Petros, distrustful of George, had warned his daughter, "You will never be happy with him. Litsa's father, Petros Dimitriadis (1852–1916), was in failing health when Litsa introduced George to her family. George was easy-going and unambitious, with no interest in the arts, while Litsa was vivacious and socially ambitious and had dreamed of a life in the arts, which her middle-class parents had stifled in her childhood and youth. George and Litsa Callas were an ill-matched couple from the beginning. Callas's father had shortened the surname Kalogeropoulos, first to "Kalos" and subsequently to "Callas" to make it more manageable. 1881–1972) and Elmina Evangelia "Litsa", née Demes, originally Dimitriadou (c. She was born at Flower Fifth Avenue Hospital (now the Terence Cardinal Cooke Health Care Center), 1249 5th Avenue, Manhattan, on December 2, 1923, to Greek parents, George Kalogeropoulos (c. The name on Callas's New York birth certificate is Sophie Cecilia Kalos, although she was christened Maria Anna Cecilia Sofia Kalogeropoulos (Greek: Μαρία Άννα Καικιλία Σοφία Καλογεροπούλου). The apartment house in Athens where Callas lived from 1937 to 1945 Although her dramatic life and personal tragedy have often overshadowed Callas the artist in the popular press, her artistic achievements were such that Leonard Bernstein called her "the Bible of opera" and her influence so enduring that, in 2006, Opera News wrote of her: "Nearly thirty years after her death, she's still the definition of the diva as artist-and still one of classical music's best-selling vocalists." Early life Family life, childhood and move to Greece The press exulted in publicizing Callas's temperamental behavior, her supposed rivalry with Renata Tebaldi and her love affair with Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis. She notably underwent a mid-career weight loss, which might have contributed to her vocal decline and the premature end of her career. Forced to deal with the exigencies of 1940s wartime poverty and with near-sightedness that left her nearly blind onstage, she endured struggles and scandal over the course of her career.
Maria received her musical education in Greece at age 13 and later established her career in Italy. Her musical and dramatic talents led to her being hailed as La Divina ("the Divine one").īorn in Manhattan, New York City, to Greek immigrant parents, she was raised by an overbearing mother who had wanted a son. Her repertoire ranged from classical opera seria to the bel canto operas of Donizetti, Bellini and Rossini and, further, to the works of Verdi and Puccini and, in her early career, to the music dramas of Wagner. Many critics praised her bel canto technique, wide-ranging voice and dramatic interpretations. Maria Callas Commendatore OMRI (born Maria Anna Cecilia Sophie Kalogeropoulou December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977), ( Greek:Μαρία Άννα Καικιλία Σοφία Καλογεροπούλου) was an American-born Greek soprano who was one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century.
0 kommentar(er)
