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Renata Tebaldi
Renata Tebaldi
Italian opera singer
1
Ebe Stignani
Ebe Stignani
Italian operatic mezzo-soprano singer
2
Tullio Serafin
Tullio Serafin
Italian conductor
3
Tito Gobbi
Tito Gobbi
Italian opera singer (1913-1984)
4
Raffaele Arié
Raffaele Arié
Bulgarian singer
5
Mario Del Monaco
Mario Del Monaco
Italian opera singer
6
Fedora Barbieri
Fedora Barbieri
Italian mezzo-soprano singer
7
Piero Cappuccilli
Piero Cappuccilli
Operatic baritone
8
Giuseppe Di Stefano
Giuseppe Di Stefano
Italian opera singer
9
Boris Christoff
Boris Christoff
Bulgarian bass singer
10
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
German opera soprano
11
Anna Moffo
Anna Moffo
American opera singer, television personality, and dramatic actress
12
Virginia Zeani
Virginia Zeani
Romanian soprano
13
Victor de Sabata
Victor de Sabata
Italian conductor and composer
14
Antonino Votto
Antonino Votto
Italian operatic conductor
15
Franco Corelli
Franco Corelli
Italian operatic tenor
16
Jon Vickers
Jon Vickers
Canadian singer
17
Joan Sutherland
Joan Sutherland
Australian soprano
18
Maria Caniglia
Maria Caniglia
singer
19
Carlo Maria Giulini
Carlo Maria Giulini
Italian conductor
20
Montserrat Caballé
Montserrat Caballé
Spanish operatic soprano
21
Rolando Panerai
Rolando Panerai
Italian opera singer
22
Nicola Rossi-Lemeni
Nicola Rossi-Lemeni
Italian opera singer
23
Kiri Te Kanawa
Kiri Te Kanawa
New Zealand opera singer
Maria Callas
American-born Greek operatic soprano

Maria Callas

Intro
American-born Greek operatic soprano
Genres
Record Labels
EMI
Awards Received
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
News
Member of, past and present
Panhellenic Musician Union

Panhellenic Musician Union

Maria Callas Commendatore OMRI (December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano who was one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised her bel canto technique, wide-ranging voice and dramatic interpretations. 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. Her musical and dramatic talents led to her being hailed as La Divina ("the Divine one").

Born in Manhattan, New York City, to Greek immigrant parents, she was raised by an overbearing mother who had wanted a son. Maria received her musical education in Greece at age 13 and later established her career in Italy. 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. She notably underwent a mid-career weight loss, which might have contributed to her vocal decline and the premature end of her career.

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. 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."
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