The Biography

Put the paragraphs in the right order and read a short biography of one of the greatest Divas ever!

1 She eventually moved to Verona, where she met rich industrialist Giovanni Meneghini. The two married n 1949. Callas's Italian opera debut took place at the Verona Arena in August 1947, in a performance of La Gioconda. Over the next few years, under the management of her husband, Callas continued to perform in Florence and Verona to critical acclaim.  

2 When Callas was a teenager, her parents separated and she, her mother and her sister moved back to Greece. In Athens, Callas studied voice under Elvira de Hidalgo at a famed conservatory. In 1941, Callas took her first major role in Tosca.

3 American opera singer Maria Callas was born Cecilia Sophia Anna Maria Kalogeropoulos in New York City on December 2, 1923. Her parents, George and Evangelia, were Greek immigrants. Callas began taking classical piano lessons when she was 7 years old. 

4 Her final operatic performance was in Tosca at Covent Garden in London on July 5, 1965. On September 16, 1977, Callas died in Paris of a heart attack. 

5 During the 1960s, Maria Callas's formerly great singing voice was clearly becoming unsteady. Her performances grew fewer and less frequent, as a result of her numerous cancellations. Though she formally retired from the stage in the early '60s, Callas made a brief return to performing with the Metropolitan Opera mid-decade.

6 In 1954, Callas made her American debut in Norma at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. The performance was a triumph and was seen as a signature role. In 1956, she at last had the opportunity to sing with the Metropolitan Opera in her home city of New York.