, Hellenic expatriates, the world over, are very familiar with. The libretto for La Wally can be found here: http://www.karadar.com/Librettos/catalani_wally.html
The exact part Maria Callas is singing in "Ebben," with an English translation, can be found here: http://www.aria-database.com/translations/wally03_ebben.txt
Both excerpts are examples of "Bel Canto" meaning "to sing beautifully," the style Maria Callas "La Voix Du XXeme Siecle" singlehandedly revived. A very difficult and demanding style, only "La Divina" could sing with such perfection.
Euripides in "Alcestis" written in 438BC has set the bar sky high for Hellenes:
Alcestis: "To honor you (Admetus, her husband and one of the Argonauts), and at the cost of my own life, that you may still behold the light, I die." verses 283-284. In ancient Greek: "Ego se presvevousa, k'anti tis emis psyhis katastisasa fos tod' eisoran, thnisko."
Maria Callas having recorded Alcestis on 4.4.1954 knew the story well and wanted her life to imitate her art. Jackie O. regrettably was not too familiar with the story.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• Aristotle
• Onassis
• Αριστοτέλης
• Ωνάσης
• Maria
• Callas
• Μαρία
• Κάλλας

[MultiHLH]

@olga2415 Wow, quite an indictment for someone you never met. I'm sure you have your moments like the rest of us, but everyone has a good and not-so-good side. Money is important to an extent and no one wants to be poor. Calling someone, anyone, names like this is not very nice either. Maybe you should go after Stalin, Hitler, Osama bin Laden, etc if you want to pass judgement on bad people.

[myth110]

Aristo Ariaso why you married the first WHORE of America ,... you suck, and dead

HAHAHAH!!!

[deriko181]

i think without greece we are nothing....

[Bhurzum]

@flamesdemon19 I spent my first honeymoon in Greece, a lovely little island called Zakynthos (Zante). The people were incredibly polite, friendly and full of warmth. The women were beautiful, utterly charming and according to my wife, the men were equally attractive.

We spent a fair bit of time on the mainland and it was exactly the same. Gorgeous countryside, awesome people and it helped make our honeymoon perfect.

Maria Callas brought me here by the way, she is a legend!

[ibadi45]

Great video. Smart comments, beautiful pictures, and a wonderful soundtrack. Only Maria Callas ' s voice could give the right feelings to a video like this. Thank you very much.

[MrAntinet]

Onassis was a whale killing elitist sociopath.

[flamesdemon19]

@GhostRaider18765 Thanks.In fact,the Greeks have already started waking up and protesting against the unbarable life conditions we have.And soon,the rest of the E.U. countries will follow.Every person will be free of the tyranny they force them to have and I just hope the rest of the countries will not have to encounter what Greece did in order for the people to protest too.

[MrHbc3]

I haven't paid that much attention to Onassis, but he seems just to be another person who frantically chases the concept of "having it all." He married J. Kennedy as a status symbol A "status symbol"? Married her for that? The emptiness inside must have been horrendous. Whatever she was, and I have no real idea, she had no use for him except the money. Callas, for whatever reasons, was as unfortunate as any woman who loves a sociopath. They are sooo convincing, but they are sociopaths.

[flamesdemon19]

@GhostRaider18765 People in Greece are not that fag-looking.And of course they are not ugly.Not all of them.I mean,it depends on the person.Every country has beautiful and ugly people.But he was just lucky to be a famous person.But no.Greek people have mostly different looks.Some have same hairstyles and stuff because it's cool but everyone is different on the way they look.As for Greece,it's a beautiful country.But really poor.Especialy after the destructions that happened recently.

[flamesdemon19]

@Ultra13Violence Yeah.I'm from Greece.I accidentaly sent you a comment but it was supposed to be sent on someone else in the video who was insulting Greece.

[Ultra13Violence]

@flamesdemon19 what you mean i dont understand and you are from Greece right in greek!

[flamesdemon19]

@olga2415 lol.I guess.XD