The fame and legacy of Maria Callas are nearly unsurpassed in the modern history of opera. Her fame has transcended the usual boundaries of classical music, and she has been the inspiration for several movies as well as the successful Broadway play "Master Class." Her extensive catalogue of recordings remains among the most coveted and controversial for both her fans and detractors.

Though American by birth, Callas (born Maria Anne Sofia Cecilia Kalogeropoulos) was born of Greek parents, and at age 13 her mother took her back to Greece because of financial difficulties caused by the Great Depression. She studied voice at the Royal Academy of Music in Athens with Spanish coloratura soprano Elvira de Hidalgo and made rapid progress; she soon sang Santuzza in a student production of Cavalleria rusticana. Her professional debut came at age 16 in a minor role in von Suppé's Boccaccio.

While still in Athens during World War II, Callas sang her first Tosca in 1942. In 1945, she returned to the United States and sang several auditions, but nothing came of her visit. Her first appearance in 1947 at Verona as La Gioconda brought her to the attention of Tullio Serafin; Serafin became her musical advisor for many years, acting as her coach and conductor of many of her performances.

The entire world of opera was stunned when, in 1949 -- while singing Brünnhilde in Die Walküre at Venice -- she agreed to sing Elvira in Bellini's I Puritani, alternating performances during the same week. That same year she traveled to Buenos Aires to sing Turandot and Norma. In 1950, she sang Aida at the Teatro alla Scala, but she did not become a regular member there until 1952. Summer of 1950 brought her to Mexico City where, in one month, she sang Norma, Aida, Tosca and Il trovatore. During these early years, Callas would sing nearly any role offered including Isolde, Leonore in La forza del destino, Constanza in Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail, and Elena in I vespri siciliani.

As she matured, Callas began to concentrate on a smaller core repertory, including Cherubini's Medea, Bellini's Norma, Puccini's Tosca, Bellini's La Sonnambula, and Donizetti's Anna Bolena. Most of her other roles were heard only in one series of performances. After 1959, she rarely appeared on the opera stage, but she did sing concerts in America and Europe. Her last opera performances were in June 1965, in Paris as Norma. She came out of retirement in 1973 to tour the world with Giuseppe di Stefano in a series of recitals. Although financially rewarding, the tour did nothing to enhance her reputation. In 1971, she gave a series of masterclasses at the Juilliard School of Music in New York which were quite successful. In 1977, she died of a sudden heart attack in her Paris apartment.

Maria Callas was one of the most controversial singers of the twentieth century. She had a wide range from high E to the F below the staff, and an innate feel for the style of bel canto roles, but she was most notable for bringing a commitment and intensity to her dramatic portrayals that was nearly unprecedented at the time.

Using photorealistic video projection, Callas was brought back to the stage for a new tour in 2018. Callas in Concert features an interactive Callas on stage performing some of her most iconic recordings with a live orchestra. ~ Richard LeSueur

Giuseppe di Stefano began to study voice as he trained for the priesthood in a Jesuit seminary in Milan; his teachers included Luigi Montesanto and Mariano Stabile. Mobilized into the Fascist army at the age of 19, di Stefano helped make ends meet by singing popular music under the pseudonym of "Nino Florio". Deciding he'd had enough of service under Mussolini, di Stefano deserted to neutral Switzerland in 1943. Though di Stefano was interned as a refugee, he made his way singing on Swiss radio broadcasts, succeeding in building a small following. At war's end, he returned to Italy and began his singing career in earnest, debuting as Chevalier des Grieux in Massenet's Manon at a performance held in Reggio Emilia on April 20, 1946.

Word spread like wildfire throughout Italy about di Stefano's talent, and he made his La Scala debut less than a year later, repeating his role as des Grieux. Di Stefano's reputation was further assisted with a series of recordings undertaken at this time in which he sang Neapolitan and other kinds of light Italian songs. Some of these early di Stefano recordings are yet regarded as the finest in this genre. The Metropolitan Opera of New York soon became interested, and di Stefano made his bow at the Met in Rigoletto on February 25, 1948.

