Hardly any of the iconic singers of the 20th Century was able to touch their listeners as deeply as Maria Callas. Especially in bel canto repertoire, which in decades before hardly received any attention, she set new standards as a singer and performer that to this day remain unattainable. Her perfectionism bordering on self-exploitation, her absolute devotion to the music, and not lastly, her complete empathy with the nature of her characters made it possible that opera performances transcended to moments of glory. Also like hardly any other singer, Maria Callas showed that body and voice are linked, and that this connection is a highly vulnerable one. That illness and physical disability forced her to cancel numerous performances was increasingly held against her, and eventually led to vilification and demonization of her character in the press like never seen before. Estefania Miranda’s dance piece will relate how a talented young woman through strict self-improvement and benevolent patrons was transformed into a global superstar and even a shimmering international trend-setter. But it will also tell how artistic fame and loneliness relentlessly serve one another. Battles, intrigues, triumphs, and the search for love were all experiences Maria Callas had in common with the heroines she portrayed on the stage. Accordingly, stages of her life will ensue and cross over now and again into some of the most beautiful operatic arias of her repertoire, presented onstage by a soprano and accompanied by the Berne Symphony Orchestra.
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