These revealing photos of Maria Callas show the soprano in relaxed and playful mood while on holiday in Ischia in 1956, and in Palm Beach in 1974. They are included in the new book The Definitive Maria Callas: The Life of a Diva in Unseen Pictures, published by ROADS Publishing (buy from Amazon). All of the images come from the Marzotto Archive Collection.

The same year that Callas took her holiday in Ischia, 1956, she recorded Verdi's Il trovatore with Herbert von Karajan in the August, Puccini's La bohème with Antonino Votto in August-September and Verdi's Un ballo in maschera, again with Votto, in September. Callas also made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York as Norma in October. 

The photos taken in Palm Beach come from 1974, the year that Callas gave her final public performances. She toured widely alongside Giuseppe Di Stefano, and gave her last public performance in Japan in November 1974. She died in Paris three years later.

Click on any of the images above to open the gallery.

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