Yara Issa
Greek-born Maria Callas was born on December 2, 1923 in New York City. She learned to play and the origins of classical singing at an early age. Her passion for opera singing appeared from a young age.
Like many creative people, Maria was not happy with her childhood. Since her birth, her mother was convinced that her next child would be male, especially after she lost her son to meningitis.At her birth, Maria was so disappointed that she refused to even look at her new baby for four days. .
Her obesity, which went to her advanced age, increased her parents' distinction between her and her graceful sister.
The ascent period between professionalism and stardom
Maria continued her musical education in Athens by Spanish soprano trainer Elvira de Hidalgo to start her career in the late 1930s.
Her coach, Hidalgo, advised her to start her career in Italy, while Callas performed a series of concerts across Greece, and then, unlike her teacher's advice, returned to America to see her father and pursue her career.
When Maria left Greece on 14 December 1945 - two months after her 22nd birthday - she performed 56 performances in seven opera galleries and appeared in about 20 concerts, considering her Greek career as the basis for her musical education.
The years 1954-1957 were the finest of its artistic years. Maria's star from the La Scala opera rose to the world to remain in control of the opera of Milan and Greece.
In 1970, filmmaker Pierre Paolo Pasolini convinced her to play the only cinema role in her life, the starring role in his 1971 film "Media", but it was not singing in that role.
The most powerful opera sounds in the world
"My friend, Greek violinist Yiannis Dikaiopoulos, led me to Maria Callas," said the famous maestro Artur Toscaninini. The world knew then that Maria was a witch, not an opera singer. "
Indeed, Maria Callas was one of the most important opera singers in history, and even one of the most dramatic voices.This importance is due to her voice, which reached 6.7 octaves, and this measure of sound is almost a degree of miracle, which is almost twice the volume of the voice of Umm Kulthum.
Callas had a great voice that opened new doors to classical music, and was accompanied by her talent in the expressive performance accompanying the dramatic soprano singing. For Puccini, the "masquerade" for Verdi.
Callas also performed many works in other international languages, most notably in the French "Carmen" wonderful French author Georges Bezier, and in the German "Tristan and Isold", "De Valcorh" and "Parsival" by Wagner, in addition to other works from the classical era, the 18th century to the Twentieth century.
The heart has another tale
Callas met Giovanni Battista Menignini, a wealthy Italian businessman, who married her in 1949, took over her career, and by marrying him she obtained Italian citizenship and renounced US citizenship.
Her life remained calm and stable with her husband until 1959, where the couple were invited to cruise aboard the ship "Christina" owned by the millionaire Aristotle Onassis, and this was the beginning of a new phase in the life of Maria, and her husband Giovanni left Naples and returned to the city of Verona, where They lived at the beginning of their marriage.
After her divorce from her first husband, she began to appear with Onassis, then the star of the Parisian community, followed by newspapers and published many photos with him, and in 1960 Maria gave birth to a child named Omeros, but the child died of natural causes a week after birth, which entered Maria in a large Of grief over the death of her child.
Onassis was always in a moody mood.However, Maria endured trouble and waited for him, but when she asked him to marry in 1966, he replied sarcastically: "You want a family, and I want the world." Then Maria realized that her dreams began to shatter. Famous of Jacqueline Kennedy.
Maria then entered a state of disappointment and depression, passing away on 16 September 1977 at the age of 54 years as a result of a heart attack in Paris, and according to her will her body was cremated, and found the Aegean Sea off the coast of Greece according to ancient Greek rituals.