The more romanticized version of Maria Callas made many fans believe that she died of love. Her passion for Aristotle Onassis – whom she called the love of her life – was public: Maria always admitted her passion and was openly exchanged and betrayed when he married Jacqueline Kennedy instead, after dragging out the relationship with the soprano for years, claiming that he could not divorce his first wife. Widower, instead of making his union with Callas official, surprised even herself by making Jackie “Jackie O”.

Any woman in love and betrayed can identify with Maria Callas’ pain, even more so as she asked for her ashes to be thrown into the Aegean Sea, according to legend, so that they could be taken by water to the island of Skorpios, where Onassis lay. Obsessive love, dependent love, unhealthy love… we can list the issues of the relationship, but no one denies that it was love. However, Maria Callas’ heart did not suddenly stop at the age of 53 because she suffered from homesickness. She clearly had health problems that contributed to the heart attack, but I suspect Steven Knight will explore traditional versions in the film Maria, starring Angelina Jolie and directed by Pablo Larraín.

In Maria’s obituary, everyone highlighted her passion for life and her Art, but they also referred to Onassis in the first paragraph. Even with so many personal victories, virtuosity, and empowerment, it is her association with a man who marked her narrative. Will it still be like this in the 21st century? I myself believed and was very moved by this version, the one that has someone dying for love, but today I reject it out of respect for the size of the woman who is known as The Divine. She was more than a woman in love with a rich married man.

Maria Callas, who would have turned 100 years old in December 2023, said goodbye to the stage in 1965, at the same time returning to singing in recitals months before her death. Those closest to her were already saying in 1977 that her heart problems came from her obsession with staying thin and her exaggerated diet since she lost 30 kilos and became a fashion icon, slim and elegant. In other words, 50 years ago the cultural obsession with thinness contributed to shortening the life of one of the most famous and iconic women of the 20th century.

Maria Callas’s change in appearance has already been praised and criticized in equal measure: she, who was robust, became slender in order, as she claimed, to live the romantic characters in operas with greater realism. Some say that the significant weight loss in a few months cost her some of her vocal power. Others, as we know, weighed on her heart.

Of everything that remained the same in his short life, intensity was one of them. The stories of her temperamental outbursts are part of her legend, something we will also have to see in Maria. The daughter of Greek immigrants and born in the United States, Maria Kalogeropoulos began singing at age eight, but when she turned 15 and her parents divorced, she went to Greece with her mother and continued her studies at the Athens Conservatory. She married young, to the Italian industrialist Gian Battista Meneghini, who supported her in a more paternal role than that of a husband.

Despite having a voice that exceeded three octaves and being an excellent dramatic actress, Maria decided to lose weight in order to have the roles that were denied to her due to her weight. She became a global star, even with a market as niche as opera. In the four corners of the world, she became “La Callas”, a reference for detail, professionalism, technique, and passion.

However, she herself said that “Callas” was the artist, but “Maria” was the woman. And because of her ambition for professional perfection, her marriage was lukewarm. Everything changed when shortly before turning 40 she met Onassis. In the blink of an eye, she left her husband after 11 years and assumed the difficult role of lover, openly alongside the married Greek shipowner who claimed she could not get a divorce. When he was widowed, everyone waited for the wedding, but the bride was another.

Maria faced the pain head-on, moving on with her life trying to resume her career as a teacher, and going on small tours. She had other romances, but she always loved Onassis. She forgave him shortly before his death, a few short years before hers. Her last years were marked by increasing isolation in her apartment in Paris. After a brief European tour, the problems with her lack of voice training became evident, but she was still acclaimed. On September 16, 1977 she passed out in the bathroom of her apartment, dying in bed shortly afterward. Her expression was that, finally, she had found Peace.

The film Maria will focus on these last days, in which Callas listened to his old recordings and reflected on the past. Does anyone doubt it will be emotional?

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