The unsurpassed Maria Callas is one of the most famous and influential opera performers of the 20th century. Critics praised her for her belcanto virtuoso singing technique, a wide range of voices, and dramatic interpretations. Connoisseurs and connoisseurs of vocal art awarded the singer the title of La Divina (divine). The famous American composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein praised the talent of Maria Callas, dubbing her “pure electricity”.
early years
Maria Anna Sophia Kekilia was born on December 2, 1923 in New York, in the family of Greek immigrants Georges (George) and the Gospel of Callas. The marriage of her parents was not happy, the couple did not have anything in common except common children: the daughters of Jackie and Maria, and the son of Vassilis. The gospel was a cheerful and ambitious girl, as a child she dreamed of doing art, but her parents did not support her aspirations. Georges paid little attention to his wife and did not share her love of music. Relations between the spouses worsened after the death of their son Vassilis in the summer of 1922 from meningitis.
Upon learning that the Gospel was pregnant again, George decided to move his family to America, and in July 1923 they went to New York. The gospel was convinced that she would have a son, so the birth of her daughter was a real blow to her. The first four days after giving birth, she refused to even look at her daughter. When Mary was 4 years old, her father opened his own pharmacy and the family moved to Manhattan, where the childhood of the opera diva passed.
When Mary was three years old, her parents discovered her musical talent. The gospel sought to open the daughter’s gift and to do for her what her own parents had denied her at one time. Kallas later recalled: "I was forced to sing when I was only five years old, and I hated it." Georges was unhappy that his wife preferred Jackie's eldest daughter in everything and put a lot of pressure on Maria. Spouses often quarreled, and in 1937 the Gospel decided to return to Athens with her daughters.
Education
Maria Callas received a musical education in Athens. Initially, her mother tried to enroll her in the prestigious National Conservatory of Greece, but the director of the conservatory refused to accept the girl, because she did not have the necessary theoretical knowledge (solfeggio).
In the summer of 1937, the gospel was visited by a talented teacher, Mary Triwell, who taught at one of the Athenian conservatories, and asked her to take Mary as her student for a modest fee. Trivella agreed to become a mentor to Kallas and refused to pay for her training. Later, Trivella recalled: “Maria Callas was a fanatical and uncompromising student who gave herself to music with all her heart and soul. Her progress was phenomenal. She studied music for 5-6 hours a day. ”
Debut stage performance
The debut of Maria Callas took place in 1939 at a student performance in which she played the role of Santozza in the opera "Country Honor". Having successfully completed her studies at the National Conservatory, Callas entered the Athens Conservatory, in the class of the outstanding Spanish singer and talented teacher Elvira de Hidalgo. Kallas came to the conservatory at 10 in the morning and left with the last students. She literally “absorbed” new knowledge and strove to learn all the secrets of the art of opera singing. Maria Callas and opera were inseparable. Music has become the meaning of life for a novice singer.
Opera career in Greece
Kallas made his professional debut in February 1941. She performed a small part of Beatrice in the operetta Bocaccio. The successful performance of the singer caused hostility among colleagues who tried to harm her career. However, nothing could stop Callas from doing what she loved, and in August 1942 she made her debut in the title role, playing the part of Tosca, in Puccini's opera of the same name. Then she was invited to perform Martha’s part in Eugene d'Albert’s opera The Valley. Maria Kallas’s arias aroused audience delight and received rave reviews from critics.
Until 1945, Kallas performed at the Athens Opera and successfully mastered the leading opera parties. After the liberation of Greece from the Nazi invaders, Hidalgo advised her to settle in Italy. Kallas gave a series of concerts throughout Greece, and then returned to America to see her father. She left Greece on September 14, 1945, two months before her 22nd birthday. Career in Greece, Maria Callas called the basis of her musical and dramatic education.
The heyday of creativity
In 1947, Kallas received her first prestigious contract. A talented performer was to perform the part of the Mona Lisa in the opera of the same name by Amilcar Ponchielli. The performance was conducted by Tullio Serafin, on the recommendation of which Callas was invited to perform in Venice, where she performed the main roles in the operas Turandot by Puccini and Tristan and Isold by Wagner. The audience enthusiastically greeted the arias of Maria Callas from the operas of the two greatest composers. Even people who criticized her work in the past began to recognize the singer’s unique talent.
Upon arrival in Verona, Callas met Giovanni Batista Meneghini, a wealthy industrialist, who began to look after her. They married in 1949 and lived together for 10 years. Thanks to the love and constant support of her husband, Maria Callas was able to build a successful opera career in Italy.
Kallas responsibly approached performances and constantly improved her musical skills. She paid a lot of attention to her appearance. In the early years of her career, with an increase of 173 centimeters, she weighed almost 90 kilograms. Maria began to follow a strict diet and in a short time (1953 - early 1954) lost 36 pounds.
In the La Scala opera house in Milan, Callas first performed in 1951 with the party of Helena in “Sicilian Vespers” by Giuseppe Verdi. In 1956, she triumphantly performed at the Metropolitan Opera, where she appeared before the public as Norma in the Bellini opera of the same name. Aria of Maria Callas "Casta Diva" (Casta Diva) critics of those years were ranked among the highest achievements of the artist.
Relations with Aristotle Onassis
In 1957, being married to Giovanni Battista Meneghini, Callas met the Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis at a party held in her honor. Between them began a passionate romance, about which much was written in the newspapers. In November 1959, Kallas left her husband. She abandoned her career on the big stage to spend more time with her beloved.
The relationship of Maria Callas and Aristotle Onassis ended in 1968, when the billionaire left Callas and married Jacqueline Kennedy. The betrayal of the man whom she sincerely loved and was devoted to him was a terrible blow for the opera diva.
last years of life
Kallas spent the last years of her life in solitude in Paris. On September 16, 1977, at the age of 53, she died of myocardial infarction. Until now, the question remains open for the performer’s biographers, which caused the singer to feel worse. Heart failure could develop due to a rare disease diagnosed in her - dermatomyositis. According to an alternative version of doctors, heart problems were caused by side effects of steroids and immunosuppressants, which Kallas took during the illness.
September 20, 1977 in the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of St. Stephen the funeral of Mary Callas took place. The ashes of the greatest opera singer, who left behind a rich creative heritage, was scattered over the Aegean Sea.
Mention in popular culture
The film about Maria Callas was shot in 2002 by director Franco Zeffirelli. The film “Callas Forever” is based on a fictional episode from the singer’s life, the role of which was brilliantly performed by Fanny Ardan.
In 2007, Kallas was posthumously awarded the Grammy Award for "Musical Achievements of a Lifetime." In the same year, she was recognized as the "Best Soprano of All Time" by the British magazine BBC Music Magazine.
In 2012, Callas became a member of the Hall of Fame, established by the reputable British magazine Gramophone.