A look at opera singers old and new, from Callas to Kaufmann, with more than a side glance at Shostakovich and Salieri.

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Maria Callas’s status as cultural icon endures 90 years after her birth. But how was the legend of La Divina born? The artist and woman epitomised in her short life (1923-1977) and performing career (1941-74, with significant gaps), the talents, the lifestyle and the crises of the modern prima donna – someone who appeared to go through life as if she was one of the tragic heroines she portrayed.

She was not over-fond of the role of Tosca in Puccini’s opera – even if it became one of her regular calling cards. Yet in both a life and career full of apparent contradictions, she appeared to try to live  to the full the words of that opera’s Act II aria Vissi d’arte, vissi d’amore: “I lived for my art, I lived for love”. Our in-depth profile examines the contradictions.

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