Maria Callas was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned opera singers of the twentieth century. She combined an impressive bel canto technique with great dramatic gifts. An extremely versatile singer, her repertoire ranged from classical opera seria to the bel canto operas of Donizetti, Bellini, and Rossini; further, to the works of Verdi and Puccini; and, in her early career, the music dramas of Wagner. Her remarkable musical and dramatic talents led to her being hailed as La Divina.

Maria Callas debuted on the Chicago stage in Puccini’s Turandot in 1946. After encouraging reviews in the states, Callas moved to Italy where her career began to take off. In 1949, she performed several operas in Venice that were in multiple languages.

She wowed the crowds and soon became an international superstar. Callas went on to grace the stages of nearly all the opera houses in the world. As she grew older it became difficult for her body to support her immense vocal range. She ended her career with a final performance in 1965.

Her artistic achievements, however, 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.”