2023 marks the 100-year anniversary of the birth of one of Greece’s most influential and well-known figures, Maria Callas. She was unwanted by her mother, a perfectionist, massively famous, and also infamous for her affair– these are some of the main ingredients of the life of Maria Callas. Despite all the drama in her life, she became one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century.
Maria Callas’s Childhood
Born in New York in 1923, to Greek immigrant parents, Maria Callas’s start in life was anything but glamourous. They were poor, her mother didn’t like her, and Maria was always a chubby kid with glasses. Then her mother decided, from the age of 14, that Maria had a talent for singing. She enrolled Maria in the Athens Conservatory and by 1949 Maria Callas had become a household name. In 1951, she moved to Italy and met her husband Giovanni Battista Meneghini. She received the nickname La Divina in Italy because her voice was by any standards an amazing phenomenon.
Maria Callas’s Lovers
However, Maria’s experience of being married to the man 30 years her senior and also her manager, wasn’t one of bliss, but more of a bird in a cage. It’s no wonder she was charmed and overwhelmed by the wealthy but married Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis and his lifestyle of leisure, yachts, Greek islands, and freedom.
She fell madly in love with him and divorced her husband, deeply hoping to marry Onassis and have a family. During their years together Maria’s appearances on stage became scarcer and her voice more fragile as she lost a lot of weight trying to fit in with the jet-set she was surrounded by. Callas got really close to fulfilling her dream until Onassis suddenly called it off and, even more surprisingly, married the widow Jackie Kennedy in 1968.
Maria Callas’s Death and Legacy
They kept seeing each other after Onassis married Jackie Kennedy, and his death in 1975 totally devastated Callas. Her final years were spent in solitude though her death still came as a shock to many; at the age of 53 she passed away from a heart attack. Despite her wealth, fame and impressive circle of friends, one can assume that she never really outgrew her feelings of insecurity and inferiority. Though in the eyes of the world she is and always will be a giant inspiration and amazing artist, whose voice, language, and interpretations remain unparalleled.
Maria Callas Museum
The “Maria Callas Museum” is almost ready to open in Athens. It will be opened in a four-story neoclassical building of 1,070 square meteres at Mitropoleos Street 44. The building is property of the Municipality of Athens and it is expected to open very soon. The goal of the museum is to exhibit Maria Callas’s personal life, including her personal items, photographs, scores, and audio recordings.
Maria: The Movie
Angelina Jolie was recently spotted in Greece for the filming of Maria, a movie about the life of Greece’s famous opera singer, Maria Callas. This Hollywood actress was most recently seen in Pyrgos in the Peloponnese at the Apollo Theater. A few scenes were being shot there, and then Jolie moved to the town of Katakolo, where the Christina O yacht was waiting for her.
