Maria Callas' personal items on the auction block today
NEW YORK -- It's hardly the traditional image of Maria Callas: nylon stockings, padded bras--and an old Pyrex measuring cup.
These objects that once belonged to the late Greek-American diva are going on the auction block.
"This is really upsetting me," said Fabrizio Melano, an opera stage director who worked with Callas and viewed the items on display in a Fifth Avenue mansion. "These are her things, and they're going to just anybody. I hope whoever gets them takes good care of them."
Callas' splendid singing echoed up the grand oak staircase as would-be buyers peered at the remnants of her life, including the lavish gowns of a woman abandoned by Aristotle Onassis for Jacqueline Kennedy.
They were attending the recent New York preview of the 425 lots to be offered yesterday and today in Paris at an auction titled "Maria Callas: Souvenirs d'une legende" ("memories of a legend.")
Callas died in Paris in 1977 at 53, physically and emotionally broken by the rift with Onassis.
She had no say about what would be included in the sale of her personal belongings, which include fan letters addressed simply to "La Divina," with the address filled in by thoughtful Italian postal workers. Since the childless soprano left no will, a court ruled that her estate should be divided among ex-husband Giovanni Battista Meneghini, her mother and her sister. But La Divina built a lifestyle that matched operatic high drama. At a pre-sale estimate of $2,140 to $2,860, a reddish wig from Cherubini's "Medea" joins a lineup of hairpieces worn over the years.
By the late 1950s, Callas had also attained a nonmusical goal by turning her figure into one resembling Audrey Hepburn's.
And with Milan designer Biki as her adviser, Callas bought a wardrobe for that figure, including a blue silk nightgown, now estimated at up to $4,890, and a purple silk corset, priced at up to $5,710.
Even Callas' stockings are worth a small fortune, topping $1,200 a pair, with a belt girdle going for up to $1,000.