MARIA CALLAS La Divina

1. MARIA CALLASLa Divina 8th High School of Trikala, Greece April 2014

2. What did the surname “Callas” come from? a. Her father was named Callas, too b. That was the surname she used in her early career c. Her Greek father had the surname Kalogeropoulos and he shortened his name first to “Kalos” and subsequently to "Callas“ The right answer is c

3. The life of the great singer Maria Callas was an American-born Greek soprano. Her real name was Maria Anna Sophie Cecilia Kalogeropoulos, born in New York in 1923 into a family of Greek emigrants. As a child Maria studied the piano. When her parents separated her mother returned to Athens with Maria and her sister. The singer was quickly accepted into the National Conservatoire where she had singing lessons by Maria Trivella.

4. Her first music steps • After several appearances as a student, Callas began appearing in secondary roles at the Greek National Opera. Callas made her professional debut in February 1941, in the small role of Beatrice in Franz Von Supee's Boccaccio. • Soprano Galatea Amaxopoulou, who sang in the chorus, later recalled, "Even in rehearsal, Maria's fantastic performing ability had been obvious and from then on, the others started trying ways of preventing her from appearing”.

5. Glorious days for Maria Callas • Callas made her official debut at La Scala on opening night in December 1951, and this theatre became her artistic home throughout the 1950s. • Callas made her South American debut in Buenos Aires on May 20, 1949. • Her debut in America was in Chicago in 1954. • Her Metropolitan Opera debut, opening the Met's seventy-second season on October 29, 1956, • She made her London debut at the Royal Opera House in Norma . She returned to the Royal Opera House in 1953, 1957, 1958, 1959, and 1964 to 1965.

6. Her big love: Aristotle Onassis They had met in 1957 during a party in Venice and Onassis and opera diva Maria Callas embarked on an affair for 9 years. The couple was expected to marry but in the end, Aristotle married Jackie Kennedy, John F. Kennedy's widow, on 20 October 1968. His death on 15 March 1975, is considered to be one of the major factors behind Maria Callas’s death.

7. When they wanted to spend some time alone, Maria and Aristotle found shelter on his private island, Scorpios. They had romantic walks at the paths of the island forest, admiring the view, and spending quality time away from everything and everyone.

8. Her Voice… Callas's voice was and remains controversial; it bothered and disturbed as many as it thrilled and inspired. Walter Legge stated that Callas possessed the most essential ingredient for a great singer: an instantly recognizable voice. Maestro Carlo Maria Giulini has described the appeal of Callas's voice: “It is very difficult to speak of the voice of Callas. Her voice was a very special instrument. Something happens sometimes with string instruments—violin, viola, cello—where the first moment you listen to the sound of this instrument, the first feeling is a bit strange sometimes. But after just a few minutes, when you get used to, when you become friends with this kind of sound, then the sound becomes a magical quality. This was Callas.”

9. Callas as an actress. Regarding Callas's acting ability, vocal coach and music critic Ira Siff remarked, "When I saw the final two Toscas she did, I felt like I was watching the actual story on which the opera had later been based.“ In regard to Callas's physical acting style, Nicola Rescigno states, "Maria had a way of even transforming her body for the exigencies of a role, which is a great triumph. In La Traviata, everything would slope down; everything indicated sickness, fatigue, softness. Her arms would move as if they had no bones, like the great ballerinas. In Medea, everything was angular. She'd never make a soft gesture; even the walk she used was like a tiger's walk."

10. Callas after her death A number of musical artists have mentioned Callas as a great musical influence and some have paid tribute to Callas in their music. Here are some examples: • R.E.M. mention Callas in their song "E-Bow the Letter" from the album New Adventures in Hi-Fi. • Enigma released the instrumental "Callas Went Away" using samples of Callas's voice on their 1990 album MCMXC a.D.. • Buffalo Tom's 2007 album Three Easy Pieces contains the song C.C. and Callas. • La Diva, on Celine Dion's 2007 French language album D'elles is about Maria Callas.

11. In 2007, Callas was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. • In the same year, she was voted the greatest soprano of all time by BBC Music Magazine.

12. In later years many books and biographies have also been written about her life

13. Every year on the day of her death Google honors Maria Callas as one of the greatest soprano of all ages. This year we celebrate her 91st birthday .

14. Here are some words Maria Callas left behind in order for us not to forget her: “An opera begins long before the curtain goes up and ends long afterit has come down. It starts in my imagination, it becomes my life, and it stays part of my life long after I have left the opera house.” MariaCallas