Musicians - Maria Callas

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	Musicians - Maria Callas

Maria Callas (Greek name: Μαρία Καλογεροπούλου; December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano and perhaps the best-known opera singer of the post-World War II period. She combined an impeccable bel canto technique with great dramatic gifts, making her the most famous singing actress of the era. An extremely versatile singer, her repertoire ranged from classical opera seria, such as Spontini's La Vestale to late Verdi and the verismo operas of Puccini.

Biography

Born Maria Anna Sofia Cecilia Kalogeropoulos to Greek parents in New York City, she moved with her mother to Athens, Greece, at the age of 13. There she received her musical education and became a pupil of the well-known soprano Elvira de Hidalgo at the Athens Conservatory.

Professional life

After a few appearances as a student and in secondary roles, Callas made her professional debut at the Athens Opera on July 4, 1941, as Tosca, going on to sing Santuzza and Leonora during the next three years. In 1947, Callas made her Italian debut at the Verona Arena in La Gioconda under the baton of Tullio Serafin. Together with Serafin, Callas subsequently recorded and performed many bel canto operas, contributing greatly to the bel canto revival of the 1950s.

Throughout the 1950s, Callas made numerous appearances at the world's great houses: La Scala in Milan, Opera Garnier in Paris, the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, Dallas Opera (Dallas, Texas), Royal Opera House in London, Mexico's Palacio de las Bellas Artes, and the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. For a production of Cherubini's Médée in 1954, Callas lost a subsantial amount of weight and suprised her public with her newfound glamorous appearance. However, it is thought by some the loss of body mass made it more difficult for her to support her voice and triggered the vocal strain which became apparent later in the decade. Her later stereo recordings evidence masterly musical interpretations with an increasingly unstable higher register that wobbled uncontrollably at times. In 1960, she made her final appearance at La Scala in a new production of a lesser-known work by Donizetti, Poliuto, a role that was well chosen for her vocal capacities. In her final years as a singer, there were performances of Medea, Norma, and Tosca , most notably her Paris, New York, and Royal Opera House Covent Garden Toscas of January–February 1964 and, her last performance on stage, on 5 July 1965 at Covent Garden. A television film of Act 2 of the famous Covent Garden Tosca of 1964 was broadcast in Britain on 9th February of that year. It gives a rare view of Callas in performance and, specifically, the extraordinary on-stage relationship which Callas had with Tito Gobbi. The videotape was subsequently published on DVD.

In 1969, the Italian filmaker Pasolini cast Callas in her only non-operatic acting role, playing the Greek mythological figure Medea in his film of the same name. The production was gruelling, and Callas is said to have fainted after a day of strenuous running back and forth on a mudflat in the sun. The film was not a commercial success remains of artistic interest; as Callas' only film appearance, it documents her powerful stage presence in such details as her ability to hold an audience's attention while standing still. Callas's performance in the film reveal an economy of gesture and movement that makes her stand apart from most other opera performers.

From October 1971 to March 1972, Callas gave a series of master classes at the Juilliard School in New York. (These classes later formed the basis of Terrence McNally's 1995 play Master Class). In 1972, George Moore, president of the Met board, offered her the job of Artistic Director. She turned him down to stage a series of comeback recitals in Europe in 1973 and in the US, South Korea and Japan in 1974 with the tenor Giuseppe Di Stefano, but it was a musical disaster due to both performers' outworn voices. However, the tour was an enormous popular success as audiences thronged to hear the these performers who often appeared together in their vocal prime. Her final public performance was on 11th November 1974 in Sapporo, Japan.

Greatly admired by many opera fans, yet disliked by others, Callas was a controversial artist. Her supporters called her "La Divina" and raved about the dramatic intensity she brought to the opera stage. Her vocal instrument was not classically beautiful in the manner of Tebaldi, Scotto, Caballe, or Sutherland, a fact which her supporters say causes her detractors to miss the totality of her portrayals.

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Musicians - Maria Callas

Biography

Professional life

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