For many opera lovers, the name of Giuseppe di Stefano is inextricably linked with that of legendary soprano Maria Callas. Di Stefano first appeared with Callas in a production of La Traviata given at São Paulo on September 9, 1951. Afterward he appeared frequently alongside Callas on-stage and in recordings, the most celebrated of the latter being a 1953 EMI of Tosca, regarded by many in the operatic fold as the finest recorded Tosca in existence. Clearly there was some compatibility between Callas and di Stefano; both emphasizing emotional, powerful singing colored with sensual warmth. With Callas, di Stefano recorded a total of ten complete operas. Di Stefano also partnered Leontyne Price in a celebrated Tosca led by Herbert von Karajan for London/Decca in 1961.

As in the case of Callas, problems with di Stefano's voice began to surface early on. In the late '50s, di Stefano began to take on heavy roles, such as Calaf in Turandot, wreaking havoc on his clear and light tenor voice. By the early '60s, di Stefano was unable to sing a true pianissimo, resorting instead to shouting, aspirating, and breaking registers. Nonetheless, he maintained a full schedule of engagements throughout the '60s and into the '70s. In 1973-1974, di Stefano and Callas embarked on an ill-advised world concert tour. The end result, unfortunately, was that the public got to hear what pitiable wrecks these two great singers had made of their voices. This disastrous tour spelled a sad end to both their professional careers. However, di Stefano returned to the stage to sing minor roles on occasion, the last recorded instance being in Rome in 1992. While the efforts of his later singing have injured the reputation of di Stefano in some quarters, there's no denying that he was one of the finest tenor voices to emerge in the wake of World War II.

Di Stefano suffered severe injuries during a robbery at his villa in Kenya in 2004 and spent the final three years of his life incapacitated in a Milanese hospital. He died of complications from his injuries in March of 2008. ~ Uncle Dave Lewis

Italian conductor Antonino Votto was a highly successful protégée of Arturo Toscanini. Votto rose to worldwide prominence in the 1950s largely on the strength of his numerous successful operatic recordings for EMI with popular soprano Maria Callas. But he also developed a reputation as one of the leading operatic conductors of his time owing to his many acclaimed performances at La Scala, in Milan, where he worked regularly for nearly two decades.

Votto was born in Piacenza, Italy, on October 30, 1896. He enrolled at the Naples Conservatory for music studies and after graduation served as répétiteur at La Scala. He was also an assistant conductor there to Arturo Toscanini. In 1923 Votto made his official debut, leading a performance of Puccini's Manon Lescaut.

With occasional appearances at La Scala and other major operatic venues in Italy and abroad, Votto gradually built a reputation as the one of the most outstanding conductors of Italian opera of his time. In 1941 he began teaching at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan, the war limiting operatic activity in Italy and most parts of Europe. Over the years, his students included Claudio Abbado and Riccardo Muti.

Votto began conducting regularly at La Scala in 1948, though Victor de Sabata was the music director. In the recording studio and arguably in the live performances he led over the next two decades at La Scala, Votto would rival de Sabata, as well as his young successors there, Carlo Maria Giulini and Guido Cantelli.

Votto made a series of highly successful recordings in the 1950s with Callas, based on extravagant productions staged at La Scala with the iconic soprano. Their collaborations on Puccini's La bohème (1956), Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera (1956), and Bellini's La Sonnambula (1957), for EMI, were enthusiastically received by both critics and public. Surpassing this imposing trio, many believe, were their two live recordings of Bellini's Norma and Giordano's Andrea Chenier, both from 1955.

Though Votto had debuted at Covent Garden in 1924 in performances of Puccini's Madama Butterfly and Leoncavallo's I Pagliacci, his American debut did not come until 1960, when he appeared at the Chicago Lyric Opera to conduct two Verdi staples, Aida and Don Carlo. Votto remained active at La Scala until 1967. In his remaining years he limited conducting appearances. Votto died in Milan on September 9, 1985.