home › Miscellaneous › Maria callas voice type. Maria Callas: the triumph and tragedy of the Greek goddess

Maria callas voice type. Maria Callas: the triumph and tragedy of the Greek goddess

Legendary opera singer of Greek origin, one of the best sopranos of the 20th century.
Her unique voice, impressive bel canto technique and truly dramatic approach to performance made Maria Callas the greatest star of the world opera stage, and her tragic personal life constantly attracted the attention of the public and the press. For her outstanding musical and dramatic talent, she was called by connoisseurs of opera "Goddess" (La Divina).

Maria Callas, born Sophia Cecelia Kalos (Sophia Cecelia Kalos), was born on December 2, 1923 in New York in a family of emigrants from Greece.
Her mother, Evangelia Kalos, noticing her daughter's musical talent, forced her to sing at the age of five, which the little girl did not like at all. In 1937, Maria's parents separated, and she moved with her mother to Greece. Relations with her mother only worsened, in 1950 Maria stopped communicating with her. Maria received her musical education at the Athens Conservatory.

In 1938, the first public performance of Callas took place, shortly after that she received minor roles at the Greek National Opera. The small salary she received there helped her family make ends meet in difficult times. war time. Maria's debut in the title role took place in 1942 at the Olympia Theater and received rave reviews from the press.
After the war, Kallas went to the United States, where her father George Kallas lived. She was accepted into the prestigious Metropolitan Opera, but soon turned down a contract that offered unsuitable roles and low pay.
In 1946, Callas moved to Italy. In Verona, she met Giovanni Battista Meneghini. The wealthy industrialist was much older than her, but she married him in 1949. Until their divorce in 1959, Meneghini directed Callas' career, becoming her impresario and producer. In Italy, the singer managed to meet the outstanding conductor Tullio Serafin. Their joint work was the beginning of her successful international career. In 1949, in Venice, Maria Callas performed very diverse roles: Brünnhilde in Wagner's Valkyrie and Elvira in Bellini's The Puritans - an unprecedented event in the history of opera. This was followed by brilliant roles in the operas of Cherubini and Rossini. In 1950, she gave 100 concerts, setting her personal best. In 1951, Callas made his debut on the legendary stage of La Scala in Verdi's opera Sicilian Vespers. On the main opera stage of the world, she participated in productions by Herbert von Karajan, Margherita Wallmann, Luchino Visconti and Franco Zeffirelli. Since 1952, Maria Callas began a long and very fruitful collaboration with the Royal Opera in London. In 1953, Callas rapidly lost weight, losing 36 kg in a year. She deliberately changed her figure for the sake of performances. Many believe that the drastic weight change was the cause of the early loss of her voice, while it is undeniable that she gained self-confidence and her voice became softer and more feminine. In 1956, she made a triumphant return to the Metropolitan Opera with roles in Bellini's Norma and Verdi's Aida. She performed on the best opera stages and performed classics: parts in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, Verdi's Il trovatore and Macbeth, Puccini's Tosca. In 1957, Maria Callas met the man who turned her life around - the multi-billionaire Greek shipowner Aristotle Onassis. In 1959, Callas left her husband, Onassis's wife filed for divorce. The high-profile romance of a bright couple attracted the attention of the press for nine years. But in 1968, Callas' dreams of a new marriage and a happy family life collapsed: Onassis married the widow of the American president, Jacqueline Kennedy.
In fact, her brilliant career ended when she was in her early 40s.
She gave her last concert at the Royal Opera in London in 1965. Her technique was still on point, but her unique voice lacked power.

In 1969, Maria Callas acted in films for the only time not in an operatic role. She played the role of the heroine of ancient Greek myths Medea in the film of the same name by the Italian director Pier Paolo Pasolini (Pier Paolo Pasolini). The break with Onassis, loss of voice and early retirement crippled Maria.
The most successful opera singer of the 20th century spent the last years of her life almost alone and died suddenly in 1977 at the age of 53 from a heart attack. According to her will, the ashes were scattered over the Aegean Sea.

In 2002, Callas' friend Franco Zeffirelli made a film in memory of the great singer - Callas Forever. The role of Callas was played by the Frenchwoman Fanny Ardant.

In 2007, Callas was posthumously awarded the Grammy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Music.
In the same year, she was named the best soprano of all time by the BBC Music Magazine. Thirty years after her death, Greece issued a €10 commemorative coin featuring Callas. Dedications Callas in his work made a large number of the most various artists: groups R.E.M., Enigma, Faithless, singers Celine Dion and Rufus Wainwright.

One of the outstanding singers of the last century, Maria Callas, became a real legend during her lifetime. Whatever the artist touched, everything was lit up with some new, unexpected light. She was able to look at many pages of opera scores with a new, fresh look, to discover hitherto unknown beauties in them.

Maria Callas(real name Maria Anna Sophia Cecilia Kalogeropoulou) was born December 2, 1923 in New York, in a family of Greek immigrants. Despite her small income, her parents decided to give her a singing education. Maria's extraordinary talent manifested itself in early childhood. In 1937, together with her mother, she came to her homeland and entered one of the Athens conservatories, Ethnikon Odeon, to the famous teacher Maria Trivella.

Under her leadership, Callas prepared and performed her first opera part in a student performance - the role of Santuzza in the opera Rural Honor by P. Mascagni. So significant event happened in 1939, which became a kind of milestone in the life of the future singer. She moves to another Athens conservatory, the Odeon Afion, to the class of the outstanding Spanish coloratura singer Elvira de Hidalgo, who completed the polishing of her voice and helped Callas to take place as an opera singer.

In 1941, Callas made her debut at the Athens Opera, performing the part of Tosca in Puccini's opera of the same name. Here she worked until 1945, gradually starting to master the leading opera parts. Indeed, in the voice of Callas was a brilliant "wrongness". In the middle register, she heard a special muffled, even somewhat suppressed timbre. Connoisseurs of vocals considered this a disadvantage, and listeners saw a special charm in this. It was no coincidence that they talked about the magic of her voice, that she captivates the audience with her singing. The singer herself called her voice "dramatic coloratura".

The discovery of Callas took place on August 2, 1947, when an unknown twenty-four-year-old singer appeared on the stage of the Arena di Verona, the world's largest open-air opera house, where almost all the greatest singers and conductors of the 20th century performed. In the summer, a grandiose opera festival is held here, during which Callas performed in the title role in Ponchielli's La Gioconda.

The performance was conducted by Tullio Serafin, one of the best conductors Italian opera. And again, a personal meeting determines the fate of the actress. It is on the recommendation of Serafina that Callas is invited to Venice. Here, under his leadership, she performs the title roles in the operas "Turandot" by G. Puccini and "Tristan and Isolde" by R. Wagner.

It seemed that in the opera parts Kallas lives pieces of his life. At the same time, it reflected woman's destiny in general, love and suffering, joy and sorrow. In the most famous theater in the world - Milan's "La Scala" - Callas appeared in 1951, performing the part of Elena in "Sicilian Vespers" by G. Verdi.

The famous singer Mario Del Monaco recalls: “I met Callas in Rome, shortly after her arrival from America, at the house of maestro Serafina, and I remember that she sang several excerpts from Turandot there. My impression was not the best. , Kallas easily coped with all vocal difficulties, but her scale did not give the impression of being homogeneous.The middle and bottoms were guttural, and the extreme tops vibrated.

However, over the years, Maria Callas managed to turn her shortcomings into virtues. They became an integral part of her artistic personality and, in a sense, enhanced her performing originality. Maria Callas has managed to establish her own style. I first sang with her in August 1948 at the Carlo Felice Theater in Genoa, performing Turandot under Cuesta, and a year later, together with her, as well as with Rossi-Lemenyi and Maestro Serafin, we went to Buenos Aires...

... Returning to Italy, she signed a contract with La Scala for Aida, but the Milanese did not arouse much enthusiasm either. Such a disastrous season would break anyone but Maria Callas. Her will could match her talent. I remember, for example, how, being very short-sighted, she went down the stairs to the Turandot, groping for the steps with her foot so naturally that no one would ever guess about her shortcoming. Under any circumstances, she behaved as if she was fighting with everyone around her.

One February evening in 1951, sitting in the cafe "Biffy Scala" after the performance of "Aida" directed by De Sabata and with the participation of my partner Constantina Araujo, we talked with the director of La Scala Ghiringelli and general secretary Oldani Theater about which opera would be best to open the next season ... Ghiringelli asked if I thought Norma was suitable for opening the season, and I answered in the affirmative. But De Sabata still did not dare to choose the performer of the main female part ... Severe by nature, De Sabata, like Giringelli, avoided trusting relationships with singers. Yet he turned to me with a questioning expression on his face.

“Maria Callas,” I answered without hesitation. De Sabata, gloomy, recalled the failure of Mary in Aida. However, I stood my ground, saying that in "Norma" Kallas would be a true discovery. I remembered how she won over the dislike of the audience of the Colon Theater by making up for her failure at Turandot. De Sabata agreed. Apparently, someone else had already called him the name Kallas, and my opinion was decisive.

It was decided to open the season also with the Sicilian Vespers, where I did not participate, since it was unsuitable for my voice. In the same year, the phenomenon of Maria Meneghini-Callas flared up as a new star in the world opera firmament. Stage talent, singing ingenuity, extraordinary acting talent - all this was bestowed by nature on Callas, and she became the brightest figure. Maria embarked on the path of rivalry with a young and equally aggressive star - Renata Tebaldi. 1953 marked the beginning of this rivalry, which lasted for a whole decade and divided the opera world into two camps.

The great Italian director L. Visconti heard Callas for the first time in the role of Kundry in Wagner's Parsifal. Admired by the talent of the singer, the director at the same time drew attention to the unnaturalness of her stage behavior. The artist, as he recalled, was wearing a huge hat, the brim of which swayed in different directions, preventing her from seeing and moving. Visconti said to himself: "If I ever work with her, she won't have to suffer so much, I'll take care of it."

In 1954, such an opportunity presented itself: at La Scala, the director, already quite famous, staged his first opera performance - Spontini's Vestal, with Maria Callas in the title role. It was followed by new productions, including "La Traviata" on the same stage, which became the beginning of the worldwide fame of Callas. The singer herself wrote later: “Luchino Visconti marks a new important stage in my artistic life. I will never forget the third act of La Traviata, staged by him. I went on stage like a Christmas tree, dressed up like the heroine of Marcel Proust. Without sweetness, without vulgar sentimentality. When Alfred threw money in my face, I did not bend down, did not run away: stage with outstretched arms, as if saying to the public: "Before you is a shameless woman."

It was Visconti who taught me to play on stage, and I have deep love and gratitude for him. There are only two photographs on my piano - Luchino and the soprano Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, who, out of love for art, taught us all. We worked with Visconti in an atmosphere of true creative community. But, as I have said many times, the most important thing is that he was the first to give me proof that my previous searches were correct. Scolding me for various gestures that seemed beautiful to the public, but contrary to my nature, he made me rethink a lot, approve the basic principle: maximum performing and vocal expressiveness with minimal use of movements.

