Maria Callas: in this year, that marks the centenary of her birth, the Teatro del Maggio is dedicating an international conference to the great artist over three days starting from May 19 to May 21, 2023.

“La fiamma possente. Gli esordi di una diva”

Florence, May 17, 2023 – The Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, which has just inaugurated one of the two corridors of the stalls foyer with an interesting decorative itinerary in homage to the famous soprano, in the year that marks the centenary of his birth, dedicates to Maria Callas a significant and important international conference curated and conducted by Giovanni Vitali and Giancarlo Landini with contributions from Michael Aspinall, Giuseppe Rossi, Daniele Spini, Andrea Estero, Maurizio Modugno, Roberta Pedrotti, Stephen Hastings, Alberto Mattioli, Piero Mioli, Marco Beghelli, Cristina Bersanelli, Luciano Alberti. On the first day of the conference, the documentary film MyCallas by Roberto Dassoni will be screened, with the testimonies and memories of those who knew her: Luciano Alberti, Michael Aspinall, Carla Maria Casanova, Franca Cella Arruga, Giovanni Gavazzeni, Raina Kabaivanska , Giovanna Lomazzi, Dacia Maraini, Ferruccio Mezzadri, Silvano Sanesi, Maria Francesca Siciliani.

“La fiamma possente. Gli esordi di una diva” will unfold over three days (Friday 19, Saturday 20 and Sunday, May 21, 2023) and outlines not only the artistic aspects that made the figure of Maria Callas one of the musical cornerstones of the twentieth century, but also those which are the most important and curious aspects of her first interpretations on the great international stages, starting from her Florentine debut which took place with Bellini’s Norma in 1948, up to the legendary 1953 edition of Medea, with which ‘La divina’ devoted herself forever to the music history. During the days dedicated to the great soprano, the most important artistic steps of his career will also be highlighted, starting from the brilliant intuitions of Francesco Siciliani, artistic director of the Maggio from 1948 to 1957 who was perhaps the first to have the merit and the foresight to understand how the vocal resources and temperament of that practically unknown young woman could have not only been the beginning of an extraordinary career, but also those of a presence that would have changed the history of opera forever.

The conference
The first day of the conference, which kicks off Friday, May 19, at 4 pm, will focus on the soprano’s first steps and her vocal and technical characteristics, which will then lead her to earn the nickname ‘Divina’ and will continue with an in-depth analysis of those who were, artistically, the masters of the great soprano. The day ends with the premiere screening of the documentary film “MyCallas” by Roberto Dassoni, with the testimonies and memories of those who knew her, from Luciano Alberti to Giovanni Gavazzeni to the great Raina Kabaivanska.

The day of Saturday, May 20, opens with an in-depth study of two great figures of Italian music and culture of the 20th century, who in part contributed to Maria Callas’s artistic and professional training: Tullio Serafin, a name to which the soprano associates some of his legendary interpretations (think of the historic performances of Lucia di Lammermoor held at the Teatro alla Scala in 1953 together with Giuseppe Di Stefano, or those of Armida of the previous year staged precisely in Maggio) and Francesco Siciliani himself, a true own ‘artistic father’ for the soprano. Other insights of the day will see Maria Callas’ relationship with one of the most beloved lyrical figures of all time, Violetta from Verdi’s Traviata, and those who were the great symphonic evenings in which she consolidated her name among the stars of great music ; in conclusion, an analysis of two other roles that have contributed to fueling the legend of the soprano: Turandot and her historic interpretations of Vincenzo Bellini’s Norma. It will also deal with one of the most famous aspects of Callas’ career, namely the now famous concept of the “agility dramatic soprano” and her most famous interpretations of some of the protagonists of Verdi’s repertoire and of Bellini. Still speaking of the “voice of Callas”, the aspects related to styles, genres and different registers in the singing of the great soprano will be explored.

The final day, Sunday, May 21, will instead focus on the memory entrusted to Luciano Alberti and on the aspects that, almost half a century after her death, still make the name of Maria Callas a real watershed not only in history of female voices, but of music in general.