Maria Callas with Elvira de Hidalgo, 1950
On 13 May a group of letters written by Maria Callas to her teacher Elvira de Hidalgo will go under the hammer. Callas auditioned for de Hidalgo — herself a famous coloratura soprano — in Greece in 1939. It was de Hidalgo who understood the potential of this voice and moved Callas toward the repertoire that would become central to her career, as they studied together Il Trovatore and Norma.
Seven letters, unseen until now, running to thirty-one pages, will be sold in Milano by Bolaffi. In a letter, written on 9 November 1948, a plump twenty-five year-old Callas recounts the exciting news of her début in Norma in Florence in a few weeks time.… [continue reading]
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