Enthusiastic spectators awarded Callas with the title of La Divina - Divine, which she retained even after her death. Quickly mastering all the new parties, she performs in Europe, South America, Mexico. The list of her roles is truly incredible: from Isolde in Wagner and Brunhilde in the operas of Gluck and Haydn to the common parts of her range - Gilda, Lucia in operas by Verdi and Rossini. Callas was called the revivalist of the lyrical bel canto style.

Her interpretation of the role of Norma in Bellini's opera of the same name is noteworthy. Callas is considered one of the the best performers this role. Probably realizing her spiritual kinship with this heroine and the possibilities of her voice, Callas sang this part on many of her debuts - at Covent Garden in London in 1952, then on the stage of the Lyric Opera in Chicago in 1954.

In 1956, a triumph awaits her in the city where she was born - the Metropolitan Opera specially prepared a new production of Bellini's Norma for Callas' debut. This part, along with Lucia di Lammermoor in Donizetti's opera of the same name, is considered by critics of those years to be among the artist's highest achievements. However, it is not so easy to distinguish best work in her repertoire. The fact is that Callas approached each of her new roles with extraordinary and even somewhat unusual responsibility for opera prima donnas. The spontaneous method was alien to her. She worked persistently, methodically, with full exertion of spiritual and intellectual forces. She was guided by the desire for perfection, and hence the uncompromisingness of her views, beliefs, and actions. All this led to endless clashes between Kallas and the theater administration, entrepreneurs, and sometimes stage partners.

For seventeen years, Callas sang almost without feeling sorry for herself. She performed about forty parts, performing on stage more than 600 times. In addition, she continuously recorded on records, made special concert recordings, sang on radio and television. Callas performed regularly at La Scala in Milan (1950–1958, 1960–1962), London's Covent Garden Theater (since 1962), the Chicago Opera (since 1954), and the New York Metropolitan Opera (1956–1958). ). The audience went to her performances not only to hear the magnificent soprano, but also to see a real tragic actress. The performance of such popular parts as Violetta in Verdi's La Traviata, Tosca in Puccini's opera or Carmen brought her triumphant success. However, it was not in her character that she was creatively limited. Thanks to her artistic inquisitiveness, many forgotten samples of music of the 18th-19th centuries came to life on the stage - Spontini's Vestal, Bellini's Pirate, Haydn's Orpheus and Eurydice, Iphigenia in Aulis, and Gluck's Alceste, The Turk in Italy and "Armida" by Rossini, "Medea" by Cherubini...

“Kallas' singing was truly revolutionary,” writes L.O. Hakobyan, - she managed to revive the phenomenon of “limitless”, or “free”, soprano (ital. soprano sfogato), with all its inherent virtues, almost forgotten since the time of the great singers of the 19th century - J. Pasta, M. Malibran, Giulia Grisi ( such as a range of two and a half octaves, a richly nuanced sound and virtuoso coloratura technique in all registers), as well as peculiar "flaws" (excessive vibration on the highest notes, not always natural sounding of transitional notes). In addition to a unique, instantly recognizable voice timbre, Callas had a great talent tragic actress... Due to excessive exertion, risky experiments with her own health (in 1953 she lost 30 kg in 3 months), and also because of the circumstances of her personal life, the singer's career was short-lived. scene in 1965 after a failed performance as Tosca at Covent Garden."

“I developed some standards, and I decided that it was time to part with the public. If I return, I will start all over again, ”she said at that time.

The name of Maria Callas nevertheless appeared again and again on the pages of newspapers and magazines. Everyone, in particular, is interested in the ups and downs of her personal life - marriage to the Greek multimillionaire Onassis. Previously, from 1949 to 1959, Maria was married to an Italian lawyer, J.‑B. Meneghini and for some time acted under a double surname - Meneghini-Kallas. Callas had an uneven relationship with Onassis. They converged and diverged, Maria was even going to give birth to a child, but could not save him. However, their relationship never ended in marriage: Onassis married the widow of US President John F. Kennedy, Jacqueline.

Maria Callas (real name Maria Anna Sophia Cecilia Kalogeropoulou) was born on December 2, 1923 in New York, in a family of Greek immigrants. Despite her small income, her parents decided to give her a singing education. Maria's extraordinary talent manifested itself in early childhood. In 1937, together with her mother, she came to her homeland and entered one of the Athens conservatories, Ethnikon Odeon, to the famous teacher Maria Trivella.

Under her leadership, Callas prepared and performed her first opera part in a student performance - the role of Santuzza in the opera Rural Honor by P. Mascagni. Such a significant event took place in 1939, which became a kind of milestone in the life of the future singer. She moves to another Athens conservatory, the Odeon Afion, to the class of the outstanding Spanish coloratura singer Elvira de Hidalgo, who completed the polishing of her voice and helped Callas to take place as an opera singer.

In 1941, Callas made her debut at the Athens Opera, performing the part of Tosca in Puccini's opera of the same name. Here she worked until 1945, gradually starting to master the leading opera parts.

Indeed, in the voice of Callas was a brilliant "wrongness". In the middle register, she heard a special muffled, even somewhat suppressed timbre. Connoisseurs of vocals considered this a disadvantage, and listeners saw a special charm in this. It was no coincidence that they talked about the magic of her voice, that she captivates the audience with her singing. The singer herself called her voice "dramatic coloratura".

The performance was conducted by Tullio Serafin, one of the best conductors of Italian opera. And again, a personal meeting determines the fate of the actress. It is on the recommendation of Serafina that Callas is invited to Venice. Here, under his leadership, she performs the title roles in the operas "Turandot" by G. Puccini and "Tristan and Isolde" by R. Wagner.

It seemed that in the opera parts Kallas lives pieces of his life. At the same time, she reflected the fate of women in general, love and suffering, joy and sadness.

In the most famous theater in the world - Milan's La Scala - Callas appeared in 1951, performing the part of Elena in G. Verdi's Sicilian Vespers.

The famous singer Mario Del Monaco recalls:

“I met Callas in Rome, shortly after her arrival from America, at the house of Maestro Serafina, and I remember that she sang several excerpts from Turandot there. My impression was not the best. Of course, Callas easily coped with all vocal difficulties, but her scale did not give the impression of being homogeneous. The mids and lows were guttural and the highs vibrated.

However, over the years, Maria Callas managed to turn her shortcomings into virtues. They became an integral part of her artistic personality and, in a sense, enhanced her performing originality. Maria Callas has managed to establish her own style. For the first time I sang with her in August 1948 at the Genoese theater "Carlo Felice", performing "Turandot" under the direction of Cuesta, and a year later, together with her, as well as with Rossi-Lemenyi and maestro Serafin, we went to Buenos Aires ...

One February evening in 1951, sitting in the cafe "Biffy Scala" after the performance of "Aida" directed by De Sabata and with the participation of my partner Constantina Araujo, we were talking with the director of La Scala Ghiringelli and the general secretary of the Oldani Theater about what Opera is the best way to open the next season… Ghiringelli asked if I thought Norma would be suitable for the opening of the season, and I answered in the affirmative. But De Sabata still did not dare to choose the performer of the main female part ... Severe by nature, De Sabata, like Giringelli, avoided trusting relationships with singers. Yet he turned to me with a questioning expression on his face.

"Maria Callas" - I answered without hesitation. De Sabata, gloomy, recalled the failure of Mary in Aida. However, I stood my ground, saying that in "Norma" Kallas would be a true discovery. I remembered how she won over the dislike of the audience of the Colon Theater by making up for her failure at Turandot. De Sabata agreed. Apparently, someone else had already called him the name Kallas, and my opinion was decisive.

1953 marked the beginning of this rivalry, which lasted for a whole decade and divided the opera world into two camps.

In 1954, such an opportunity presented itself: at La Scala, the director, already quite famous, staged his first opera performance - Spontini's Vestal with Maria Callas in the title role. It was followed by new productions, including "La Traviata" on the same stage, which became the beginning of the worldwide fame of Callas. The singer herself wrote later: “Luchino Visconti marks a new important stage in my artistic life. I will never forget the third act of La Traviata, staged by him. I went on stage like a Christmas tree, dressed up like the heroine of Marcel Proust. Without sweetness, without vulgar sentimentality. When Alfred threw money in my face, I didn’t bend down, I didn’t run away: I remained on stage with outstretched arms, as if saying to the public: “Before you is a shameless one.” It was Visconti who taught me to play on stage, and I have deep love and gratitude for him. There are only two photographs on my piano - Luchino and soprano Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, who, out of love for art, taught us all. We worked with Visconti in an atmosphere of true creative community. But, as I have said many times, the most important thing is that he was the first to give me proof that my previous searches were correct. Scolding me for various gestures that seemed beautiful to the public, but contrary to my nature, he made me rethink a lot, approve the basic principle: maximum performing and vocal expressiveness with minimal use of movements.

Enthusiastic spectators awarded Callas with the title of La Divina - Divine, which she retained even after her death.

Quickly mastering all the new parties, she performs in Europe, South America, Mexico. The list of her roles is truly incredible: from Isolde in Wagner and Brunhilde in the operas of Gluck and Haydn to the common parts of her range - Gilda, Lucia in operas by Verdi and Rossini. Callas was called the revivalist of the lyrical bel canto style.

Her interpretation of the role of Norma in Bellini's opera of the same name is noteworthy. Callas is considered one of the best performers of this role. Probably realizing her spiritual kinship with this heroine and the possibilities of her voice, Callas sang this part on many of her debuts - at Covent Garden in London in 1952, then on the stage of the Lyric Opera in Chicago in 1954.

In 1956, a triumph awaits her in the city where she was born - the Metropolitan Opera specially prepared a new production of Bellini's Norma for Callas' debut. This part, along with Lucia di Lammermoor in Donizetti's opera of the same name, is considered by critics of those years to be among the artist's highest achievements. However, it is not so easy to single out the best works in her repertory string. The fact is that Callas approached each of her new roles with extraordinary and even somewhat unusual responsibility for opera prima donnas. The spontaneous method was alien to her. She worked persistently, methodically, with full exertion of spiritual and intellectual forces. She was guided by the desire for perfection, and hence the uncompromisingness of her views, beliefs, and actions. All this led to endless clashes between Kallas and the theater administration, entrepreneurs, and sometimes stage partners.

Callas regularly performed at La Scala in Milan (1950-1958, 1960-1962), London's Covent Garden Theater (since 1962), Chicago Opera (since 1954), New York Metropolitan Opera (1956-1958). ). The audience went to her performances not only to hear the magnificent soprano, but also to see a real tragic actress. The performance of such popular parts as Violetta in Verdi's La Traviata, Tosca in Puccini's opera or Carmen brought her triumphant success. However, it was not in her character that she was creatively limited. Thanks to her artistic inquisitiveness, many forgotten samples of music of the 18th-19th centuries came to life on the stage - Spontini's Vestal, Bellini's Pirate, Haydn's Orpheus and Eurydice, Iphigenia in Aulis, and Gluck's Alceste, The Turk in Italy and "Armida" by Rossini, "Medea" by Cherubini...

