World’s First Maria Callas Museum Opens its Doors in Athens

View of the first floor Maria Callas Museum. Photo source: Athens Municipality.

The world’s first museum dedicated to the legendary Greek soprano Maria Callas has opened its doors in Athens, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of her birth.

The Maria Callas Museum, located at 44 Mitropoleos Street, a three-story neoclassical building in the center of Athens, will house a permanent collection of over 1,000 objects that belonged to or are related to the legendary opera singer.

Visitors can expect to see rare photographs and portraits, records, and personal items, such as her stage costumes and jewelry. They can also listen to live recordings or watch other related audiovisual material.

The museum’s exhibits will shed light on Callas’ career and personality, beyond the myths that have circulated about her. The goal of the museum is to inspire, entertain, and highlight the elements of her technique that made her unique.

Athens Mayor Kostas Bakoyannis at the Maria Callas Museum. Photo source: Athens Municipality.

“Athens owes this honor to the legendary Divina. The Maria Callas Museum, the first of its kind in the world, makes us all proud,” said Athens Mayor Kostas Bakoyannis.

The Collection

Maria Callas' clothing and accessories, from the collection of Konstantinos and Victoria Pilarinos. Photo source: Athens Municipality.

Personal items of Maria Callas, from the collection of Konstantinos and Victoria Pylarinos, Nikos Charalampopoulos and Nikos Petsalis-Diomides. Photo source: Athens Municipality.

The Athens Municipality began collecting items related to Maria Callas in 2000. They purchased their first items in Paris during an international auction. Since then, the collection has been enriched with contributions from various institutions and individuals, including the Maria Callas Hellenic Association and the couple Konstantinos and Victoria Pilarinos. These contributions include both donations and loans offered under agreements signed in 2022 and 2023.

The Exhibition

View of the first floor Maria Callas Museum. Photo source: Athens Municipality.

The permanent exhibition is situated on the first and second floors, offering interactive and experiential learning opportunities. The third level houses a space for short-term exhibitions, educational activities, workshops, and musical performances. The ground floor comprises a store and the café/restaurant La Divina.

The recommended visitor’s path begins with taking the elevator to the second floor, exclusively allocated for the “Callas experience.” Guests proceed systematically through three rooms that depict sets from Callas’s famous performances of iconic roles (Norma, Tosca, La Traviata), where they can fully engage with her voice and performance. In the fourth room, they watch a video of Callas teaching the masterclasses she conducted at the Juilliard School in New York in 1971-72.

Collection of commemorative stamps of Maria Callas, donated by Maria Callas Greek Society. Photo source: Athens Municipality.

Letters from Maria Callas' correspondence. Photo source: Athens Municipality.

On the first level, the story flows in segments that follow Callas’ life and career in sequence, as well as thematic areas that cover various aspects of her life, not necessarily in order, and can be separately observed. Visitors can experience Callas singing famous songs, see her personal items, watch interviews, read testimonials, explore folders of extra material, discover previously unknown information, access press clippings on tablets, and more.

The exhibit includes Callas’ personal items such as scores, performance costumes, accessories, dresses, as well as programs and posters from her performances, original letters from Callas to third parties, photographs, telegrams, press clippings, audiovisual material performances, interviews, documentaries, and artwork inspired by Callas.

Maria Callas

Photo from Maria Callas personal album. 1947-1959. Photo source: Athens Municipality.

Maria Callas in Venice. Photo source: Athens Municipality.

Maria Callas was a Greek-American soprano who is widely regarded as one of the greatest opera singers of all time. She was known for her powerful voice, her wide range, and her dramatic interpretations of roles such as Norma, Lucia di Lammermoor, and Violetta Valéry.

Callas was born in New York City to Greek parents. She began her singing career in Greece in the late 1940s and quickly rose to international fame. She performed at all of the major opera houses in the world, including La Scala in Milan, the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, and the Royal Opera House in London.

Picture-alliance _ Leemage _ Franco Gremignani _ Maria Callas.

Picture-alliance _ dpa _ Georg Lehmann _ Maria Callas.

Callas was also a successful recording artist. She made over 100 recordings, many of which are considered classics of opera. She died in Paris in 1977 at the age of 53.

The Maria Callas Museum will be open to the public with free admission until October 29. The museum is accessible to people with disabilities.