Nearly 47 years after the death of one of opera’s greatest stars, Greek soprano Maria Callas, the Venice Film Festival is paying tribute to her with the release of a biopic in which Angelina plays the role of Callas.
“Maria,” a film by Chilean director Pablo Larraín, who has also worked with other female stars such as Jackie Kennedy and Princess Diana, depicts the final days of Callas, a singer whose voice and style forever influenced the opera world.
Here are some turning points in La Divina’s life.
What you need to know about the legendary opera singer Maria Callas, star of Angelina Jolie’s biopic
A Star is Born
On August 2, 1947, as the final act of Ponchielli’s La Gioconda came to a close in Verona, Italy, Callas received a standing ovation welcoming her as a rising star.
She was born Sophia Cecilia Anna Maria Kalogeropoulou on December 2, 1923 in New York City (her surname was later shortened to Callas). Her family later returned to Greece, where she began performing at the age of eight.
In Verona she met Giovanni Battista Meneghini, a wealthy businessman with a passion for opera, who was 28 years her senior and who became her impresario and, in 1949, her husband.
In 1954, she lost about 30 kilograms (66 pounds) and transformed herself into the ultimate diva, taking on leading roles in some of the most famous operas.
Roman Scandal
On January 2, 1958, Callas opened the Rome performance of Norma in the presence of Italian President Giovanni Gronchi, but at the end of the first act she lost her voice and refused to continue.
The mercurial songstress was accused of being moody after a whistle blew up mid-aria, but she insisted to the media: “As you can see, I couldn’t speak any more.”
Onassis, her great love
In 1959, Callas left Meneghini and began a passionate nine-year relationship with Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis.
“Late at night, together with Callas in an Athens tavern, he was seen taking off his jacket and tie and, in accordance with Greek custom, showering the orchestra with gold coins and smashing a pile of plates,” AFP reported.
In 1968, Onassis left Callas and married Jackie Kennedy, widow of the assassinated US President John F. Kennedy.
Curtain Call
Callas turned her back on opera in 1965. On February 20, she had a huge success in Paris in “Tosca.” “The moment she appeared in the church in the first act in a pink dress, with a large, deep orange scarf and flowers in her arms, a thunderous applause drowned out the music and made it impossible to hear the first line,” AFP reported.
However, during a performance on May 29, she became ill.
On 5 July, she went against medical advice and performed for the last time in London, with Queen Elizabeth in the audience.
The last tour
In 1973, Callas went on an international recital tour, and in Paris, “the critics were less than enthusiastic, but the stage was showered with flowers, standing ovations and cries of ‘Long live Maria!'” reports AFP.
Her Last Breath
Callas died of a heart attack at his home in Paris on September 16, 1977, at the age of 53.
“I just saw her lying in bed,” her former artistic director, Michel Grotz, said, as reported by AFP.
“It was an exact replica of her performance of ‘La Traviata’ at La Scala in Milan in 1956. There was not a single wrinkle on her face. She looked like she was just at rest,” he said.
This article was published by AFP Relaxnews.
The information in this article is accurate as of the publication date.