“Kallas' singing was truly revolutionary,” writes L.O. Hakobyan, - she managed to revive the phenomenon of “limitless”, or “free”, soprano (Italian soprano sfogato), with all its inherent virtues, almost forgotten since the time of the great singers of the 19th century - J. Pasta, M. Malibran, Giulia Grisi ( such as a range of two and a half octaves, richly nuanced sound and virtuoso coloratura technique in all registers), as well as peculiar "flaws" (excessive vibration on the highest notes, not always natural sounding of transitional notes). In addition to the voice of a unique, instantly recognizable timbre, Callas had a huge talent as a tragic actress. Due to excessive stress, risky experiments with her own health (in 1953, she lost 30 kg in 3 months), and also because of the circumstances of her personal life, the singer's career was short-lived. Callas left the stage in 1965 after an unsuccessful performance as Tosca in Covent Garden.

The famous opera singer (lyric-dramatic soprano) Maria Callas (real name Maria Kalogeropoulos), one of the outstanding representatives of modern vocal art, was born on December 3, 1923 in New York in the family of a pharmacist. Shortly before her birth, her parents moved from Greece to the United States, where the head of the family opened his own pharmacy under the name Kallas.

Maria was the second daughter of Georges and Evangel Kalogeropoulos, although a son was expected. This is probably why the future singer felt unwanted and superfluous in the family, she later recalled: "My parents loved me only when I started to sing."

The girl had great memory and a good voice, she quickly memorized the words and motives of songs and arias that sounded on the radio, but suffered from excessive shyness and sang only in the presence of relatives. Maria was very lonely, the situation was aggravated by unattractive external data: in her childhood, the girl was fat, awkward, wore ugly horn-rimmed glasses.

The beginning of a severe economic crisis that swept the United States in 1929 led to the fact that the pharmacist Kallas was on the verge of ruin. The well-being of the family was at stake. The constant quarrels of her parents, the reproaches of the Gospel, which blamed her husband for all the troubles, who took her from her native Athens to an unfamiliar city called New York - this is the atmosphere in which the future famous singer and her older sister grew up.

No matter how Georges Callas tried to establish his pharmaceutical business, all his attempts ended in failure. It seemed that the offspring of the Greek emigrant would have to vegetate in poverty, but, not wanting such a sad fate for their children and vowing to make the girls famous, the Gospel gave them as an apprentice to a musician who gave music and vocal lessons for a moderate fee. These classes became the only refuge for Mary, in which she found salvation from loneliness and deliverance from maternal love, which had a very aggressive character. In addition, vocal lessons gave the girl great pleasure.

In 1937, Maria experienced a real tragedy: her parents divorced, and after much thought, her mother returned to Athens, taking her daughters with her. Evangelia did not give up the idea of making a star out of Mary (the eldest daughter was less gifted) and, having secured the support of influential people, arranged for her daughter to audition with the famous teacher of the National Athenian Conservatory, Maria Trivella. The singing of a 14-year-old girl, distinguished by her bright personality, was liked by the teacher, and she agreed to study with a gifted namesake. Soon Maria became a student at the conservatory, Trivella secured a scholarship for her, and the girl did not even have to pay for teaching.

Diligence and diligence were faithful companions of Mary throughout all the years of her studies at the conservatory. However, the happiness that filled the young soul during classes was replaced by melancholy and sadness as soon as Maria crossed the threshold of her home.

The future celebrity, who patiently endured all the antics of her mother, missed her father very much - the only person who, as it seemed to the girl, loved her. Note that Mary, who firmly believed that marriages are made in heaven, and divorces and betrayals are a great sin, could not forgive her parents for breaking up relationships. Such a naive judgment, characterized by intransigence to everything bad, was explained by the fact that the singer practically did not know real life and outside of the rehearsal class and the stage, she felt helpless.

Of particular importance for the development of the talent of Maria Callas was the acquaintance with the famous opera singer Elvira de Hidalgo, who worked for some time at the conservatory of Athens. Already a year after the start of studies in this educational institution Maria made her debut at the Athens Opera House as Santuzza in " rural honor» Mascagni. A successful performance did not infect the young actress with a "star" disease, she still worked on herself, improving her skills and artistry.

The apprenticeship period ended in the mid-1940s; soon, having concluded her first opera contract, Maria went to Italy. Her first listeners were the gallant officers of the Italian army. The performances of the young singer (most often she performed Wagnerian parts - such as Isolde, Brunnhilde in The Valkyrie, etc.) were always accompanied by enthusiastic applause. But, despite all the efforts, Mary remained unknown.

The real success came to the singer on August 3, 1947, when, having taken part in the Arena di Verona festival, she performed the role of Mona Lisa in the opera of the same name. Maria Kalogeropoulos was remembered by the audience as a very plump girl (her weight at that time exceeded 90 kilograms) with smoothly combed hair, dressed in a shapeless blouse resembling a monastic cassock; she stood on the stage and sang an aria with inspiration in a pleasant, full of extraordinary charm voice.

It would seem that a singer with such an appearance, and even having the habit of biting her nails from excitement, will never conquer the world. But, on the contrary, critics predicted a great future for Maria Kalogeropoulos. Indeed, in the early 1950s, she received an invitation to perform on the stage of one of major theaters world - Milan's "La Scala". Maria performed the part in Aida. This was followed by work at the London Covent Garden (1952), the Chicago Opera House (1954-1955) and the New York Metropolitan Opera (1956-1958). In 1960, the singer returned to Milan and became a soloist at La Scala.

Among the best roles performed by this talented woman are Lucia and Anne Boleyn in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor and Anne Boleyn, Norma, Amina and Imogen in Bellini's Norma, Sleepwalker and Pirate, Violetta in Bellini's La Traviate" by Verdi, Tosca in "Tosca" by Puccini, etc. Callas' performance style in many ways resembled the Italian bel canto opera school with its romanticism, striving for the unity of the embodiment of vocal and dramatic images.

Maria Callas made a special contribution to the education of a whole generation of talented vocalists, starting in 1971 for several years she worked as a teacher at the Juilliard music school New York. However, it was rather a step towards salvation. own life than anything else. Creating the appearance of violent activity, participating in cultural life country, Maria Callas tried to forget her beloved man ... But first things first.

World fame, which came to a talented opera singer at the age of 24, was far from the main event in her fate. Much more important for Mary was her personal life, in which two men occupied a significant place - Giovanni Battista Meneghini and Aristotle Onassis.

Callas met Meneghini, an Italian industrialist and a great connoisseur of opera, in 1947. In his 50s, Giovanni Battista was a bachelor, the desire to create a family was not alien to him, he just did not meet a worthy woman. Being rather prudent due to his nature and the peculiarities of his work, Meneghini reasoned, and quite rightly, that Maria is the potential capital, which over time can give a big profit.

However, the main selection criterion was still not a sober calculation: a sweet, smiling girl charmed the 50-year-old industrialist. Soon he began to wear exquisite bouquets backstage, give gifts, and after performances, take Maria to restaurants. The singer's heart was conquered.

Callas later recalled: “I realized that this was the person I was looking for, already 5 minutes after we met ... If Battista wanted to, I would immediately leave the music without any regret. Indeed, in the life of every woman, love is much more important than a career.

On the evening of April 21, 1949, in the small church of St. Philip in Verona, Maria Kalogeropoulos and Giovanni Battista Meneghini got married in the presence of only two guests who appeared at the same time as their witnesses. Relatives of the bride and groom received a message about the upcoming wedding just a few hours before it, in Italy 17-year-old boys and girls get married this way (secretly), but not adults. But perhaps this was the secret of the 10-year family happiness of a talented opera singer and a wealthy industrialist.

The unusual marriage ceremony did not at all surprise Maria Kalogeropoulos, who put her maiden name surname Meneghini. However, the newlyweds failed to enjoy the happiness: Maria went on a three-month tour to Buenos Aires.

The newly-appeared wife slightly missed her husband, because she had not yet had time to get used to him, but she really wanted to return home. Maria knew that they were waiting for her, and this made her life more beautiful. A reminder of a loving wife was also a small canvas depicting the Holy Family, donated by Giovanni a few months before the wedding. For the singer, the picture became a kind of talisman, Callas even refused to perform if the "Holy Family" was not in her dressing room.

Giovanni Battista quickly realized that his wife's ideas about family life were very old-fashioned, which surprised and at the same time delighted him, because he could not wish for a better life for himself. Maria, being by nature a rather pedantic woman, strove to make the world(at least in his own family) 100% predictable.

The following fact is indicative in this regard: when the Meneghinis settled in Milan, Maria, with special zeal, took up the arrangement of her own home. She demanded order in everything, especially the servants got it from her. The singer repeatedly repeated that the shoes placed in the dressing room should be matched in color, and cups and glasses should be placed in the sideboard “by height”. The servants were threatened with a severe reprimand even if the dairy products ended up in the refrigerator not on the top shelf, but on the bottom or middle one.

Meneghini's calculation of making high profits thanks to his wife's talent turned out to be accurate: as a result of her husband's assistance and her own talent, Maria Kalogeropoulos soon turned into the "great, inimitable and unsurpassed" Maria Callas. This was largely due to the changes that took place in the appearance of a talented singer: in just a few months she managed to lose up to 60 kilograms and learn to dress according to fashion. The result of the efforts expended was the conquest of the main opera stages of the world - La Scala (Milan), Covent Garden (London), Metropolitan Opera (New York), Grand Opera (Paris).

During the day, Maria usually disappeared in the theater at rehearsals, in the evening she played in a play, after which she returned home tired and silent. This ascent to the top of the musical Olympus required an incredible effort, there was very little time left for personal life, but Giovanni Battista supported his wife in everything. Afraid of damaging her career, he did not even allow Mary to have children.

However, the Meneghini spouses were still happy in family life. The fact is that their relationship from the very beginning was distinguished by a certain practicality, there was no romantic passion in them, but there was something more important, namely reliability and stability. The husband acted for Mary in several roles at once: he was both a father, and a nanny, and an attorney in all her affairs, and an impresario. The singer firmly believed in the infallibility of her husband, it could not even enter her head that Meneghini was cheating on her, in turn, Maria also remained faithful to her husband, not giving him the slightest reason to doubt her decency. So it was until the ill-fated cruise aboard the yacht Christina, which left Monte Carlo on July 22, 1959.

