The
Maria Callas
Proposal
By
The M. Callas Foundation of the Vocal Arts, Inc.
And
Dr. Tracey Alexander
Maria Callas Salon and Office: Showcase and Performance Center
4913 Melrose Avenue 5730 Melrose Avenue
Hollywood, CA 90029 Hollywood, CA 90038
(323)469-9979 (p/f) (323)464-0515 (p)
hollywoodchron@aol.com mariacallasla@yahoo.com
www.callasfest.com
© Copyright 2009 by The Maria Callas Musicophile Press
Maria Callas
(B. NYC, 1923—D. Paris, 1977)
M. Callas Foundation of the Vocal Arts, Inc.
(MCFVA, Inc.)
Salon and Office : Showcase and Performance Center
49l3 Melrose Avenue 5730 Melrose Avenue
Hollywood, CA 90029 Hollywood, CA 90038
T/F (323)469-9979 T (323)464-0515
Tracey Alexander, President • Boris W. Pillin, Music Director • Peter Sargologos, Artistic Dir.
Summer, 2009
Dear opera aficionados:
Let me tell you about the M. Callas Foundation of the Vocal Arts, Inc., and the Maria Callas Society of N.A. If you love Grand Opera, you know the name Maria Callas. She’s considered to be the greatest singing actress in opera in the 20th Century. Gone some 32 years, her mystique and legend live on through recordings, live reports of the time, and DVDs. In May, 2008, I founded these organizations to honor and memorialize the great Greek-American soprano. As a music lover, I know you appreciate our Maria.
I admire La Callas. That’s why I started the foundation. The name is The M. Callas Foundation of the Vocal Arts for legal/technical reasons, and the membership support group is the Maria Callas Society of North America. In 2010, I intend to trademark both of these names to protect the organization.
My Story
In 1966, I bought my first opera recording, of La Boheme with La Callas. What a revelation for a teenager! At 13,I wanted to be like my new idol, and in all my years of studying singing, there was no greater accolade than “sing it like Callas.” Yes, she was that important to us sopranos. How often my teachers would demand, “Interpret it like Callas.” And finally, “How would Callas sing it?” Callas, Callas, Callas. She was the greatest, and she set the bar for all singing musicians from her time (the 1940’s) to today.
Madame Callas was world-renowned and respected at the time of her untimely death at 53. Around the world, her legend has grown substantially, and she is known in death, as in life, as La Divina, the prima donna assoluta. Yet in America, the country of her birth, this Greek-American artist is remembered as the temperamental lover of Aristotle Onassis, who didn’t marry her. Instead of being appreciated as the great artist she was, to many of her countrymen and women, she’s a joke because she “lost out” to Jackie Kennedy Onassis.
The reason I started the MCFVA, Inc. was because I had had enough. Basta! Maria was the greatest, and when I heard people putting her down for a failed private life, I got mad. The public should be educated to the great music sung by this great American-born lady. To that goal, we have several proposed programs:
M. Callas Foundation of the Vocal Arts, Inc.
The Maria Callas Salon
Located next to the offices of MCFVA, Inc., at 4913 B Melrose Ave. Hollywood, CA 90029 is the Maria Callas Salon. It is a small meeting hall with great acoustics for lectures, meetings, musical programs and films. Available for rent to increase the coffers of the foundation, this is a music studio, a salon dedicated to good music, arts education, performance and teaching.
The Maria Callas Salon is decorated with original paintings of Maria Callas, posters, scenes of Greece and other contemporary artists. Adjacent to the salon is a patio garden suitable for intimate gatherings year-round in sunny Southern California. Also there are limited kitchen facilities. To inquire for rental, call (323)464-0515.
I Cantanti di Callas
The Maria Callas Singers, also called I Cantanti di Callas (Italian), is an on-going study group of singers of all ages, nationalities and ethnicities. Open to all after passing a musical audition, I Cantanti di Callas meet monthly to prepare programs of “good music” for senior citizens and children. Madame Callas liked all kinds of music and her singers perform everything from Grand Opera to pop. This is an educational outreach service.
Publications
The M. Callas Musicophile sponsors the publication of From Hollywood: How to Sing Better/Desde Hollywood: Como Cantar Mejor (bilingual English/Spanish) by Dr. Tracey Alexander and Professor Boris Pillin. This simple text explains to the beginning student the basics in the art of singing.
The Maria Callas blog is new and can be found at mariacallasla@yahoo.com.
Mary Olson, pianist and composer, has written Songs of Inspiration, which is sponsored by the Maria Callas Musicophile. This book is available to members of the Maria Callas Society of North America as a premium.
The Hollywood Chronicle News and Video is a 21-year-old newspaper on arts, education and entertainment. It is sponsored in part by the M. Callas Foundation of the Vocal Arts, Inc. Among its articles are reviews of records, stage plays, concerts and films.
