玛丽亚·卡拉斯（Maria Callas），著名美籍希腊女高音歌唱家。

8岁便开始学习钢琴,二十世纪最伟大的歌剧女王。1923年出生于纽约，1937年随母回国，就学于雅典音乐学院。1941年在雅典歌剧院正式登台，1947年在意大利维罗纳演出歌剧《拉焦孔达》一举成名。此后两年在威尼斯演唱绮瑟、杜朗多、布琳希尔德等戏剧性女高音的角色。1950年进入米兰拉斯卡拉剧院，演出了《阿依达》。1965年在英国演出最后一场《托斯卡》后，退出舞台。1973年东山再起，与著名男高音朱塞佩·德·迪斯泰法诺联合举行独唱音乐会。她一生扮演过43个角色，共上演500多场次，50年代是她演唱生涯的最鼎盛时期，在伦敦科文特加登歌剧院（1952）、芝加哥（1954）、纽约大都会（1956）等歌剧院演唱，获得无数世界声誉。1977年9月16日卒于巴黎。

 

Maria Callas was an American-born Greek opera singer, often regarded as the greatest ever soprano. She combined a wonderfully versatile voice with a natural ability for drama. She made opera popular with millions of people and her recordings are studied by budding opera singers today. Callas’ own life has been rich enough to be the subject of an opera.

 

Callas was born in New York and raised in Greece. Her mother recognized Maria’s singing talents early on. Callas said: "I was made to sing when I was only five, and I hated it." In 1937, a singing tutor in Athens described her voice as being “an amazing phenomenon” that should “shine with all its brilliance”. She studied and sang for ten hours a day.

 

Callas made her professional debut in Athens in 1942. A critic stated Callas was "an extremely dynamic artist possessing the rarest dramatic and musical gifts". Callas’ career took off in 1946 when she went to Italy. She got increasingly rave reviews. One famous soprano said Callas “opened a new door for…all the singers in the world”. She got the nickname ‘Divina’, the divine one.

 

In 1965, Callas ended her stage career in London’s Royal Opera House. She was adored by opera enthusiasts worldwide. A famous conductor spoke of her amazing talent: "If the public could understand, as we do, how deeply and utterly musical Callas is, they would be stunned." Callas spent her final years living in isolation in Paris.