The owner of a luxurious yacht, more like a floating palace with luxurious furnishings, was the Greek millionaire Aristotle Onassis. He made his fortune during the Second World War, being a supplier of oil to the warring European countries. To strengthen his position in society, Onassis married the daughter of a wealthy shipowner Stavros Livanos, Tina. From this marriage two children were born. A million fortune, a family - Aristotle Onassis had everything he needed for happiness, only glory was missing. Maria Callas, who, along with her husband, was among the other selected guests on the yacht Christina, was the true embodiment of the missing glory. And Onassis decided to conquer the 35-year-old opera diva, who entered the heyday of her beauty and fame.

The Meneghinis decided to go on a cruise only after persistent persuasion from the doctor, who advised the singer to have a good rest on the sea coast. Thus, the trip on the Christina was almost the only idle trip for Maria in the last 20 years, and the atmosphere reigning on the yacht turned out to be unusual for her.

Each day of the cruise began with the fact that all the guests went out on the upper deck: some settled in comfortable sun loungers and sunbathed, others swam in the pool, others had leisurely conversations about the weather and shared the latest secular news. The onset of the evening promised fun entertainment: in the cities where the yacht stopped, magnificent receptions were held in honor of the arrivals, but most often incendiary parties were organized right on the yacht.

Rest in a cheerful company unrecognizably transformed Maria: her eyes absorbed the cloudless blue of the sky, and the hot sun and light breeze, carrying the smell of seaweed, erased the tired expression that had become familiar from her face. The change that took place surprised not only Meneghini, but also someone else ...

Aristotle Onassis, who set a goal to conquer the famous Maria Callas, set to work with enthusiasm. Providing the singer with all sorts of signs of attention, courting her and showering her with compliments, the cunning millionaire managed to win the heart of an impregnable beauty. Changes in the behavior of his wife did not escape Battista's attention: Maria plunged headlong into idle fun. And soon she completely surrendered to the passion that flared up in her ...

One fine evening, Maria refused to follow her husband to the cabin, so that, without violating the established order, go to bed at midnight. She declared that she wanted to dance with the charming owner of a fabulous yacht, and this night was the most terrible for Giovanni Battista Meneghini. For the first time in years of marriage, he lay in a cold bed alone, and a few hours later a woman quietly entered the cabin and sat on the edge of the bed. Mistaking her in the dark for his wife, Battista stretched out his arms to hug his "dancer" ... But it turned out not to be Maria, but Tina Onassis, the wife of Aristotle. In a breaking voice, she told Meneghini about the betrayal of his wife, and then added: “It is unlikely that you will be able to get Mary back, Aristotle will not let her go, I already know him.”

However, Giovanni Battista was ready to turn a blind eye to many things and forgive his wife even betrayal: in the end, Mary's youth (she was almost 30 years younger than her husband) could explain rash acts, and, in addition, the famous opera diva for the first time she showed a genuine interest in something other than singing.

But Mary did not need forgiveness. Returning to Milan, she told her husband that she was leaving him and leaving for Onassis. All reasonable arguments given by Battista were in vain, Maria was adamant. “I realized that I no longer love you,” this phrase thrown by Callas meant the end of their happy marriage.

Aristotle Onassis became the first and last love of the famous singer. It was to him that she owed the comprehension of the secrets of carnal love, it was he, an experienced tempter, who allowed her to discover a range of completely new sensations and experiences.

Onassis chose the right tactic to "tame" Maria Callas: meeting with her, he portrayed a page in love with his queen. The person who owned multi-million dollar fortune, like a servant, he courted his mistress: he gave her a pedicure, combed her hair and constantly complimented her. Realizing that, in addition to her lover, Mary would want to see him as a friend, Aristotle took a special interest in her affairs. He had the ability to listen, or at least pretended to listen.

Later, the singer wrote in her diary: “I behaved so stupidly, repented before him that I left my husband, said that I was very ashamed. How funny it must have been for him to listen to my repentance!” Indeed, Mary often abused her lover's time and patience, forcing him to listen to her confessions for hours. Onassis did not always have the strength to fully “enjoy” these drawn-out monologues-complaints. Usually, in the middle of confession, he glanced at the clock face, lightly hit his forehead (“Ah, I completely forgot about the upcoming meeting with government officials!”), Kissed Mary and left her chambers.

After parting with her lawful spouse, Kallas found herself in the position of a blind man without a guide, she was completely unadapted to life, which is probably why her business declined. In the previously impeccable schedule of performances and tours of the popular opera diva, annoying overlays now periodically occurred: either a lucrative contract was broken, then after lengthy rehearsals the performance was postponed indefinitely, then problems arose with participation in an interesting project.

And the singer herself could not work at full strength, as before, she constantly thought about how her life would turn out after Onassis's divorce. However, the latter was not going to leave his wife and children, his connections in the world of wealthy shipowners and authority in the world were very dear to him. At the same time, not wanting to lose Mary, he deceived her.

Callas was surprised to find in the newspapers a message that Tina Onassis filed for divorce, and not her husband. The argument in favor of the divorce was the accusation of treason, and not the famous opera singer, but a certain Gina Rhinelander was named Aristotle's mistress. So Tina made it clear to Mary that Onassis was far from monogamous and that there were, are and will be other women in his life.

In June 1960, Aristotle received a divorce, and Mary soon freed herself from the bonds of marriage. The ubiquitous media correspondents immediately started talking about the upcoming wedding of Callas and Onassis, but a year passed, the second, the third, and they never got married. What was the reason for the failed marriage?

The fact is that Aristotle was not going to propose to his mistress. And Maria waited, hoped and was very worried about his silence. But, realizing that Onassis is not the person with whom you can build something sacred (for example, a family), she stopped waiting.

Unrestrained, quick-tempered and rude, Aristotle allowed himself such liberties as insulting Callas in the presence of a large audience. Notes about the violent quarrels of famous lovers in public places instantly appeared on the front pages of newspapers and magazines.

One of these quarrels occurred during lunch at the Maxim restaurant in Paris with a certain Maggie van Zulen. admiring beautiful couple, a friend remarked, turning to Mary: “You sing so little now, probably, you only do what you make love.” Blushing thickly, the woman barely audibly said: “What are you, we never at all ...” This was enough for the enraged Onassis to break away and leave the hall with insulting remarks about sexual relations with his mistress.

The humiliated Mary was forced to leave the restaurant, but the phrase “You don’t sing much” caused her almost more offense than the words of Aristotle. In fact, it was her most serious life tragedy. “They say that relations with Onassis caused my many sufferings,” Kallas noted in her diary. - What naivete! The voice is my true tragedy!”

Voice problems began to bother the singer at the very beginning of the affair with Aristotle. Endless tracheitis and bronchitis, which resulted in the disappearance of the voice, hoarseness, like the scourge of God, pursued Maria. She visited the best clinics in the world, was treated by the best doctors, but to no avail. “No organic matter,” the doctors said, making clear allusions to the psychosomatic causes of the misfortune that befell the opera diva.

Being quite devout, Callas believed that by losing her voice, God punished her for divorcing Meneghini. All night long she prayed to the Lord for forgiveness, and when she fell asleep, she invariably saw the same dream: a stern, long-bearded old man (God) puts her before a painful choice - voice or love for Onassis? In a dream she preferred her voice, but when she woke up she thought with horror that she might lose both. And her fears were not unfounded.

Being a conqueror by nature, Aristotle Onassis showed interest only in what was inaccessible and aroused universal respect. As soon as this something began to fade, he became indifferent. And the popularity of the legendary opera prima donna Maria Callas was melting at a rapid pace.

In the fall of 1960, she performed in new production on the stage at La Scala. Paolina's part in Polievkt was her last new role V operatic art. The audience awaited with trepidation the performance of the famous diva, the hall was packed to capacity: best places occupied by politicians, members of aristocratic families, famous stars of theater and cinema. Many of them arrived at the premiere at the personal invitation of Onassis, who was proud of his famous mistress.

But the triumph turned into a complete failure. For the first time in her life, Maria could not concentrate on the role, she realized that her voice did not obey her, dramatic arias about a wonderful feeling sounded false, and panic permeated her entire being. Leaders added fuel to the fire theater critics. One of them, Harold Rosenthal, gave the following review of the performance of the famous singer: "Callas' voice in Polievkt sounded empty and shallow, she is far from her former form." The onset of the crisis marked the end of a career and love relationships with Onassis...

In August 1968, Mary and Aristotle, as usual, went on a trip on the Christine. The weather was wonderful; sitting on the very deck where a few years ago Onassis promised to give Callas all the joys of the world, the lovers enjoyed life. The melancholy mood of the singer contrasted sharply with the state of nervous excitement of her lover.

Watching the play of the waves, Mary thought that God had denied her even the right to have children: while still being the wife of Meneghini, she heard the harsh verdict of the doctors. “How I wish we had children, so that at least something was left of you,” she unexpectedly uttered this phrase aloud. But another rudeness sounded in response: Onassis, in an order form, asked Mary to leave the ship as soon as it moored in the nearest port. “I invited business guests to the yacht, and your presence will be completely inappropriate,” he told his stunned mistress. So they parted.

And in October of the same year, Maria read in the newspapers that Aristotle Onassis would marry Jacqueline Kennedy, the widow of the murdered president. Despair seized the abandoned woman, but soon it was replaced by some kind of crazy joy: Kallas felt completely free from the one who erected a high wall between her and art. For the first time in 8 years, the once famous opera singer sat down at the piano and took up vocal exercises. She hoped that the voice would sound the same, but, alas...

Maria finally left the stage and settled in New York, in a small apartment on George Mandel Street. A few months later she left for Paris, where she starred in the famous director P. Pasolini's Medea (1969), based on the work of the same name by Euripides.

Success in the film industry left the singer indifferent, she did not want to do anything other than singing. However, the public again became interested in the legendary Maria Callas, her participation in 1973 in a large concert tour around Europe, undertaken together with Di Stefano, contributed to the growth of her popularity.

Life went on as usual, Maria continued to yearn for Onassis. One evening, sitting at the window in the evening, she heard someone whistling a simple tune, reminiscent of the one with which young people in Greece call their lovers on a date. The whistling did not stop, and, burning with curiosity, Maria looked out into the street. Her surprise knew no bounds when she found a former lover under her window. Frightened by the invasion of the police and reporters, the woman let the traitor into the house. He knelt before her and begged for forgiveness.

Onassis' confession went on for a very long time. Until dawn, he told Mary about his marriage to Jacqueline - a kind of business deal, thanks to which Aristotle became a member of the political circles of America. It turned out that a contract was concluded between the spouses, according to which the duration of the marriage was limited to 7 years, after this period, Jacqueline was to receive freedom and monetary compensation in the amount of $ 127 million. In addition, the contract stipulated the optionality of intimate relations between the spouses. Aristotle claimed that he was never close to Jacqueline, when he came to New York, he always stayed in the suite of the best hotel in the city, and the excuse for the press was the eternal renovation in the 15-room apartment of Mrs. Kennedy-Onassis.