The Ebony and Ivory Plan
Unfortunately, the City of Los Angeles has many warring factions, called teenage gangs. The Ebony and Ivory Plan aims to rehabilitate borderline boys and girls before they make a gang commitment, through the study of music. La Callas sang all the great composers we introduce to the youngsters, such as Donizetti, Verdi and Puccini. We add to that list modern pop idols like Stevie Wonder, Elton John and Andrew Lloyd Webber. The Ebony and Ivory Plan is inspired by the uplifting McCartney-Jackson song where the races get together in peace and harmony. The plan is dedicated to the memory of Linda Eastman McCartney and all the Black and Latino youth slain in Los Angeles in senseless violence.
Neighborhood Tutorial Outreach
Along with the Ebony and Ivory Plan, there is the Neighborhood Tutorial Outreach Program to tutor Hollywood youngsters in English, reading, ESL, Spanish, History and basic math. Led by a credentialed California teacher, the youngsters and their tutors will explore educational excellence. The tutorial will be held at the Maria Callas Salon.
Concerts and Programs
Basso Wardell Howard and another artist will give a benefit concert for the MCFVA Inc. in 2009 at Seafood Village International Greek Restaurant, 5730 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood CA 90038. Seafood Village is the showcase center for the M. Callas Foundation of the Vocal Arts, Inc. and the locale of the Maria Callas Society of N.A.
The concert will be in December to celebrate what would have been Callas’ 86th birthday.
Video
In conjunction with The Hollywood Chronicle News and Video, the M. Callas Foundation of the Vocal Arts, Inc. is sponsoring “Professor Greybeard Talks about Classical Music”. This will be the first serious music program on the You Tube for young adults, their parents and grandparents. Some composers to be featured are: Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and Schubert. “Professor Greybeard” is really Professor Boris Pillin, M.A., Musicology, USC, pianist and composer of 15 records and 35 published compositions. “Professor Greybeard”, with the assistance of “Mrs. Greybeard,” talks in an intelligent but simple manner. Maria Callas would approve!
Plans for 2010
In March there will be a film contest, a national search for the best 10-minute film in English or Spanish, which best exemplifies the importance of art, music, drama or poetry in American life.
In June there will be the first International Callas Voice Contest, open to people from age 14 to 35, singing music from the classics to Broadway to be judged by musi-cians and the general public. The winner of the contest will be the featured artist on Maria Callas’ birthday party on December 2, 2010.
In fall, 2010, there will be the Maria Callas Festival of Musical Films at Seafood Village Greek International Restaurant, featuring such artists as Mario Lanza, Judy Garland and Frank Sinatra. Also there will be films of Callas at the dinner/screenings.
December 2, 2010 will be Madame Callas’ 87th birthday. The M. Callas Foundation of the Vocal Arts, Inc. and the Maria Callas Society of N.A. will celebrate with a birthday party/fundraiser, honoring many Los Angelinos in the arts.
Maria Meneghini Callas
Maria Callas International Banquet and Awards, 2009
In 2009 the Maria Callas Society of N.A. (home base: Hollywood California, USA) is honoring these outstanding individuals who have the “Callas Touch”. They are:
• Teresa Stratas, great international opera diva of Greek heritage. receives the Maria Callas Diva Award Emeritus for her great international contribution to music,
• Dana Gioia, recently retired Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. California poet and essayist, Dana Gioia is our first Man of the Year in Letters.
• Metropolitan Opera soprano Ana Maria Martinez, recipient of the very first Maria Callas International Diva Award for Singing.
• Bill Bertenshaw, Radio Personality of WOR, New York and Leader in Community Relations on the East Coast.
• F. Paul Driscoll, Outstanding Leadership in Music Criticism and Editing for Opera News, a publication of the Metropolitan Opera Guild.
• Sheila Bergman, Lifetime Achievement in Education. She is the Executive Director of External Affairs and Development at the School of Arts and Architecture at the Broad Art Center on the campus of UCLA.
• Dr. Peter L. Ceccotti, Outstanding Leadership in Dentistry. Dr. Ceccotti is a world traveler who benefits the community through dentistry and hygiene.
The banquet will be held October 15, 2009 at 6:30 p.m. at Seafood Village International; Greek Restaurant, 5730 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, California, USA (323)463-8090
The Hosts are Peter Sargologos, restaurateur and Artistic Director, and Demetrios Dalietos, retired professor, San Francisco University, Cultural Advisor. Music Director is Professor Boris Pillin.
La Callas as “La Sonnambula” (Bellini) by Polia Pillin
Maria Callas Society, N.A.
