As far as living for love, well, Callas was much less successful in that role.
In this century it was Callas and Tebaldi, Visconti and Fellini, Loren and Lollobrigida.
Ms. Callas's legendary status (which seems only to increase with the years) has certainly burnished this recording's reputation.
WSJ: Maria Callas | Puccini's Tosca | The Measure of a Diva | Masterpiece by David Mermelstein
Of the costumes, only a few original pieces remain including Tosca's shawl, which was worn by Callas herself.
BBC: NEWS | Entertainment | Swansong for opera's 40-year run
The great soprano referred to herself as two distinct beings Callas the artist and Callas the woman.
Callas regarded the painting as a lucky charm, and refused to perform unless it was in her dressing room.
And though that doesn't matter so much in Mr. Gobbi's case, the intervening years were hard on Ms. Callas.
WSJ: Maria Callas | Puccini's Tosca | The Measure of a Diva | Masterpiece by David Mermelstein
The days when La Scala opera stars like Maria Callas and Giuseppe di Stefano were international celebrities have passed.
BBC: NEWS | Entertainment | Italy facing opera funding crisis
"I like to think of Callas as an angel hanging over this production, bringing it good fortune, " he said.
BBC: NEWS | Entertainment | Swansong for opera's 40-year run
Opera News editor Brian Kellow says that for years, the major stars had been women, like Sutherland and Maria Callas.
Mr. Legge's casting of the not-yet-30-year-old Ms. Callas as the temperamental singer Floria Tosca was as obvious as it was inspired.
WSJ: Maria Callas | Puccini's Tosca | The Measure of a Diva | Masterpiece by David Mermelstein
And for opera fans, there is a pair of natural pearl drop earrings once possessed by opera diva Maria Callas .
Opera News editor Brian Kellow told NPR in 2002 its major stars had for years been women, like Sutherland and Maria Callas.
Ms. Callas became a phenomenon, retrograde and revolutionary at the same time.
WSJ: Maria Callas | Puccini's Tosca | The Measure of a Diva | Masterpiece by David Mermelstein
With her vivid interpretations, Callas succeeded brilliantly at living for her art.
Yet to hear people talk about the shows, you'd think Maria Callas had risen from the dead to tour with the Metropolitan Opera.
And so it's worth noting that Ms. Callas first sang the lead as a teenager in Athens while the city was under Nazi occupation.
WSJ: Maria Callas | Puccini's Tosca | The Measure of a Diva | Masterpiece by David Mermelstein
They joined forces so EMI Classics could keep a dominant position in the market for Callas - their biggest artist - the newspaper said.
"That means we have to drive with five wheels, " says Callas.
Callas made her final stage appearance as Puccini's Tosca, in 1965.
Perhaps it was fate, but Callas never really found the tools to fulfill Callas the woman, so she poured all of herself into Callas the artist.
Anna Caterina Antonacci takes on the challenging title role a task made even more daunting by the role's close association with the great soprano Maria Callas.
The sell-off was a bonanza for two Italian collectors, Ilario Tamassia and Nicolas Petsalis-Diomidis, who bought the items after Callas died in 1977 at the age of 53.
Puccini's "Tosca" was the first of 16 Italian operas that Ms. Callas, then in her prime, made under the guidance of the great English record producer Walter Legge.
WSJ: Maria Callas | Puccini's Tosca | The Measure of a Diva | Masterpiece by David Mermelstein
For more Callas treasures, buyers should look for Sotheby's (nyse: BID - news - people ) Nov. 17 sale of 11 Callas pieces in Geneva.
Even as a teenager, Callas was passionate about learning opera.
If you happen to have Maria Callas and Tito Gobbi on hand to play the diva and the heavy, you get high-low bliss, like a B movie directed by Rembrandt.
Mr. di Stefano's voice, like Ms. Callas's, degenerated early.
WSJ: Maria Callas | Puccini's Tosca | The Measure of a Diva | Masterpiece by David Mermelstein
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