Looking at her former lover, Maria Callas intuitively felt that he was not lying. She also realized that Onassis cannot be remade, he was, is and will be like that - obsessed with money and profit, unfaithful, quick-tempered. But this was the man she needed. She again let him into her life, becoming a faithful lover and comforter. He came to her only in those moments when, in between business trips and unsuccessful romances with other women, he needed her love and understanding.

In March 1975, Aristotle Onassis died in one of the American hospitals. Perhaps, in the last moments of his life, he thought about Maria Callas, an outstanding singer of the 20th century, a devoted mistress who devoted most of her life to him.

In the same year, Athens hosted the first international musical competition named after Maria Callas. Its program included works of opera and piano music of various styles and eras (from Bach to works by contemporary composers). Since 1977, the competition has been held annually, and since 1994, only one prize has been awarded - the Maria Callas Grand Prix.

With the death of Onassis, Maria was left completely alone. Her only consolation was a portrait of Mary Magdalene. A woman could look at it for hours and reflect on her life. “How I wish there was an opera about Mary Magdalene,” the singer wrote in her diary. “I have always felt our secret relationship. Only, unlike Mary Magdalene, I was faithful at first, and then became a sinner. Perhaps that is why God forgave her, but not me.

Maria Callas survived Aristotle Onassis by only two years. In 1977, the 53-year-old singer died in her Paris apartment from a heart attack. IN last way she was accompanied by flowers from Aristotle, it was last will unfaithful lover, a kind of tribute to a beautiful and talented woman. Fulfilling the last wish of the famous opera diva, her ashes were scattered over the Aegean Sea.

| |

Legendary opera singer of Greek origin, one of the best sopranos of the 20th century. Unique voice data, impressive bel canto technique and a truly dramatic approach to performance made Maria Callas the greatest star of the world opera scene, and the tragic story of her personal life constantly attracted the attention of the public and the press. For her outstanding musical and dramatic talent, she was called by connoisseurs of opera "Goddess" (La Divina).

Maria Callas, nee Sophia Cecilia Kalos (Sophia Cecelia Kalos), was born December 2, 1923 in New York in a family of emigrants from Greece. Her mother, Gospel Kalos(Evangelia Kalos), noticing her daughter's musical talent, forced her to sing at the age of five, which the little girl did not like at all. In 1937, Maria's parents separated, and she moved with her mother to Greece. Relations with her mother only worsened, in 1950 Maria stopped communicating with her.

Maria received her musical education at the Athens Conservatory.

Her teacher Maria Trivella(Maria Trivella) recalls: “She was the perfect student. Fanatic, uncompromising, completely devoted to singing her heart and soul. Her progress has been phenomenal. She practiced for five or six hours a day and six months later she was already singing the most difficult arias.

The first public performance took place in 1938. Callas, shortly thereafter, she received minor roles at the Greek National Opera. The small salary she received there helped her family make ends meet during the difficult wartime. Maria's debut in the title role took place in 1942 at the Olympia Theater and received rave reviews from the press.

After the war, Kallas went to the United States, where her father lived. George Callas(George Kalos). She was accepted into the prestigious Metropolitan Opera, but soon turned down a contract that offered unsuitable roles and low pay. In 1946, Callas moved to Italy. In Verona she met Giovanni Battista Meneghini(Giovanni Battista Meneghini). The wealthy industrialist was much older than her, but she married him in 1949. Until their divorce in 1959, Meneghini directed the career Callas, becoming her impresario and producer. In Italy, the singer managed to meet an outstanding conductor by Tullio Serafin(Tullio Serafin). Their joint work was the beginning of her successful international career.

In 1949 in Venice Maria Callas performed very diverse roles: Brunnhilde in "Valkyrie" Wagner and Elvira in The Puritans Bellini- an unprecedented event in the history of opera. This was followed by brilliant roles in operas. Cherubini And Rossini. In 1950, she gave 100 concerts, setting her personal best. In 1951, Callas made his debut on the legendary stage of La Scala in the opera Verdi"Sicilian Vespers" On the main opera stage of the world, she participated in productions Herbert von Karajan(Herbert von Karajan), Marguerite Wallmann(Margherita Wallmann) Luchino Visconti(Luchino Visconti) and Franco Zeffirelli (Franco Zeffirelli). Since 1952, a long and very fruitful cooperation began. Maria Callas with the Royal Opera of London.

In 1953, Callas rapidly lost weight, losing 36 kg in a year. She deliberately changed her figure for the sake of performances. Many believe that the drastic weight change was the cause of the early loss of her voice, while it is undeniable that she gained self-confidence and her voice became softer and more feminine.

In 1956, she made a triumphant return to the Metropolitan Opera with roles in Norma. Bellini and "Aide" Verdi. She performed on the best opera stages and performed the classics: parts in Lucia di Lammermoor Donizetti, "Troubadour" and "Macbeth" Verdi, "Tosque" Puccini.

In 1957 Maria Callas met a man who turned her life around - a multibillionaire, Greek shipowner Aristotle Onassis. In 1959, Callas left her husband, Onassis's wife filed for divorce. The high-profile romance of a bright couple attracted the attention of the press for nine years. But in 1968, Callas' dreams of a new marriage and a happy family life collapsed: Onassis married the widow of the American president Jacqueline Kennedy(Jacqueline Kennedy).

In fact, her brilliant career ended when she was in her early 40s. She gave her last concert at the Royal Opera in London in 1965. Her technique was still on point, but her unique voice lacked power.

In 1969 Maria Callas the only time she acted in a movie not in an operatic role. She played the role of the heroine of ancient Greek myths Medea in the film of the same name by the Italian director Pier Paolo Pasolini(Pier Paolo Pasolini).

The break with Onassis, loss of voice and early retirement crippled Maria. The most successful opera singer of the 20th century spent the last years of her life almost alone and died suddenly in 1977 at the age of 53 from a heart attack. According to her will, the ashes were scattered over the Aegean Sea.

Singer Montserrat Caballe(Montserrat Caballé) about the role Callas in the world opera: “She opened the door for all the singers of the world, behind which was not only great music but also a great idea of interpretation. She gave us a chance to do things that before her seemed unthinkable. I never dreamed of reaching her level. It’s wrong to compare us – I’m much smaller than her.”

In 2002, friend Callas Franco Zeffirelli made a film in memory of the great singer - "Callas Forever". The role of Callas was played by the Frenchwoman Fanny Ardant.

In 2007 Callas She was posthumously awarded the Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement in Music. In the same year, she was named the best soprano of all time by the BBC Music Magazine. Thirty years after her death, Greece issued a €10 commemorative coin featuring Callas. Dedications to Kallas in their work were made by a large number of different artists: groups R.E.M., Enigma, Faithless, singers Celine Dion And Rufus Wainwright.

Maestro Carlo Maria Giulini(Carlo Maria Giulini) about the voice Callas: “It is very difficult to find words to describe her voice. He was a special tool. This happens with strings: violin, viola, cello - when you first hear them, they give a strange impression. But it is worth listening to for a few minutes, getting close to this sound, and it acquires magical qualities. That was the voice of Callas."

"ALL OR NOTHING!" – MARIA CALLAS

She was amazingly beautiful. She was admired, she was feared. However, for all her genius and inconsistency, she always remained a woman who wants to be loved and needed. In 1957, the Greek singer was at the height of her fame. She has just turned 34. Her figure has acquired a delightful harmony after she lost half her weight three years earlier. The best couturiers in the world dreamed of Callas appeared in the toilets they created.

Waiting for love

But bathed in glory, she still felt lonely. The husband, the famous impresario Giovanni Battista Meneghini, or Titta, as many called him, was 30 years older. But in the autumn of 1957 Maria is at a ball in Venice, arranged in her honor. That evening, she met a black-haired man of short stature. He wore large horn-rimmed glasses, from under which a piercing and slightly mocking look rushed at the interlocutor. The stranger kissed her hand, and they exchanged, first in English, and then in Greek, words that meant nothing. His name was Aristotle Onassis...

His yacht anchored in a Venetian bay. He presented Mary his wife Tina - a beautiful woman who gave him two children - Alexander and Christina.

The delusion of Maria Callas

with Giovanni Battista Meneghini

Their second meeting took place in the same place, in Venice, at a social event - only two years later. She came to the reception with her husband, and he with his wife. But this did not prevent Onassis from spending the whole evening with Mary a close look. And then he invited her, of course, with her husband to the yacht Christina. But the singer was expected at London's Covent Garden Theatre. At first, the billionaire was dumbfounded when he heard the refusal. However, on reflection, he decided to go with his family to London, where he ordered 17 seats for the play Medea, in which she sang Maria. He gave a grand reception in honor of the prima donna at the luxurious Dorchester Hotel. It was at this unforgettable reception, during which everything was buried in roses, Onassis managed to win the heart Mary. His wife looked downcast, the husband Mary also looked like a commander who lost the battle. But everyone acted as if nothing had happened. And therefore Callas and her husband accepted Onassis' new invitation to travel on the Christina yacht.

On July 22, 1959, the yacht set off on a seventeen-day voyage. Maria having fun like a girl, appearing in the evenings in breathtaking robes, slightly shocking others. And during a stop in Portofino, she bought herself a red wig, painted her lips cherry color. Together with Onassis, she appears in numerous shops in port cities, where her mere glance at one of the toilets is enough for him to buy half of the store. And then the night came in the Aegean, when Maria stayed in the cabin of Onassis, or rather - Ari, as she had already begun to call him.

August 8 in Istanbul Maria and her husband, having left the yacht, boarded a plane and returned to Milan. At his villa Sirmione Callas tries not to talk about anything. She is all waiting. Very soon, on August 17, Onassis arrives here in a huge car. Giovanni tries to protest, but is no longer able to prevent what is happening. Literally an hour later, the unfortunate spouse is left alone, seeing off with a sad look the receding car, which takes away his wife forever.

Maria Callas is either a woman or a singer...

It was like an obsession. But in the beginning - just a global scandal. She is a diva of divas, an opera goddess, the owner of the voice of the century, and he, the richest man on the planet, Aristotle Onassis, turned out to be just a woman and a man.

with Aristotle Onassis

Already September 8 Maria in a press communiqué, she officially announced her breakup with her husband. The diva herself is bathed in happiness. She is at the pinnacle of bliss. But if in love Maria happy then with the singer Callas not all is well. During 1959, she sang in only ten performances.

November 14 Callas officially divorced Giovanni Meneghini. A year later, Onassis divorced. Now lovers could be together all the time Maria hopes that he will marry her. However, he is in no hurry. But they are very good together. Of course, he often has to leave her alone, get on a plane and go to the other side of the world. In 1960, she spent her days alone on the "Christina" and performed in only six opera performances ...

She decided to settle in Paris in a house on the Avenue Foch to "intercept" Ari during his travels between London and Monte Carlo, where the billionaire's empire had offices. Maria gradually abandons the career of the singer. “I no longer have the desire to sing,” she admitted in one of her interviews. - I want to live. Live like any woman."

