Los Angeles Times by Kevin Thomas

The result is not only one of Zeffirelli's sumptuous productions but also a film that celebrates the sacredness of artistic integrity that to Zeffirelli Callas embodied fully.

L.A. Weekly by Chuck Wilson

Ardant gives in this film the performance of her life, lip-synching to the voice of the real Callas.

Chicago Reader by Ted Shen

Ardant embodies the diva's dazzling blend of glamour, hauteur, and vulnerability, and despite a faintly campy script by Martin Sherman, Zeffirelli captures the artistic imperative that drives both characters-and deepens their loneliness.

The Hollywood Reporter

What captures the audience's attention is Ardent's mesmerizing performance.

New York Daily News by Jami Bernard

This fictional "what if" scenario is a bit campy and stagey, like a session of Opera 101. But it has one great thing in its favor: Ardant.

New York Post by V.A. Musetto

Campy and clichéd.

Village Voice

Sadly, this camp drama, a eulogy by one of Callas's closest friends, pales in comparison to the four minutes of "La Mamma Morta" in Philadelphia.

Variety by Deborah Young

Main body of the movie is weighed down by flat, expository dialogue and a lot of pedestrian filming. However, Zeffirelli's shooting of the "Carmen" sequences, which make up a sizable chunk of the film and are far and away the pic's most exhilarating sections, are graceful and fluid.

TV Guide Magazine by Maitland McDonagh

Poky, oddly uninvolving.

The New York Times by Stephen Holden

A lip-synching hall of mirrors, it is essentially a piece of highbrow karaoke.