The Maria Callas Society, N.A. is a support group of the M. Callas Foundation of the Vocal Arts, Inc. Its purpose is to raise money for programs, concerts and the like. Because the main thrust of MCFVA, Inc. is educational and instructive in music appreciation, we’re asking you to donate generously in these categories at these suggested levels:
• Students for M. Callas ..................................... $35.00 a year
• Friends of M. Callas ........................................ $50.00 a year
• M. Callas Lover................................................ $l00.00 a year
• Patrons of the Opera.................................... $250.00 a year
• Benefactor ..................................................... $1,000.00 a year
• Angel .............................................................. $5,000.00 a year
• Impresario .................................................... $10,000.00 a year and above
These are the premiums that go with the different levels of giving. Everyone will receive a yearly membership card and a chance to blog about Maria Callas. Also, everyone will receive a yearly newsletter. Other premiums include 5% off certain Callas DVDs and CDs; a Maria Callas Society tee shirt; Songs of Inspiration by Mary Olson; and finally, a chance on an original painting of Maria Callas as a winged angel by Boris Pillin. All contributions are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law.
GIVE FREELY. THIS IS A GOOD CAUSE FOR MUSIC EDUCATION AND MUSIC APPRECIATION.
Frankly, as of this writing, the Maria Callas Society of North America is in the midst of raising $2,500.00 for legal fees. MCFVA Inc. already has a non-profit status, but not the 501 (3) (C) listing. YOU CAN HELP US ACHIEVE THIS. Our goal is to raise the legal fees and the money to fix the studio, a total of $5,000, by March, 2010. I know that with your help, we will achieve this goal. Until then, we will be getting “thank-you” notes and receipts for your accountant for tax-deductible purposes.
In the intervening months, MCFVA Inc. and the Maria Callas Society, N.A. will be working with Greek-American organizations, EMI Records, and Greek citizens interested in perpetuating and memorializing the name Maria Callas, La Divina. Won’t you join us too?
Mission Statement
The purpose of the M. Callas Foundation of the Vocal Arts is to provide music education, music appreciation and performance experience for participants of all ages, races, nationalities and sexual orientations. It serves to perpetuate the good memory of Maria Callas, Greek-American operatic diva, her good works and good music.
Board of Directors
Dr. Tracey Alexander is the founder and CEO of the M. Callas Foundation of the Vocal Arts, Inc. A professional vocalist and journalist, she now specializes in administration of the foundation and she is president of the Maria Callas Society of N.A.
Boris W. Pillin is in charge of Music Education and is the author of several books in the field, including Some Aspects of Counterpoint in Selected Works of Arnold Schönberg as well as From Hollywood: How to Sing Better/Desde Hollywood: Como Cantar Mejor.
Peter Sargologos is a naturalized American citizen. He is one of the most successful Greek Americans in the Los Angeles area, a restaurateur and businessman. His restaurant, Seafood Village International Greek Restaurant sponsors Maria Callas Day in LA.
Gladys G. Kennedy, treasurer, is a life-long California educator and music lover.
Angela Heard is a student at Southwest Community College and is Vice President in charge of Student Recruitment.
Dr. Peter Ceccotti, world renowned traveler and art critic for La Cronica de Hollywood, is medical adviser to the foundation.
Mario Leonetti, former leading tenor, New York City Opera, and General Director of the Casa Italiana Opera Theatre, is our Artistic Advisor.
Demetrios Dalietos, retired professor, is our advisor on all aspects of Greek culture, modern and ancient.
Maria Munoz Luna, Mexican national, is the official photographer and community liaison of the Callas Foundation.
Sarkis Seyissian, an award-winning Baritone, is our senior citizens and cultural affairs advisor. He is the director of the Maria Callas Salon.
Francisco Mora, singer, actor and educator, is director of Student Outreach Program
K-12.
Maria Callas: Her Life En Breve
Maria Kalogeropoulos was born to George and Evangelia Kalogeropolous on December 2, 1923 in New York City. Her parents and older sister were recent immigrants from Athens, Greece. She attended school in Brooklyn, and at the age of 6 had her first voice lesson. In 1929, George opened a pharmacy in the Greek section of Manhattan, and the family changed the last name to Callas. At the hands of a very ambitious mother, Maria had her first violin lesson in 1932. “She robbed me of my childhood,” Callas said years later. By the time she was 13, she felt she was a singing doll, a mannequin of song. She wasn’t especially pretty, with bad skin and a large nose, but she had a fantastically expressive voice. In 1937, Maria and her mother went back to Greece because the parents separated. In 1938, she enrolled in the National Conservatory of Athens and began to study with the Spanish soprano, Elvira de Hidalgo. De Hidalgo said, “When I saw this fat, adolescent girl with eyeglasses, I wanted to laugh. But the girl could really, really sing.”