Other

The spring of 1963 arrives. A new journey aboard the Christina. Among the guests of honor are the Grimaldi spouses: Prince Rainier and his wife Grace, as well as Princess Lee Radziwill, who was the sister of Jacqueline Kennedy. By this time, Ari had bought the island of Skorpios in the Aegean for Mary in order, according to him, to turn into a nest of their love. However, everyone notices that he is passionate about the beautiful Radziwill. Through her, he sends an invitation to her sister Jacqueline. Mary I don't like that her dear Ari is so greedy for celebrities. "You're an upstart," she snaps at him. “And you are my trouble,” he replies sharply to her.

In the end Maria refuses to travel with Jacqueline. She remains in Paris. But after some time, a photograph appears in many newspapers of the world, in which her dear Ari is taken walking among the ruins of Ephesus with Jacqueline. True, in the autumn he returns to Mary and asks for forgiveness, which he easily obtains. She is happy again and buys a new apartment on Avenue Georges Mandel. And Ari comes to her, briefly breaking away from his endless affairs and trips. But the ground slipped from under her feet when, on October 17, 1968, she learned from a press release that Aristotle Onassis and Jacqueline Kennedy were going to get married in three days on the same island of Skorpios ...

What else was humiliating in this ten-year history? A small episode with a Cartier bracelet given by Onassis to Jackie Kennedy, or a truly dramatic pregnancy story Callas when she was forty-three? Onassis did not allow her to give birth. “Think about how my life would be filled if I resisted and saved the child,” lamented Maria.

Maria Callas, already without him

Two years have passed. They were far from the best Maria Callas. She suffered, hated and waited. And one night he came. Then several more night meetings followed ... Onassis's visits are becoming more and more frequent, especially after he was convinced that his marriage to Jacqueline was leading to a dead end. There are also enough troubles with children, especially with her daughter Christina, who, like gloves, changes husbands and lovers. But most of all he was shocked by the death of his son Alexander. Everything is falling apart. But only Maria still by his side.

But for her, a lot is already in the past, especially the career of a singer. She can no longer act in films, record records, perform concerts. And the worst thing for her comes: in 1975, Ari dies in an American hospital in France. Mary they were not even allowed to appear in the room where the deceased was. Now she is “alone, lost and forgotten,” as she sang, seized with deep sadness, in Puccini’s opera Manon Lescaut.

One morning in September 1977, feeling very dizzy, she went to the bathroom, but before reaching it, she fell and never got up. A few weeks later, her ashes were scattered over the Aegean Sea, which she, like her Ari, loved very much.

DATA

: “I have no rivals. When other singers sing the way I sing, play the stage the way I play, and perform my entire repertoire, then they will become my rivals.

“The audience always demands the maximum from me. This is a payment for fame, and a very cruel payment, ”-.

In 2002, personal letters and photographs of the opera diva Maria Callas were sold at auction for $6,000. Six letters written Mary her friend and tutor Elvira de Hidalgo in the late 1960s and are devoted to relations with the Greek billionaire Aristotle Onassis.

About life Maria Callas two films were shot: Callas and Onassis by Giorgio Capitani (2005) and Callas Forever by Franco Zeffirelli (2002).

How is the rating calculated?
◊ The rating is calculated based on the points accrued in the last week
◊ Points are awarded for:
⇒ visiting pages dedicated to the star
⇒ vote for a star
⇒ star commenting

Biography, life story of Maria Callas

Childhood in New York

Maria Callas, the great opera singer, was born in the United States of America on the 2nd of December, 1923 in the city of New York. The mother wanted to make a singer out of her daughter, embodying her dreams of becoming an opera singer in her. From the age of three, Maria listened to classical music, at the age of five she began to learn to play the piano, and from the age of eight she studied vocals. Her mother, Evangelia, wanted to give Maria a good musical education and returned to Athens for this, where Maria began studying at the conservatory from the age of 14. She studied vocals with the Spanish singer Elvira de Hidalgo.

Debut at the opera in 1941

Maria Callas made her operatic debut in German-occupied Athens in 1941. In 1945, Maria and her mother returned to New York, where her career in opera began. Success was the debut in the opera "La Gioconda" on the stage of the amphitheater "Arena di Verona". Callas herself considers it a success to meet Tullio Serafin, who introduced her to the world of grand opera. In 1949, she already sang at La Scala and went to South America. Then she began to perform on all opera stages in Europe and America. She lost 30 kilograms.

Personal life

In 1949, Callas married Giovanni Meneghini, who was her manager and producer. Her husband was twice her age, he sold the business and devoted himself entirely to Maria and her career in opera. He himself was an avid opera lover. Maria Callas met Aristotle Onassis in 1957, passionate love broke out between them. They met several times, began to appear together in public. Onassis' wife filed for divorce. The life of Maria Callas with Onassis was not prosperous, they constantly quarreled. In 1968, Onassis married Jacqueline Kennedy. Life with Jacqueline was also unhappy for him, he again returned to Maria Callas, began to come to her in Paris. He died in 1975, Maria outlived him by two years.

CONTINUED BELOW

Career break

In 1959, a series of scandals, a divorce and an unhappy love for Onassis led to the loss of his voice and the forced departure from La Scala and a break with the Metropolitan Opera. A return to opera in 1964 ended in failure.

Death

Maria Callas died in 1977 in Paris. She lived in Paris all the last years of her life, almost without leaving her apartment. She had a rare vocal cord disease from which she died.

A study was made of the cause of the gradual deterioration of the singer's voice. Doctors who specialized in diseases of the vocal cords (Fussi and Paolillo) analyzed the changes in her voice. In 1960, the range of her voice changed due to illness (changed from soprano to mezzo-soprano), the deterioration of her voice became apparent, the sound of high notes became different. The vocal muscles were weakened, the chest could not rise during breathing. The diagnosis was made only shortly before death, but was not officially expressed. It was believed that the singer died of cardiac arrest. Physicians Fussy and Paolillo suggested that the myocardial infarction was caused by dermatomyositis, a disease of the ligaments and smooth muscles. This diagnosis became known only in 2002. There is also a conspiracy theory around Callas, some people (including director Franco Zeffirelli) suggested that Maria was poisoned with the participation of her close friend, a pianist.

All of my life Maria Callas trying to earn someone's love. First - the mother, who was indifferent to her from birth. Then - an influential husband who idolized the artist Callas, but not a woman. And closed this chain Aristotle Onassis who betrayed the singer for his own selfish interests. She died at 53 in an empty apartment, never becoming truly happy. For the anniversary of the opera diva, AiF.ru talks about the main events and people in the fate of Maria Callas.

unloved daughter

No one was happy about the appearance of Mary. Parents dreamed of a son and were sure that all nine months Gospel of Demetrius was carrying a boy. But on December 2, 1923, an unpleasant surprise awaited them. For the first four days, the mother even refused to look at the newborn. It is not surprising that the girl grew up unloved and terribly notorious. All attention and care went to her older sister, against whose background future star looked like a gray mouse. When people saw the plump and shy Maria next to the spectacular Jackie, they could hardly believe in their relationship.

© Maria Callas at the La Scala theater during a performance of Verdi's Sicilian Vespers, 1951. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia.org
© Maria Callas as Violetta before the opera La Traviata at the Theater Royal, Covent Garden, 1958. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia.org

The singer's parents divorced when she was 13 years old. The father of the family stayed in America, and the mother and two daughters returned to their historical homeland: to Greece. They lived in poverty, but it was not so much upsetting little Maria as separation from her dad, whom she missed terribly. Despite the fact that the Gospel could hardly be called a sensitive and caring mother, the opera diva owes her career to her. The woman insisted that her youngest daughter enter the conservatory. From the first days of her studies, Kallas made an impression on teachers, she grasped everything on the fly. She was always the first to arrive in class and the last to leave. By the end of the third trimester, she could already speak fluent Italian and French. In 1941, the girl made her debut on the stage of the Athens Opera as Tosca in Puccini's opera of the same name, but the world learned about her a little later: six years later. At the age of 24, the singer performed on the stage of the Arena di Verona in the opera La Gioconda. Here in Italy she met Giovanni Battista Meneghini, a well-known industrialist and a passionate admirer of the opera. It is not surprising that from the first minutes he was fascinated by Callas and was ready to throw the whole world at her feet.

Husband and producer

Giovanni Battista Meneghini was older than Mary for 27 years, but this did not stop him from marrying a young singer. The couple went down the aisle less than a year after they met. The businessman became Kallas' husband and manager all rolled into one. For the next ten years, the opera diva and the wealthy industrialist walked hand in hand through life. Of course, Meneghini provided his wife with powerful financial support, which contributed to the already brilliant career Mary. But main secret her demand was not in her husband's money, but in impeccable possession of technology. Our famous opera singer Elena Obraztsova once said about this: “Kallas did not have a beautiful voice. She had a fantastic singing technique and, most importantly, she sang with her heart and soul. She was like a guide from God." After Verona, the doors of all famous opera houses began to gradually open before the girl. In 1953, the artist signed a contract with a major recording company EMI. It was this company that released recordings of operas performed by the singer.

From the very beginning of her career, Maria was quite large. Some ill-wishers and envious people called her fat. Weight problems arose due to a great love of food. Artist's secretary Nadya Shtanshaft talked about her: “We set the table, she came up and innocently asked:“ Nadia, what is this? May I try a small piece?“ Another followed, and another. So she practically ate everything that was on the plate. And then I tried from each plate of everyone sitting at the table. It drove me crazy." Maria's favorite treat was ice cream. It was with this dessert that absolutely any meal of the singer should have ended. With such an appetite, Callas had every chance not only to become famous as an opera performer, but also to become the fattest woman in the world, but, fortunately, she stopped in time. While working on the role of Violetta in her beloved La Traviata, the girl lost a lot of weight and became a real beauty that the famous womanizer could not miss Aristotle Onassis.

Aristotle Onassis and Maria Callas. Photo: Frame youtube.com

Traitor

For the first time, Maria met a billionaire in the late fifties in Italy, at a party after the performance of Norma. Six months later, the billionaire invited the singer and her husband to ride on his famous yacht Christina. By the end of this journey, Kallas's marriage to Meneghini had come to an end. And this despite the fact that Onassis himself at that time was also in a relationship with Tina Levanos. It was she who caught the newly-made lovers and made their romance public. In order to get a divorce, the singer renounced her American citizenship, adopting a Greek one. “I did it for one reason: I want to be a free woman. According to Greek law, anyone who, after 1946, did not marry in a church is not considered a married person, ”Maria told one of the journalists who, during that period of her life, became more active than ever.

