Eleni Radou responds to Poppy Diamantakos’ review: “More laugh than sad”

‘ I accepted to play Callas’ mother because she was a bold personality for that time,” says Poppy Diamantaku’s negative criticism of the series “Maria who became Callas”, spoke among others, Helen Radu in statements she made to television cameras that achieved her outside the theatre performing. The quote aired Thursday morning (16.01.2025). ADVERSE “Bravo! Everyone has the right to say what they want. I’m trained to accept everything. I think it was an excess and I am very pleased with the result. All comments are welcome, anyone can have their opinion. We have fought many years so that everyone can speak their mind. Even if you disagree, everyone has that right,” the well-known actress first commented. “Me with my years and experiences, I laugh more at all this than I feel sad. We actors don’t judge, we do things. This is our bravery. I don’t follow the numbers. When you make a series at ERT, you are not interested in competition, you are doing it because you are interested in the work itself,” he continued for the comments heard about the series that tells Maria Callas’ life. CORVERSE “I agreed to play Callas’ mother because she was a bold personality for that time. Greece has a low budget, the dream of “the village” cannot be realized and entered Netflix. I don’t deal with the repetitions of “Constantinus and Eleni”, because I was tired,” Eleni Radou said at the end. Popi Diamantakos’ caustic criticism Telecritic Poppy Diamantakos, with a long Facebook post, commented on what she saw in the series “The Maria Who became Callas”, interpretations and production. The telecritics commented that the series did not take the opportunity to be a remarkable artistic effort, remaining a missed opportunity for both the Greek and the international public. At another point he stressed that production does not meet the expectations of a series dealing with diva life. He then called Helen Radou’s performance as a “caricature of a strict mother” and partially recognized the interpretations of Maximos Moumouris and Ioannis Papazzis as he said, they had missed the editing and script. The entire post of the telecritics: “Maria who became a… lost opportunity for Callas even in her first steps in a poor Greece, under the yoke of the conquerors, ERT’s “Maria” does not seem qualified. Because the name Callas is obviously not enough to sparkle a poor production reminiscent of ERT 30 years ago and put it on. Too bad because it was an opportunity for ERT to give a dynamic artistic present with a production of high standards, to notice it abroad and put the glasses in Hollywood and Jolie, who also failed to fight unsuccessfully for two hours in order to get the Oscar. Directing leniently in-depth (a shame because Malea in our “Best Years” liked it). The exterior scenes so rough they cause incense. The constantly narrow frame on the exterior shooting, in case any modern building appears to have suffocated us. The funniest – I’m sorry to say – the choice of outdoors. Those miserable shrubs, who played the natural decor the same always for a bunch of exterior scenes, looked like a flower outside ERT (is that it?). Has the National Garden been lost? He was the same in the interwar period. And Athens may be a city that has not kept its memories but there are neighborhoods, which could well become a mid-war setting. And if they didn’t know where to find them, they’d ask scholars. For example MONUMENTA and Irini Gracia have full records of buildings and areas,” she originally wrote. “But “Maria” also failed in interpretations. Helen Radu plays the… I suppose he studied, as it should be, Calla’s mother’s letter to Callas, here at the Callas Museum in Metropolis, and understood what we’re seeing? Somethin’ save Maximos Moumouris with his German and the flawless accent, somehow Ioannis Papazisis as baritone Maggliveras and after-life lover of Mary, although he was heartbroken by the folly of montage. This is where the big festival took place. Especially in the 6th episode, where reference is made to the patriotic event of the rescue of ancient statues by Greek archaeologists and supposedly had an active participation and Magliveras, becomes the alalum with the famous Cycladic figurine, the harpist, who the Germans want to steal from him, undertakes Callas, to prevent, dips it out of the podium, appears a child hiding in the podium and the figurine reappears to snatch it from the podium’s hiding place and here figurine, where the figurine took the figurine… Apparently some footage was eaten in the editing and the narrative was as if it had… a hiccups. The very young Cleopatra Eleftheriadou, very talented, also say in her own beautiful voice, does not seem to have much guidance on how to interpret Maria. Sweet, laughable and identical in all the scenes, either as in love, or as a very ferocious soprano on stage, or shy and unextracted Mary, or wronged by her envious colleagues alike, as if they were all flowing water over her,” she stressed. “Yes, it is difficult if it has not proved impossible to make a film or television series the life of a Myth (from Elvis and Monroe to Callas). But it can become a new well-made, folk tale, where the truth holds the smallest role in fiction, so that the enchanted and those who did not catch up with them (such as Kazantzidis of Ceberopoulos). Too bad for ERT such good actors, so much effort, such a failure,” she wrote at the end of her criticism.