Ioannis Varvakis
Maria Kallas (Maria Sophia Anna Cecilia Kalogeropoulou was her full name) was a world famous soprano. In her short life she became a legend of the opera and connected her name with the greatest roles and acting.
She was born on 2 December in 1923 in New York. Her father was George Kalogeropoulos and her mother Evangelia Dimitriadi. She made her first steps in music and singing in her hometown. Her talent was revealed, when she won the first prize in a children’s vocal contest at the age of 11.
In 1937, after her parents’ divorce, she moved to Athens with her sister and her mother. Her mother took care of her music studies and took her to the National Music Conservatory. In this school she studied near the most famous teachers, who taught her the piano, singing and melodramatic acting. Her studies under the guidance of the famous opera singer Elvira de Intalgo were very important for her career.
At the age of 16 she took her first role in opera. It was a small role in Vokakios opera by Greek National Opera. The first lead role came after 4 years and it was in Toska. Many roles followed until 1945. However, during the Second World War she couldn’t find a job so she decided to move to New York to be with her father. After two years she couldn’t find a job so she decided to move to Italy.
Her debut in the Italian opera took place in the Verona Arena with Giaconda. After a while, she met industrialist Giovanni Battista Meneghini and in 1949 married him. Meneghini except her husband was her manager, too. He planned performances in Florence and Verona, in which the audience deified her. In 1952, appeared in Teatro alla Scala in Milan with Verdi’s Les vepres siciliennes. In 1945 she came back to the Metropolitan Opera of New York and her appearance was characterized as triumphant.
Triumph and glory made her famous all over the world. But this period lasted only for a few years. In 1960 she started to have very serious vocal problems. Her appearances became rare due to cancelations. In 1964 she appeared for a few times in the National Opera of New York. Her marriage had many problems so she got divorced because she was in love with Onassis. They had an affair but he abandoned her to marry Jackie Kennedy.
Kallas returned again to New York in 1971 and she gave Masterclasses for two years in the Juilliard School. In the ensuing years –despite her medical issues- she followed her friend Di Stefano in a world tour to raise money for the cure of his daughter. Finally she lived isolated in her apartment in Paris, in which she died in 1977 when she was 55 years old.