Unlike the ex-wife of the singer, Onassis was indifferent to opera. He did not understand Maria's desire to sing and more than once suggested that she stop her career. Once she really stopped going on stage, but not for the sake of Aristotle. So there were circumstances: voice problems, general fatigue, a break in relations with the Metropolitan Opera and leaving La Scala. Has begun new period in her life: bohemian. But he did not make the artist happy. Neither did Aristotle. The businessman needed Callas for her image. The billionaire was not going to marry her and even forced her to have an abortion when she became pregnant. Taking everything he needed from the singer, Onassis safely found himself a new object of desire: Jacqueline Kennedy. He married the widow of the 35th President of the United States in 1968. Maria learned about the incident from the newspapers. Of course, she was in despair, because she herself dreamed of being in the place of Jacqueline. By the way, after the wedding, the businessman did not stop his meetings with Maria, only now they were secret. And during his honeymoon in London, he called the singer every morning, giving hope for a continuation of the relationship.

The only cure that could save the diva from depression was work. But by that time, the artist's voice was no longer the same, so she began to look for new ways of self-realization. At first, Maria starred in Pasolini's film "Medea", however, he did not have a box office success. She then directed an opera production in Turin and taught at the Juilliard School in New York. Unfortunately, the singer did not receive satisfaction from all this. Then Callas tried to return to the stage with the famous tenor Giuseppe Di Stefano. The audience greeted the creative tandem very warmly, but during the tour, Maria was dissatisfied with herself, her voice cheated on her, and critics wrote unpleasant things. As a result, the attempt to resume her career also did not make her happier and could not help her forget the betrayal of Aristotle.

At the end of her life, the legendary diva turned into a real recluse and practically did not leave her Parisian apartment. The circle of those with whom she communicated drastically decreased. According to one of Kallas's close friends, at that time it was impossible to get through to her, as, indeed, to arrange a meeting, and this repelled even the most devoted people. On September 16, 1977, the famous opera singer died at about two in the afternoon from cardiac arrest in her apartment. According to the last will of Mary, her body was cremated.

Ryzhachkov Anatoly Alexandrovich

Maria Callas - a great singer and actress, an amazing phenomenon of the opera scene of the second half of the 20th century - is known to everyone, even the slightest bit interested in opera and vocal art.

The bourgeois press created the myth ''Kallas are queens of prima donnas''. The myth was built on the same principle as the fictional appearance of any of the Hollywood stars. The character traits of Callas, which were credited to the singer by the largest theatrical figures of the world for her creative integrity, obstinate unwillingness to achieve fame with cheap means, were equated with the bizarre whims of Hollywood movie stars and turned into a farce bait: a proven way to inflate ticket prices, records and increase box office receipts. The American journalist George Jelinek, whose article is included in this collection, explored this phenomenon of the 'prima donna Callas' and showed how stubbornly the singer struggled with her image, shaming it with the lively life of her creative personality. At the time of the replication of the image of the 'prima donna Callas', her past was also stylized in the boulevard spirit. The mass bourgeois reader of illustrated weeklies, who, as a rule, heard the singer only on the radio or on records (the ubiquitous full house and the high cost of tickets closed his access to the theater), knew very little about the troublesome youth of the opera debutante Maria Kalogeropoulos in Athens occupied by the Germans in the early forties. Kallas herself, during her stay in the Soviet Union, spoke about this time: “I know what fascism is. In Greece, during the occupation, I personally saw the atrocities and cruelty of the Nazis, experienced humiliation and hunger, saw many deaths of innocent people. Therefore, like you, I hate fascism in all its manifestations.” This reader knew nothing of the difficult years of obscurity and apprenticeship under Elvira de Hidalgo, of the failures and non-recognition of the "strange voice" of the singer in Italy and America (even after her triumphant success in "La Gioconda" at the Arena di Verona in 1947. ). In other words, about everything that the conscientious biographer of the singer, Stelios Galatopoulos, resurrected for posterity, whose work, in a slightly abridged version, is offered to the attention of the Soviet reader.

Instead of facts testifying to how painfully the world fame was given to the singer and with what relentless persistence she crushed the operatic routine, asserting her unborrowed creative principles, gossip about her personal life, addictions and quirks were presented to the bourgeois reader with gusto. Luchino Visconti's words that "Callas is the greatest tragic actress of our time" were drowned in this avalanche of journalistic fabrications. There was simply no place for them in ordinary bourgeois consciousness, because they did not coincide in any way with the legend of Maria Callas' 'prima donna of prima donnas', which is generally available in its vulgarity.

On the pages of the leading music magazines of the West today you rarely see the name Kallas. Today, after leaving the scene of the ''divine'', ''unforgettable'', ''brilliant'' (namely, that's what the singer was called everywhere), new stars are burning on the operatic horizon - Montserra Caballe, Beverly Seals, Joan Sutherland and others .... And this is curious: scrupulous and detailed studies of the vocal-acting phenomenon of Maria Callas - the works of Teodoro Celli, Eugenio Gara - appeared only at the end of the fifties in purely musical magazines, René Leibovitz - in the philosophical “Le tan modern”. They were written “in defiance” of the implanted legend, which did not grow thin even after Callas left the stage. Therefore, 'backdating' a discussion of the greatest figures of the operatic art of Italy arose - ''Callas at the Court of Criticism'', perhaps the most serious critical study of Callas. These articles were inspired by the noble idea of exposing the 'myth' about Callas and contrasting it with the reality of her living creative practice.

There is no need to repeat the arguments of pundits here - for all the specifics of the 'vocal subject', they are accessible even to those who are not initiated into the wisdom of bel canto and Italian singing skills. It is worth talking about something else: if to the assessment of Visconti - 'the greatest tragic actress' - add the word 'opera', this statement will capture the essence of the matter.

When the singer's father, Georgy Kalogeropoulos, shortened his cumbersome and difficult-to-pronounce Name to Kallas, he, unaware of his daughter's future operatic triumphs, probably did not even think that the singer's name would rhyme in the minds of listeners with the Greek word - that KaWos, - beauty. Beauty in the ancient understanding of music as an art that more fully expresses the life and movements of the human soul, an art where “the beauty of the melody and the feeling contained in it are perceived as the beauty and feeling of the soul” (Hegel). On the pages of her numerous interviews, Kallas has repeatedly stated this “Hegelian” understanding of music, in her own way even flaunting reverence for this “old”, not to say old-fashioned, aesthetics in the 20th century. And in this loudly declared respect for classical antiquity - one of the essential aspects of Callas the artist. The notorious phrase of Napoleon in Egypt: “Soldiers, for forty centuries, look at you from the tops of these pyramids” - takes on a special meaning in relation to the operatic work of Callas, over which the legendary names of Malibran, Pasta, Schroeder-Devrient, Lilly Leman hover, and to her voice , "dramatic mobile soprano" - drammatico soprano d'agilita - "a voice from another century", according to Teodoro Celli, with all its vocal splendor and inapplicable flaw - uneven sound in the registers. The equally brilliant shadows of the theatrical past loomed behind the actress Callas: under the impression of her performance, critics invariably recalled Rachel, Sarah Bernhardt, Eleonora Duse, actresses of great tragic talent of the last century. And these are not irresponsible impressionist analogies. The naturalness of Maria Callas as an artist is seen precisely in the fact that her talent is marked with the noble brand of antiquity: her singing resurrects the art of former masters of soprani sfogati, and her acting - tragic actresses romantic theater. This, of course, does not mean that Callas was engaged in the restoration of operatic and dramatic art of the 19th century, becoming, so to speak, the simultaneous servant of Thalia and Melpomene. Resurrecting romantic opera to life - from its forerunners: Gluck, Cherubini and Spontini to Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti and early Verdi - Callas fought ancient romanticism on its own territory and with its own weapons.

Honoring the will of Bellini or Donizetti and the laws of their romantic scores, comprehending their technical, purely vocal wisdom to perfection and soaring above musical material(which is already a feat in itself!), Kallas read operatic texts with a fresh look, groping for psychological springs, shades of feelings, changeable colors of spiritual life in the romantic vagueness and generalization of the characters of the libretto.

Celli perceptively noted that Callas approached the work on the operatic text as a philologist. Mindful of the old saying that philology is the science of slow reading, Callas painstakingly and tirelessly psychologized and 'verified' - if such a neologism is allowed - the characters of her romantic heroines - be they Norma, Elvira, Lucia, Anne Boleyn or Medea. In other words, from performance to performance, from recording to recording, she tried to create a character that was dynamic in its development and as plausible as possible.

The romantic opera 'Ottocento' of the 19th century - and it was in this field that the singer was destined for the loudest victories - was seen by Maria Callas through the century and a half experience of opera culture: through the Wagnerian experience of creating a philosophical musical drama and the inflated pathos of Puccini's verismo. She recreated the heroines of Bellini and Donizetti, inspired by the realistic experience of Chaliapin - an actor and singer - and the very psychological atmosphere of the fifties, which dictated to Western art in general the strengthening and affirmation of spiritual and moral values, which were steadily falling in price. Knowing perfectly well the peculiarities of her voice - its chesty, velvety-squeezed sound, in which there is less of an instrument and more of a direct human voice - Kallas put even his flaws at the service of increased musical expression and acting expressiveness. The paradox lies in the fact that if Callas' voice had been that caressing, monotonously beautiful and somewhat anemic miracle, like, say, the voice of Renata Tebaldi, Callas would hardly have made that revolution in the opera art of the 50s - early 60s, oh which is interpreted by many of its researchers. What is this revolution?

The tragic actress and singer in Maria Callas are inseparable. And perhaps it would not be an exaggeration to call her a "tragic singer", because even operas whose music and libretto were distinguished by weak drama (say, Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor or Gluck's Alceste), she sang and played like a Wagnerian 'Tristan and Isolde'. In her very voice, in its natural timbre, there is already drama: the sound of her thick, juicy mezzo-soprano middle register strikes with the richness of overtones and shades, which are dominated by imperious, almost sinister or poignant tones, as if intended to hurt and stir the heart. listener. In a tragedy portrayed by a human voice, they are especially appropriate. As, however, befits tragedy those plastic means that Callas chose to create her heroines with a truly rare stage tact.

Precisely with tact, for, trying to show her operatic tragic heroines as full-blooded, lively natures, Callas never went beyond the opera genre, marked by such concentrated conventionality. Having set herself, as Fyodor Chaliapin once did, with the almost unrealizable goal of not only singing, but also playing puzzling romantic operas of the most complex tessitura, as a play is played in a drama theater, Kallas managed not to violate those very fragile proportions that exist in opera between musical development image and its plastic embodiment on the stage. The heroines of musical dramas - namely, this is how the singer saw almost every opera she performed - Callas created with precise plastic strokes that capture and convey to the viewer the psychological grain of the image: first of all, with a gesture, mean, meaningful, full of some kind of super-powerful expressiveness; by a turn of the head, by a glance, by a movement of one’s—I would like to say—spiritual hands, which in themselves were angry, pleading, threatening revenge.

