Friday 26 February 2027 – Maria Callas: was it Onassis or a rare disease that stopped her singing career?

Maria Callas was the original ‘Diva’ and one of the most famous sopranos of all time yet her singing career was cruelly curtailed by an exceptionally rare autoimmune disease. How much was known about this disease at the time, and how likely was it that it really affected her voice, or was it the consequence of the treatment. But she was a very complex personality and strongly influenced by Onassis. In this talk I will discuss her life and works and her evolving health problems, richly illustrated with clips of her singing and speaking; and attempt to answer these questions.