La regina della notte maria callas biography

1923-1977

Maria Callas News: Angelia Jolie Portrays the Late Opera Singer in New Biopic Maria

Famed opera singer Maria Callas is the subject of a new biopic Maria, now streaming on Netflix, with Academy Award–winning actor Angelina Jolie portraying the late music icon. The movie received an eight-minute standing ovation after its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival this summer, not uncommon for the fest, that The Hollywood Reporter called “electric.”

Maria Callas Made the List

The movie reimagines the American-born Greek soprano’s final days in Paris in the 1970s, before her death of what was believed to be a heart attack at age 53. The highly influential opera singer was known for her coloratura vocal range and technique before becoming something of a recluse in her last years.

“I take very seriously the responsibility to Maria’s life and legacy,” Jolie told The Hollywood Reporter in October 2022. Indeed, she did. Over the course of roughly seven months, Jolie worked with opera singers and coaches—including “La Divina,” herself, via recorded lectures—to perfect Callas’ presence, movement, and accent. She did sing during filming, but most of the movie’s vocals are from old recordings of Callas.

Who Was Maria Callas?

Maria Callas was a legendary opera singer who performed throughout the world. The American-born Greek soprano made her professional debut as a teenager with the Royal Opera of Athens in 1941 and soon won her first major role with Tosca. Eventually garnering international acclaim, Callas became known for her signature role in Norma and her temperamental nature. During the 1960s, the quality and frequency of her performances waned, and she later transitioned to teaching. Offstage, Callas’ high-profile relationship with businessman Aristotle Onassis led to the end of her marriage. The celebrated singer spent her final years away from the spotlight and died in 1977 at age 53.

Quick Facts

FULL NAME: Sophia Cecilia Anna Maria Kalogeropoulos
BORN: December 2, 1923
DIED: September 16, 1977
BIRTHPLACE: New York, New York
SPOUSE: Giovanni Meneghini (1949-1959)
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Sagittarius

Early Life

Maria Callas was born in New York City on December 2, 1923, a date confirmed by the attending physician for the delivery and what is believed to be her birth certificate. Over the years, discrepancies and confusion have arisen concerning Callas’ birth date. Callas, herself, along with school records, had stated she was born on the 3^rd while her mother had claimed the 4^th.

Her parents were Georgios Kalogeropoulos and Evangelia “Litsa” Dimitriadis, both Greek immigrants. Maria was their third child, following another daughter and a son who died around age 3.

According to a 2001 biography by Nicholas Petsalis-Diomidis, Maria was born Sophie Cecilia Kalos and later christened Sophia Cecilia Anna Maria. This aligns with the full name listed by Maria’s estate, however other sources report Maria Cecilia Sophia Anna Kalogeropoulos. In fact, the family’s surname was Kalogeropoulos, but they took to using Kalos and later Callas, which was easier for English speakers to pronounce. To family, the future opera singer was always Mary, but the world eventually knew her as Maria Callas.

She began taking classical piano lessons when she was 7 years old only to be overshadowed by her older sister, Jackie, who was seen as beautiful and charismatic. Yet, young Maria proved adept at singing with dramatic flair, and her mother pushed her to pursue a vocal career.

In 1937, when Maria was a teen, her parents separated, and she, her mother, and her sister moved back to Greece. In Athens, Maria studied voice as a soprano under opera singer Elvira de Hidalgo at the famed Athens Conservatory.

As a student, Callas made her stage debut in 1939 in a school production of Cavalleria Rusticana. The conservatory honored her for her dazzling performance in the role of Santuzza.

Opera Career

In 1941, while still a teenager, Callas made her professional debut with the Royal Opera of Athens with a modest role in Franz von Suppé’s Boccaccio. Later in the year, she took on her first major role as Tosea in Tosca, one of Giacomo Puccini’s operas.

Callas largely struggled to find roles during World War II. In the mid-1940s, she moved back to New York to spend time with her father and look for work but experienced a number of rejections. After moving to Verona, Italy, she made her Italian opera debut at the Verona Arena in August 1947 in a performance of La Gioconda.

