(25 Nov 2000) French/Nat
XFA
Personal items that once belonged to the late opera diva Maria Callas are to be auctioned in Paris at the end of the year.
The December sale of items, which include a selection of her outfits as well as a valuable painting, is expected to raise more than one point four (M) million U-S dollars.
The upcoming auction is entitled \"Souvenirs d'une legende\" - meaning \"memories of a legend.\"
And the items certainly offer a tantalising glimpse into the private life of Maria Callas, who died in Paris in 1977, aged 53.
The 415 lots range from the mundane to the bizarre.
They not only include furniture, artworks, jewels, photographs and musical scores, but also items of clothing ranging from a pair of black nylon stockings to the chinchilla cloak she wore on a famous photograph in which she is seen with her husband and Aristotle Onassis, the shipping tycoon who romanced and then jilted her.
Also up for sale are a reddish wig she wore for \"Medea\", which joins a lineup of other hairpieces that graced
the diva's head over the years.
The childless soprano left no will.
A court ruled that her estate be divided among her estranged husband for 18 years, Giovanni Battista Meneghini, her mother and her sister.
Many of the items had languished for years in the garage of a Greek villa, owned by Meneghini.
He sold the items to private collector Ilario Tamassia in 1982.
Making the items available to the world, Tamassia said it would be unjust if his collection were to remain hidden.
Nicolas Petsalis-Diomidis, a close friend of the singer, is selling the remainder of the items.
They lots do not include the furniture from Callas' Paris apartment, sold separately in 1978, or her sumptuous jewellery whose whereabouts remain unknown.
\"La Callas\" built a lifestyle that matched operatic high drama.
By the late 1950s, she attained a non-musical goal of turning her heavyset figure into one resembling Audrey Hepburn's.
With Milanese designer Biki as her adviser, the diva purchased a wardrobe to match her new fine figure.
Some of her new gowns will come under the hammer at the auction.
Callas also indulged in Bruno Magli shoes, buying them in all shapes and colours.
Dozens are expected to fetch thousands of dollars a pair.
But perhaps the most fascinating single object in the sale is a small 18th century oil painting on wood depicting the Holy Family that Callas received as a gift from Meneghini.
In its red velvet travel case, it became something of a good luck charm, and the singer refused to perform unless it was in her dressing room.
SOUNDBITE: (French)
\"Once in Vienna, on the night of a premiere, she realised before going on stage that she had forgotten it. She dispatched a private jet to get it in her Milan house and arrived on stage half an hour late.\"
SUPER CAPTION: Frederic Chambre, auctioneer
The woman known as \"greatest voice of all times\" made her final appearance on stage 35 years ago.
The auctioneers say the December 2-3 sale will give opera lovers and Callas admirers from around the world a chance to bring her memory back into their lives.
The auction will be the first in France to be broadcast live on the Internet (www.theauctionchannel.com) and on French satellite television.
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