A Research Paper on Maria Callas
Maria Callas was an American-born Greek opera vocalist, one of the greatest coloratura sopranos (woman singers characterizing with an elaborate form of opera singing) of the twentieth century. She recalled attention to opera and made it popular through her dramatic talent.
Maria Callas can be distinguished from the other opera vocalists due to her charisma, a strong energy that captured audiences promptly and keeps them until nowadays (Bret, 1998). Maria was born on December 3, 1923, in New York, in the family of George and Evangelia (Litza) Kalogeropoulos, Greek immigrants. As a young girl demonstrated a strong singing skill and aptitude for the dramatic from the childhood, at the age of seven, she started to take music lessons and learn how to play the piano.
After the family’s return to Greece, parents continued her voice training in the classical form. The young lady was a skilled and talented student with an exceptional memory and unordinary diligence (Armstrong, 1994). Callas’s career of a professional vocalist officially began in 1941, followed by her soon magnificent performances in the primary houses in Europe and the U.S. The singer’s professional start referred to accompaniment to a performance of Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice at the Royal Theatre (Bret, 1998). During the period of war, she pursued her studying and singing in musical concerts.
In 1941, Maria was lucky to sing Beatrice in Franz von Suppé's “Boccaccio” at the Palas Cinema. In 1942, she starred Tosca at the theater in Klafthmonos Square; and performed as Marta in ‘Tiefland’, by Eugen d'Albert, at the Olympia Theatre. After World War II, she faced the difficulties in finding job; therefore, in 1945, Callas moved to America, where her father wanted to help her to push a musical career, which had already been set with 56 performances and 20 concerts (Armstrong, 1994).In the period 1945-1947, Callas tried herself in New York but experienced a small number of performances, in which she was engaged. After hew attempts to perform in America, she moves to Italy for singing La Gioconda for Giovanni Zenatello, artistic director of Verona, Italy’s Arena. Though this show was not the first one in her operatic career, it was her first Italian experience that led to a greater interest to her personality of a wide group of listeners. Callas acted in small houses throughout Italy in a number of operas, referring to Turandot, La Forza del Destino, Tristan und Isolde, and Aida. During rehearsals, she got acquainted with Giovanni Battista Meneghini, a rich businessman, who was impressed by the singer and offered her financial support in periods of no job opportunities. Additionally, Giovanni was her agent by actively searched for roles for her. In 1949, the couple married (Maria Callas Biography, 2012).By 1950 the singer’s career had reached its peak.
The next few years can be characterized by her active engagement in a variety of performances held in …