Over the next few years, Callas continued to perform in Verona and Florence, Italy, to critical acclaim. She expanded to other Italian cities and went abroad for performances in Buenos Aires, Mexico City, and London. Her voice captivated audiences, though as her fame increased, Callas developed a reputation as a temperamental, demanding diva and was nicknamed “The Tigress.” Fiercely resilient, Callas said of audience members’ jeers, “Hissing from the gallery is part of the scene. It is a hazard of the battlefield. Opera is a battlefield, and it must be accepted.”

More Opera Stars

Her American debut arrived in 1954 in a production of Norma at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. The performance was a triumph and was seen as a signature role. Callas continued working with the Lyric Opera and, the following year, gave three performances as Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly. While she was initially only booked for two dates, they were so successful that the Lyric Opera added a third.

In 1956, she had the opportunity to sing with the Metropolitan Opera in her home city of New York at last. However, she was fired in 1958 by director Rudolf Bing after a dispute over which roles Callas would agree to perform for the season.

During the 1960s, the soprano’s formerly stellar singing voice was discernibly faltering. Her performances grew fewer and farther between as a result of her frequent cancellations. Although she formally retired from the stage in the early 1960s, Callas made a brief return to performing with the Metropolitan Opera mid-decade, reprising her role in Tosca on March 19, 1965. The audience roared with applause at her return, which also received critical praise.

Her final operatic performance was in another production of Tosca at Covent Garden in London on July 5, 1965. Queen Mother Elizabeth was among the audience members for the show.

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Callas didn’t limit herself to stage performances solely. She recorded multiple albums during her career. She starred in the title role of the 1969 movie Medea, which flopped at the box office.

Ex-Husband and Relationship with Aristotle Onassis

Callas met her husband, Giovanni Meneghini, in Verona in 1947. The two married in April 1949, and Meneghini, a rich industrialist, eventually became her manager. However, the singer’s marriage began to unravel in the 1950s, and the couple parted ways at the end of the decade.

The split was partially fueled by an affair Callas had been having with shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis. Their relationship continued for several years, though his 1968 marriage to former U.S. First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy caused much sadness for Callas. Nonetheless, Onassis still tried to woo the singer after his nuptials.

More About the Messy Love Triangle

Later Years and Death

In the early 1970s, Callas tried her hand at teaching. In ’71 and ’72, she conducted master classes at Juilliard in New York. Despite her failing health, Callas accompanied a friend on an international recital tour in 1973 to help him raise money for his ailing daughter. Following the tour, Callas moved to Paris and became a recluse.

On September 16, 1977, at the age of 53, Callas died suddenly and mysteriously in her home in Paris. The cause of death is believed to have been a heart attack.

Maria Callas Movie

Over the years, Callas’ life has been portrayed in a handful of movies, including Franco Zeffirelli’s Callas Forever (2002) and the documentary Maria by Callas (2017).

In late 2023, production began on a new biopic, titled Maria, about the late opera star with actor Angelina Jolie in the lead role. “Maria Callas, the greatest opera singer of all time, undoubtedly had a most unique, beautiful and tormented life,” director Pablo Larrain said of the movie. “This is the story of her last days, a celebration depicted through memories, friends and, most importantly, her singing.”

Maria premiered at the Venice Film Festival in late August 2024 to moderate praise, though Jolie is already generating Oscar buzz. The movie began streaming on Netflix December 11 after a limited theatrical run.

Quotes

• I am not an angel and do not pretend to be. That is not one of my roles. But I am not the devil either. I am a woman and a serious artist, and I would like so to be judged.
• An opera begins long before the curtain goes up and ends long after it has come down. It starts in my imagination, it becomes my life, and it stays part of my life long after I’ve left the opera house.
• Hissing from the gallery is part of the scene. It is a hazard of the battlefield. Opera is a battlefield, and it must be accepted.
• I will always be as difficult as necessary to achieve the best.
• To me, the art of music is magnificent, and I cannot bear to see it treated in a shabby way. When it is respected and when the artists who serve it are respected, I will work hard and always give my best... I do not want to be associated with inferior staging, taste, conducting or singing.

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