Maria Callas(1923-1977)原名是Cecilia Sofia Anna Maria Kalogeropoulos 她是20世纪最伟大的花腔女高音 当时的她凭着自己天赋的歌喉 深厚的艺术修养和不懈的努力 征服了欧美各大歌剧院
她的一生 1923 Cecilia Sofia Anna Maria Kalogeropoulos was born in New York from George ed Evangelia, her Greek parents.
1937 She leaves America with her mother and sister to return to Greece.
1938 She debuts in Athens as Santuzza in Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana, in a performance for Conservatory students. She meets Elvira de Hidalgo, the teacher who did understand Maria's temper and voice more than any other teacher.
1940 In a radio broadcast Maria interprets the whole part of Suor Angelica in Puccini's "Trittico".
1942 Official debut at Athens Opera on August 27th, as Tosca.
1944 Maria embarks on the "Stockholm" to return to America, longing to reencounter her father, whom she hadn't met since 1937.
1945-1947 In New York, Maria desperately tries to obtain a part. She meets a greedy "impresario", named Bagarozy, who promits her to be Turandot in a good number of performances, but everything vanishes into nothing. She meets Nicola Rossi Lemeni, who introduces her to an old tenor, Giovanni Zenatello, who is looking for sopranos able to be Gioconda at Verona's "Arena".
1947 On June 27th she embarks to Italy. On August 2nd she debuts as Gioconda at Verona's Arena; the conductor is Tullio Serafin. She meets Giovanni Battista Meneghini, an old entrepreneur who falls in love with her.
1948 The schedule becames more and more busy. She sings as Isotta (Tristan und Isolde - Wagner), Turandot, Leonora (Forza del destino - Verdi), in Venezia, Genoa, in Rome at Caracalla's Baths. At the end of the year she debuts as Aida and Norma.
1949 In January she interprets Brunhilde in Wagner's "Die Walküre", and only three days later she is Elvira in Bellini's "Puritani". It's an incredible vocal shift, which will be recorded forever in Opera history. She marries G.B. Meneghini, ending a situation that saw her as a concubine.
1950 In march she accepts to substitute Renata Tebaldi at Milan's La Scala as Aida.
1951 It's the 50th anniversary of Verdi's death. To celebrate it, Maria sings La Traviata at Florence's "Comunale", Il Trovatore in Naples, Aida at Reggio Calabria, I Vespri Siciliani at Florence's "Maggio Musicale". La Scala finally opens the gates to her, and the superintendant Ghiringhelli proposes her to sing I Vespri, Norma, Mozart's The Rape.
1951-1953 The conquest of La Scala. Hundreds of performances all around the world.
1953 Maria sings Medea for the first time, and her "interpretative fire" is at last recognized by everyone. At Chicago's Lyric Theatre she sings Norma, Lucia di Lammermoor and Traviata. She is defined "the greatest soprano in the world".
1954 She starts the important work with Luchino Visconti, with Spontini's La Vestale, which opens the 1954-55 season at La Scala.
1955 La Traviata Callas-Visconti, a real "must". If you are still reading you can't avoid buying it.
1956 Il Barbiere di Siviglia at La Scala must be recorded. Fiercely criticized, even defining Rosina as "rude". By our opinion, that Rosina is still unequalled. During fall Maria sings Norma at the Metropolitan, the theatre wich refused her when she was younger.
1957-1958 Glory and problems. In April 57 Maria, Gavazzeni and Visconti produce Donizetti's Anna Bolena after 80 years of oblivion. The critics were enthusiastic. At a party held for her at Elsa Maxwell's she meets the greek tycoon Aristotele Onassis. On January 2nd, 1958 she sings Norma at "Opera di Roma" in front of Italy's President Gronchi, but she feels bad and took lots of pills to be able to sing. Maria has to quit before the end. The audience is angry and shouts against her. Shortly after, a violent quarrel with Rudolph Bing, Met's chief, causes the end of her presence in that theatre.
1959 Maria leaves her husband and starts a love affair with Aristotele Onassis. She is frequently aboard the "Christina", Onassis' yacht.
1961-1962 Nothing of musically relevant, lots of buzzing. Medea at La Scala was the only important exhibition.
1963 Maria in Paris. On June 5th she sings at the Champes Elysées Theatre with Georges Prêtre as conductor. It's a triumph. During that year Maria moves forever to Paris, at first in 44 Avenue Foch.
1964 The most relevant fact was Tosca at Covent Garden with Zeffirelli. We could also remember Norma and Tosca at Paris "Opéra". Each performance is a success, but Maria starts to feel her voice's decay.
1966 The journalists are no more so interested in her. She lives in Paris and moves to her new flat at 36 Avenue Georges Mandel. She spent the summer on the "Christina", but she was often alone aboard the immense yacht.
1968 Onassis marries Kennedy's widow. Maria starts to slip towards the end.
1971-1972 Maria teaches her precious secrets at Juilliard School students. She obtains divorce from Commendator Meneghini, exploiting the new italian law. She reinforces the old friendship with Giuseppe di Stefano, preparing a triumphal "rentrée" with him in the more important theatres.
1973 She directs I Vespri Siciliani inaugurating Turin's Teatro Regio.
1977 Maria dies, alone in her home at Avenue Georges Mandel, officially by a heart attack. The only witnesses of her last moments of life were the midwife and the butler. Her ashes were scattered in the Aegeus Sea during a storm.