Rudolph Bing, former general director of the New York Metropolitan Opera, recalling encounters with the "impossible and divine Callas", writes that one of her gestures is, say, Norma hitting her on the sacred shield of Irmensul, calling on the druids to crush the Romans, and along with them, the perfidious and adored by her Pollio, spoke to the audience more than the diligent play of a whole army of singers. The “weeping” hands of Violetta-Callas in the scene with Georges Germont drew tears from the eyes of Luchino Visconti (and not his alone!), in the sculptural pose of her Medea, coming out onto the stage, which reminded many of the Greek Erinyes from a black-figure vase, the outline of the character was already visible - headstrong, unrestrained in love and hate. Even Kallas's silence on the stage was eloquent and magnetically bewitching - like Chaliapin, she was able to fill the stage space with currents emanating from her motionless figure and involving the viewer in the electric field of the drama.

This is the art of gesture, which Kallas so perfectly masters - the art of "plastic emotional impact", in the words of one of Kallas's critics - is highly theatrical. It, however, is able to live only on the opera stage and in the memory of the audience who empathized with the performing genius of Callas, and should lose its magical charm when captured on film. After all, the cinematography is disgusted by affectation, even noble, and tragic cothurnas. However, having starred in a somewhat cold and aesthetically rational film by the poet of the Italian screen - in ''Medea'' by Pier Paolo Pasolini, Callas demonstrated in full growth her special tragic talent, the ''general size'' of which the critics failed to grasp in the way described by Stendhal. her glorious predecessors - Pasta and Malibran. In collaboration with Pasolini's camera, Callas herself made up for the absence of her Stendhal. Callas' play in Medea is strange and significant - strange with viscous rhythms, some heavy, theatrical plasticity, which at first frightens, and then more and more draws the viewer into a disastrous whirlpool - into the whirlpool and chaos of primordial, almost primitive passions that boil in the soul this ancient Colchis priestess and soothsayer, who still does not know moral prohibitions and boundaries between good and evil.

In the Medea from Pasolini's film, a remarkable facet of Callas' talent is manifested - the excess of tragic colors, violently splashed out, and feelings, burning with their temperature. In its very plasticity there is some kind of authenticity that is difficult to grasp in a word, explosive vitality and strength, escaping or guessing in one or another sculpturally completed gesture. And yet - in Medea Kallas-actress impresses with her extraordinary courage. She is not afraid to look unattractive and repulsively sinister in the episode of the murder of children - with unraveled hair, with a face suddenly aged, full of disastrous revenge, she seems to be a mythological fury and at the same time a real woman, filled with fatal passions.

Courage and excess of emotional expression are the features of Callas - 'opera performers', as they called in the old days the singers who had a real dramatic talent. It is enough to turn to her Norma to appreciate these qualities. And if Callas had performed only one Norm the way she performed it, her name would have forever remained in operatic annals, like Rosa Poncell, the famous Norm of the twenties.

What is the magic of her Norm and why are we, contemporaries of space flights and heart transplants, intellectual novels by Thomas Mann and Faulkner, films by Bergman and Fellini, so endlessly touched, touched and even sometimes shocked in an operatic conditional druid priestess with her experiences due to treachery a very stilted and sketchy Roman consul? Probably not because Callas masterfully overcomes the vocal obstacles of the finest score of Bellini. Monserra Caballe, whom we met during the last tour of Jla Skala in Moscow, and Joan Sutherland, known to us from records, cope with them just as well, and perhaps even better. Listening to Norma-Kallas, you don't think about the vocals, just as you don't think about the drama of the pagan priestess as such. From the first measures of the prayer to the moon ''Casta diva'' to the last notes of Norma's plea, asking her father not to bring children as an expiatory sacrifice, Callas unfolds the drama of a mighty female soul, its ever-living fabric of heart torment, jealousy, languor and remorse. Her three-tiered voice, sounding like a whole orchestra, depicts in all shades and halftones the tragedy of deceived female love, faith, passion, insane, unaccountable, sizzling, yearning for satisfaction and finding it only in death. Norma-Kallas stirs the heart of the listener precisely because each intonation found by the singer is authentic in its high verism: what is the value of one musical phrase “Oh, rimembranza!” (“0, memories!”), sung by Kallas-Norma in response to Adalgise, who tells of a flared love for a Roman. Kallas sings it in a low voice, as if in oblivion, impressed by the excited story of Adalgisa, immersing himself in the memories of his long-standing and still not fading passion for Pollio. And this quiet reproach, threatening at any moment to pour out a lava of anger and vengeful fury in the first phrases of Callas from the last duet with Pollio - "Qual cor tradisti, qual cor perdesti!" (“What a heart you betrayed, what a heart you lost!”). Callas generously colored the whole part of Norma with these precious, differently cast semitones - thanks to them, the heroine of the old romantic opera is so concrete and generally sublime.

Callas is a singer, whose tragic talent unfolded to its fullest in the fifties. In the years when the European bourgeois society (whether Italian or French) recovered from the recent war was gradually gaining relative economic stability, entering the phase of the “consumer society”, when the heroic resistance to fascism was already history, and its graying fighters were replaced by a self-satisfied and stupid bourgeois-philistine - the character of the comedies of Eduardo de Filippo. The old morality, with its prohibitions and strict distinction between good and evil, was abolished by popular existentialism, the former moral values dilapidated. To raise them in price was set as the goal of a progressive theatrical art Europe, consecrated by the names of Jean Vilar, Jean-Louis Barrot, Luchino Visconti, Peter Brook, and others. Their activity was inspired by the “teaching” pathos, almost preaching fervor, resurrecting to life and implanting moral values in the public. Like a true artist. Maria Callas - most likely unconsciously, by artistic intuition - responded to these underground calls of time and its new tasks. The reflection of the psychological demands of that time falls on opera Callas in general and her best works of those years - Violetta, Tosca, Lady Macbeth, Anne Boleyn. In the artistic courage of Callas - to play and sing opera as a drama - there was a high meaning, not always open and understandable even to a well-armed critical eye. Meanwhile, it was no coincidence that Callas sang Violetta's most difficult aria “Che strano!” (“How strange!”) from act 1 mezza voche, sitting on a bench by a blazing fireplace, warming the chilly hands and feet of the Verdi heroine, already stricken with a fatal illness, turning the aria into thinking aloud, into a kind of internal monologue, revealing to the listener the innermost thoughts and movement feelings of the notorious 'Lady of the Camellias'. How not accidental is the psychological image of Tosca, impudent to the point of blasphemy in relation to the operatic tradition - a weak, stupidly jealous, spoiled by success actress, who inadvertently turned out to be a fighter with the bearer of tyranny - the ferocious and cunning Scarpia. Painting such dissimilar female natures with her voice and stage play, the verism of Callas' art translated into another dimension that real moral pathos that beat in the heroines of Verdi and Puccini, in no way vulgarized by blood relationship with the tabloid pen of Dumas the son and Victorien Sardou. The beauty of a woman’s soul—not stilted and stenciled like an opera, but alive, with all its weaknesses and mood swings—a soul truly capable of love, self-denial, and self-sacrifice—was affirmed in the minds of the listeners, producing a genuine catharsis in their hearts.

A similar cleansing, obviously, was carried out by Callas and her Lady Macbeth, recreating on the stage another living female soul- criminal, corrupted, but still reaching for repentance.

Barro, Luchino Visconti, Peter Brook, and others. Their activity was inspired by a 'teacher' pathos, almost preaching fervor, resurrecting to life and implanting moral values in the public. Like a true artist. Maria Callas - most likely unconsciously, by artistic intuition - responded to these underground calls of time and its new tasks. The reflection of the psychological demands of that time falls on the operatic work of Callas as a whole and on her best works of those years - Violetta, Tosca, Lady Macbeth, Anne Boleyn. In the artistic courage of Callas - to play and sing opera as a drama - there was a high meaning, not always open and understandable even to a well-armed critical eye. Meanwhile, it was no coincidence that Callas sang Violetta's most difficult aria “Che strano!” (“How strange!”) from act 1 mezza voche, sitting on a bench by a blazing fireplace, warming the chilly hands and feet of the Verdi heroine, already stricken with a fatal illness, turning the aria into thinking aloud, into a kind of internal monologue, revealing to the listener the innermost thoughts and movement feelings of the notorious 'Lady of the Camellias'. How not accidental is that impudent to the point of blasphemy in relation to the operatic tradition, the psychological drawing of her Tosca - a weak, stupidly jealous, spoiled by success actress who inadvertently turned out to be a fighter with the bearer of tyranny - the ferocious and cunning Scarpia. Painting such dissimilar female natures with her voice and stage play, the verism of Callas' art translated into another dimension that real moral pathos that beat in the heroines of Verdi and Puccini, in no way vulgarized by blood relationship with the tabloid pen of Dumas the son and Victorien Sardou. The beauty of a woman’s soul—not stilted and stenciled like an opera, but alive, with all its weaknesses and mood swings—a soul truly capable of love, self-denial, and self-sacrifice—was affirmed in the minds of the listeners, producing a genuine catharsis in their hearts.

A similar cleansing, obviously, was carried out by Callas and her Lady Macbeth, recreating on the stage another living female soul - criminal, corrupted, but still reaching for repentance.

And again, the same characteristic detail: the scene of Lady Macbeth’s somnambulism, the performance of which Jelinek so subtly reproduces in her article, Kallas sang with “ten voices”, conveying the twilight state of the soul of her heroine, rushing between madness and outbursts of reason, craving for violence and disgust from him. The moral pathos of the image, supported by the impeccable - no longer verism, but the openwork psychologism of interpretation, acquired authenticity and expressiveness from Callas - Lady Macbeth.

In 1965, Maria Callas left the opera stage. From 1947 to 1965 she sang 595 opera performances, but the state of her voice no longer made it possible to perform that truly phenomenal repertoire in terms of range, which earned her the name of the first singer in the world.

Researchers of the singer's art differ in determining the range of her voice, but according to Callas herself, it extends from F-sharp of a small octave to E of the third.

Having put her voice in order, Maria Callas returned in 1969 to the concert stage. With his permanent partner Giuseppe di Stefano, she regularly performs in different parts of the world, tirelessly impressing listeners with her huge repertoire: Callas performs arias and duets from almost all operas she has sung.

And if from an open window a radio or a transistor suddenly conveys to you a chest, enveloping with its velvety female voice singing a melody by Verdi, Bellini or Gluck with winged birdlike freedom, and before you can or have time to recognize it, your heart will ache, tremble, and tears will well up in your eyes - know: this is Maria Callas singing, '' a voice from another century ” and our great contemporary.

M. Godlevskaya

From the editor. In the days when this book was in print, the tragic news of the death of Maria Callas arrived. The editors hope that this work will be a modest tribute to the memory of the outstanding singer and actress of the 20th century.

Maria Callas: biography, articles, interviews: per. from English. and Italian / [comp. E. M. Grishina].—M.: Progress, 1978. - pp. 7-14

Popular in category: