Google honors Maria Callas today, as it marks the 90th anniversary of her birth
Maria Callas (born Maria Anna Sofia Kaikilia Kalogeropoulou) was chosen by Google to honor her with a doodle today.
Maria Callas was born in New York on December 2, 1923.
She was a top soprano and the world's most famous opera diva. After the liberation of Greece, she returned to the United States, where she failed to sign a contract with the Metropolitan Opera, and the roles she was offered did not satisfy her.
After meeting the artistic director of the Verona Arena, Giovanni Genatello, she decides to try her luck in Italy
On August 3, 1947, she made her first appearance at the Verona Arena with Amilcare Ponchielli's "La Gioconda". There she met the Italian industrialist Giovanni Battista Meneghini, whom she married on April 21, 1949. Meneghini, who also acted as her manager, had a catalytic influence on her career.
On December 7, 1951, Callas opened the season at La Scala in Milan with “I Vespers in Sicily,” a performance that brought her great acclaim. Over the next seven years, La Scala would be the scene of her greatest triumphs in a wide range of roles.
On October 27, 1956, she made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York as “Norma” in Bellini’s opera of the same name. On August 5, 1957, she returned to Athens and performed at the Herodes Atticus Conservatory as part of the Athens Festival. Two months earlier, she had met shipowner Aristotle Onassis at a reception hosted by cosmographer Elsa Maxwell.
In 1960 she sang “Norma” at the Ancient Theater of Epidaurus and the following year “Medea” directed by Alexis Minotis. In 1962 she returned to La Scala in Milan and was deified as Medea directed by Alexis Minotis and costumes by Yannis Tsarouchis.
On July 5, 1965, he appeared for the last time in an opera performance at Covent Garden with "Tosca" directed by Franco Zeffirelli.
In 1966, she renounced her American citizenship and took on Greek citizenship. She formally ended her marriage to Meneghini, hoping that the love of her life, Aristotle Onassis, would propose to her.
However, Onassis married John F. Kennedy's widow, Jackie, causing Callas to fall into depression.
Maria Callas breathed her last on September 16, 1977 in Paris.
Source: protothema.gr