In 1939, at age 15, she had her first appearance in Cavalleria Rusticana and then began to study coloratura singing. On January 21, 1934, she had a professional opera debut. In ’42 she sang her first Tosca, receiving very good notices. In 1945 she came home to America to visit her father. She auditioned for the Metropolitan Opera, but was turned down. After that, she began to perfect her professional technique with tiring vocalises. In 1947 she sang Turandot in Chicago, and that year, she sang at L’Arena de Verona. She was on her way to international stardom. There she met Giovanni Battista Meneghini, almost 30 years older, and married him. He was a wealthy man, and he became the manager of her career; and she obtained Italian citizenship. From 1951 to 1958, Maria was the queen of La Scala de Milano, the most famous opera house in the world. No woman in living memory had her vocal success, and she was soon called “La Divina”.
In 1954, the fat ugly duckling Maria lost 30 kilos and returned to the United States. In 1956, she finally had a debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. In September, 1957, after a concert in London, she met her great lover and nemesis, Aristotle Onassis, the Greek millionaire from the oil business. At an after-opera party, Maria sang, and the unhappily married Mrs. Meneghini suddenly had the enthusiasm for a new love (Onassis was 16 years older and knew nothing of opera). On January 2, 1958, Maria fell ill during a performance of Norma by Bellini. She shocked the operatic world, because the president of the Italian Republic was there, and still she refused to sing after the first act. The press had a field day about this complicated prima donna whose acting and psychological interpretation were so profound and virtuosic. Her husband, Meneghini, continued to shower her with jewels and money, but the marriage was over because of Onassis. On November, 1958, Maria was publicly expelled from the Met due to an argument with the director over the contract for the next season. Again, she was called “egotistic and capricious, the archetype prima donna assoluta”. By 1959, Callas and Onassis were The Couple among the beautiful people.
By 1960, Maria retired at the top to enjoy international high life. She said, “I have no desire to sing; I want to live.” That year she had a son who died just a few days after birth. The father is unknown.
Maria Callas returned to the operatic stage in 1964 singing Tosca at Covent Garden in London, having obvious vocal problems. Also, she was disgraced because Onassis no longer loved her and would not marry her. He insulted her publicly, making fun of her lack of vocal ability. In 1965, during Tosca in Paris, she fell into a coma. Although she recovered, in July of that year she had her last operatic appearance. In 1966, she obtained Greek citizenship, perhaps still thinking of marrying her lover. The coup de grace was in 1968, when Onassis married Jacqueline Kennedy. The marriage was not happy, and he died in 1975 in Paris during an operation. After a very sad
separation from Onassis, Maria tried to sing again with tenor Giuseppe di Stefano, another lover; but this failed miserably.
In November, 1974, La Divina Maria gave her final performance in Japan. She lived alone and retired in Paris, where she died in her apartment on September 16, 1977 and the young age of 53. The cause, they say, was a broken heart. Yet, Callas lives on through records and CDs, memories, legends, and the M. Callas Foundation of the Vocal Arts.
From ¿Adonde Fue El Amor? by Hans-Ditter Otto
Callas: Portrait of a Prima Donna
In 1960, George Jellinek wrote the outstanding biography, Callas: Portrait of a Prima Donna. Here are some insightful quotes:
• “’La Divina’...’Voce di Angelo’...’Tigress’...the newspapers called her. Maria Callas was the most glamorous, the most talked-about, most flamboyantly idolized and the most spectacularly assailed opera singer of our time.” Jellinek’s biography.
• “As an artist, Maria Callas was greater than the sum of her abilities.” The New Statesman.
• “Maria Callas stayed with Gluck. She remained a vibrant and impetuous Ifigenia.” Eugenio Gara.
• From 1951: “This young artist, with her ability to arouse the multitudes, may yet lead the lyric theatre to a new golden age of singing.” Giacomo Lauri-Bolpi, tenor
• “A stupendous vocalism in perfect control and strong dramatic skill.” Oggi
• “Callas, in fact, had discovered the secret of the great Maria Malibran.” Teodoro Celli, Oggi.
• “I cannot switch voices. My voice is not like an elevator going up and down...Pray for me tonight.” Maria Callas, 1959
• “Only Madam Callas can sing the heroic, impassionate, and marvelous part of the wife of Hercules, Deianara. There is nobody else to do it, and if she doesn’t do it, I can’t perform it.” Sir Thomas Beecham, conductor
• “I came away wholly under her spell. None but Callas could achieve so supremely baleful a Medea to look at or a more cogent one to hear.” Charles Reid, News Chronicle.
• “She could sing divinely if she paid a little more attention to singing and less to acting. Opera demands a balanced measure of both.” Evan Senior, Music and Musician
