Maria Callas Museum: 5+1 moments that you can’t miss when visiting it

In addition to the legendary exhibits – outfits, dresses, scores and rich archival material that will take your breath away, there are 5+1 points that you need to pay attention to when visiting the Maria Callas Museum (Municipality of Athens, Mitropoleos 44).

You, of course, know the name of the beloved opera diva who never knew love, and, most likely, you have heard her sing, but how much do you really know about Maria Callas? Are you one of her biggest fans, admire her creativity and personality, or just want to know what made her so great? The Maria Callas Museum of the Municipality of Athens was created to satisfy even the most demanding visitor.

Since opening its doors in October 2023, it the only museum in the world dedicated to the great opera diva. Through exhibits – objects, videos and rare audio documents – the thread of the life and work of Maria Callas is transmitted: from birth to international fame, leading roles and social life, moments and people who became important in her life, as well as the legacy she left behind.

If you find yourself in a three-story building in the center of Athens where the museum is located, then pay attention to the following points.

1. Start with the elevator – a surprise awaits you. Suddenly pressing the button for the second floor, you will hear Callas' voice speaking in Greek from a rare excerpt of an interview that Maria Callas gave to Achilleas Mamakis in the summer of 1957 in Athens. We won't reveal what she says in the quote, but it's very, very interesting.

2. Feel free to sit in a comfortable chair and listen to her voice. When you reach the second floor and enter the themed rooms where you hear Maria Callas perform, it will be like an opera stage. The floor is divided into 4 rooms, each dedicated to the important roles played by Callas in her performances: Norma, Tosca and La Traviata, and the last room is dedicated to the lessons she gave in the last years of her life at the Juilliard School of Lyric Singing.

When entering the rooms, feel free to sit either on the sawn logs, listening to an aria from Bellini's “Norma”, or on the plush purple chairs and feel that you are there at the moment when Callas performs the aria “Vissi d'Arte” from Bellini's opera . Her legendary performance of Puccini's Tosca in 1964 at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, under the direction of Franco Zeffirelli, will leave you in awe.

3. Pull out the drawers and see what's there. On the second floor you will see important archival materials and objects from the life and career of Maria Callas. It is allowed to pull out the drawers of a rare chest of drawers. In some of them you will see a QR code and you will be able to listen to the letters that she exchanged with her father, mother and teacher. Do these voices remind you of anything? These are Katerina Lejos, Mariella Savvides, Vasilis Euftaxopoulos and Christos Christopoulos, who donated these materials to the museum.

4. Take a selfie in the La Traviata mirror. See that silver mirror in the corner of the display case? This is the theatrical object of the play “La Traviata” with Maria Callas in the title role, which took place in 1955 at La Scala in Milan. After the performances, the theater presented a mirror to the great diva, who used it for makeup in everyday life. See your reflection in the mirror the way Callas saw it and walk away with a mirror selfie.

5. Drink Callas' favorite drink. On the ground floor there is the cafe “La Divina”, which also has tables on the busy pedestrian street of Petraki. Entry is available regardless of whether you have a museum ticket, so you can visit the cafe at any time. This is definitely the best way to end a visit to the museum. Try the legendary drink revered by the opera diva.

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