THE FOUNDATION
The Maria Callas Foundation was established in Paris in 2017 by close friends and associates of Maria Callas in order to preserve her memory and advocate for her artistic legacy.
The Maria Callas Foundation is the only internationally recognized institution related to the memory of Callas’s life and work and holds a very significant collection of Callas’s manuscripts, personal items, and artefacts including stage dresses and jewellery, alongside an extensive archive of original photographs and newly restored audio-visual media.
Supporting and creating exhibitions, events and media productions, The Maria Callas Foundation also seeks to expand artistic, cultural, and educational horizons, forging new partnerships to promote continued interest in her life’s work; the Bel Canto opera style and ‘lyric tradition’ she revived.
Our Mission
- Preserve and promote the legacy of Maria Callas.
- Make her personal archives available and accessible to the public through means of a Maria Callas Museum.
- Educate younger generations on the world of Opera.
- Connect through culture, arts and common causes.
- Strive for more inclusivity, visibility, and gender equality.
Founding Members
Maria Callas’ People
Nadia Stancioff, close friend who met Callas in the shooting of the film Medea by Pasolini, author of “Callas Remembered”; Giovanna Lomazzi, close friend who met Callas in La Scala in 1955; Beppe Mentecatti, assistant of Luchino Visconti in La Scala; Frédéric Simogli, personal hairstylist of Callas and friend during her Parisian years.
Friends and Associates
Fanny Ardant, Alain Delon, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, Franco Zeffirelli, Pierre Bergé, Cecilia Gobbi (Daughter of Tito Gobbi), Piero Tosi (Costume designer), Carla Fracci (Ballet dancer), Terence McNally (Author).
The Foundation’s Collection in Numbers
- +200 hours of original recordings
- +30 hours of original films, performances and interviews
- +5000 original photographs, public and private
- +20 documents, albums, programs, items belonging to Maria Callas
- +150 original letters
- +7 original dresses, costumes and stage jewellery
Support Us
The Foundation relies on private support to preserve this collection and to bring it to the public. Find out how you can help.