Maria Callas was born in New York in 1923. She was Greek by parentage and naturalization, American by birth and early upbringing and Italian by career and by marriage to Giovanni Battista Meneghini.
In 1937, Maria Callas left the USA for Greece with her mother and older sister and became a pupil of the well-know soprano Elvira de Hidalgo at the Athens Conservatory. After a few appearances as a student and in secondary roles, she made her true debut at the Athens Opera on July 4, 1941 as Tosca, going on to sing Santuzza and Leonora during the next three years.
In 1945, Callas returned to New York where she by heard by Zenatello who engaged her for La Gioconda in the Arena at Verona. This successful appearance under the great maestro Tullio Serafin was the start of her real career, and she was soon in demand in Italian theatres for such vocally demanding roles as Aida, Turandot, Isolde, Kundry and Brunnhilde.
During the six years following her Italian debut in 1947, Callas worked incessantly to establish herself in the operatic world. Her versatility was shown in 1949 when, only three days after singing a Walkure Brunnhilde, Callas deputized for an indisposed colleague in the florid bel canto role of Elvira in I puritani.
Gradually, under the guidance of Serafin, she relinquished her heavier roles in order to concentrate on the earlier Italian operas. Besides adding to her repertory, she was in constant demand whenever rare and vocally taxing operas of the older school were revived. Thus, in addition to the Verdian heroines of Nabucco, Il trovatore, Don Carlos, Un ballo in maschera and I vespri sicilani, she also sang in memorable revivals of Haydn's Orfeo ed Euridice, Gluck's Alcese and Poliuto and Bellini's Il Pirata.
Her greatest triumphs were won in Norma, Medea, Anna Bolena, La traviata and Tosca. Many of these roles she repeated in the major opera houses of the world, where her fame reached a level that recalled the days of Caruso and Chaliapin. Her debut at La Scala was in Aida in 1950; her first appearances in London (1952) Chicago (1954) and New York (1956) were in Norma.
Callas had the deepest comprehension of the classical Italian style, the most musical instincts and the most intelligent approach, coupled with exceptional dramatic powers. Her first appearance on a stage aroused immediate excitement and while she remained there, she riveted the attention of the house. There was authority in all that she did, and in every phrase that she uttered. Her voice, especially during the 1950s was in itself and impressive instrument with its penetrating, individual quality, its rich variety of color and its great agility in florid music.
Yet despite her operatic triumphs, Callas was plagued by worries about her weight. In 1953 she made the conscious decision that Maria the woman must be on equal footing with Callas the artist. To the amazement of all, she slimmed down almost beyond recognition, and by the beginning of 1954 she was completely transformed. Her large eyes now burned with a new intensity in her striking face, and her figure was trim and svelte. In the theatre, her characterizations acquired a new dramatic force, while off-stage she had become a glamorous and sophisticated star. Thus "La Divina" was born. Magazines were filled with photo spreads of this elegant creature, posing in gowns fashioned for her by the Milanese couturier Biki, and her ever-increasing army of devoted fans became almost fanatical in their acclamation whenever she appeared on the operatic stage.
But it was while she was still ungainly and gauche that she had met the industrialist Giovanni Battista Meneghini. He was 28 years her senior, and looked after her in a paternal way from the very first day when she arrived in Italy in June 1947 to sing at the Verona Arena. Meneghini immediately became Callas' business manager, and on April 21, 1949 they were married. Both Callas and Meneghini are on record as saying that their relationship was entirely happy, but throughout the decade that they remained together, Callas was concentrating on her career and had little time for a personal life. In her marriage to Meneghini, despite their great affection for each other, she had not experienced fully the physical and romantic heights of love. These were finally to come in the person of Aristotle Onassis, a wealthy Greek shipping tycoon she first met in September 1957 at a party in Venice.
In July 1959, Onassis invited the Meneghinis to join him for a cruise on his yacht, the Christina. By the end of the cruise, Callas and Onassis were lovers and the Meneghini marriage was over. (In 2000, Nicholas Gage revealed in his book Greek Fire: The Story of Maria Callas and Aristotle Onassis, that Callas conceived during this cruise. On March 30, 1960 she secretly gave birth to a male child who died later the same day.)
During her years with Onassis, Callas sharply curtailed her stage appearances and concentrated on living the international high life as his partner. They were seen together in fashionable restaurants and nightclubs. Yet by 1964 Callas' relationship with Onassis had begun to deteriorate. She made a brief return to the operatic stage in new productions of Tosca at Covent Garden and Norma in Paris, but her health was poor and the Tosca in July 1965 was her last performance on the operatic stage.
Callas renounced her American citizenship in 1966 and took Greek nationality in order to annul her marriage to Meneghini. But her expectations of marrying Onassis were dealt a cruel blow when he suddenly decided in 1968 to wed Jacqueline Kennedy. Callas was devastated.
Desperate to find a new artistic identity and to dull the pain of Onassis' deceit, Callas embarked on various projects - including playing the non-singing part of Medea in Pier Paolo Pasolini's film of the ancient legend, directing a production of I vespri siciliani in Turin, and teaching a series of master classes at Juilliard's. Yet none of these endeavors heralded a new career direction. Meanwhile, Onassis found life with his new wife both expensive and unsatisfying. He tried to rekindle the relationship with Callas, but she refused to have him back while he remained married.
In 1973, Callas undertook an extensive concert tour with her old tenor colleague, Giuseppe di Stefano, and the two singers began a romantic relationship. The tour, though a personal triumph for Callas, was an artistic disaster; the final concert in November 1974 in Japan was the last time Callas sang in public. The liaison with di Stefano ended and Callas withdrew to a reclusive life in her Paris apartment.
On March 15, 1975, Onassis died following an operation. Life now seemed to hold nothing for the woman who had once had a glittering career, enjoyed the adulation of countless fans, and been the consort of one of the world's most charismatic men.
On September 16, 1977, Maria Callas died of natural causes in her apartment. She was 53.
Maria Callas remains the epitome of the operatic soprano. In the years since her death she has suffered no eclipse; in fact her reputation has continued to grow, thanks to her recorded legacy and the discussion and debate her life and art has generated. At no stage has her position at the pinnacle of operatic achievement been contested. She is the point of reference for the singers who have followed her in the opera house and recording studio. For her admirers, her performances remain definitive.
