Maria Callas (December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano; perhaps the best-known opera singer of the post-World War II period. She combined an impeccable bel canto technique with great dramatic gifts, making her the most famous singing actress of the era. An extremely versatile singer, her repertoire ranged from classical opera seria, such as Spontini's La Vestale, and the belcanto operas of Donizetti and Bellini, to late Verdi and the verismo operas of Puccini.

She was born in 1923 as Maria Anna Sofia Cecilia Kalogeropoulos to Greek parents in New York City. At the age of 13 in 1937, her mother Evangelia took Maria and her sister Jackie back to Greece.

Maria received her musical education in Athens. Initially her mother tried to enroll her at the prestigious Athens Conservatoire, without success. At the audition her voice, still untrained, failed to impress, while the conservatoire’s director Filoktitis Oikonomidis refused to accept her without her satisfying the theoretic prerequisites (solfege). Therefore, in the summer of 1937, her mother visited Maria Trivella at the younger Greek National Conservatoire, asking her to take Maria as a student for a modest fee. After listening to her voice Trivella agreed to tutor her completely, waiving her tuition fees. In April 11, 1938 Maria ended the show of Trivella's class at the Parnassos music hall with a duet from Tosca. This was her first official public appearance.