Aristotle Onassis and Maria Callas: a story of passionate love and humiliation

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Billionaire Aristotle Onassis, a Greek ship owner and cult personality, communicated exclusively with representatives of the elite of various countries and was a welcome guest at receptions and social events of any level. He was surrounded by the most beautiful women, whom he often used to achieve his business goals. But true love came to him only once - in 1959 he met Maria Callas, a young opera diva, whom the whole world applauded.

Cecilia Sofia Anna Maria Kalogeropoulos (this is Callas' real name) was born in the United States to a family of Greek migrants. She successfully married the wealthy Italian industrialist Giovanni Battisto Meneghini and was happily married. He was a great connoisseur of opera, and fell in love with Maria at first sight. He was a loyal spouse, a generous producer, and a dedicated manager. For her sake, he sold his business and devoted himself entirely to her interests.

Aristotle Onassis saw Mary at a ball in Venice. After a while, he attended her concert, and then invited the opera diva and her husband to his yacht "Christina", which at that time was considered a symbol of unprecedented luxury. At the time, Onassis was married, but for the first time in his life, passion turned out to be stronger than the voice of reason. Maria Callas, who at the beginning of her career was an obese, huge woman, by the time of the meeting had just lost 30 kg and was in excellent physical shape.

The romance, which began on the yacht "Christina" on a cruise in the Mediterranean Sea, was a real shock to the public. Onassis and Callas forgot about all decency and revel in their love in front of their lawful spouses and guests.

Meneghini was discouraged and simply could not find a place for himself. He was ready to forgive his wife for this holiday romance, but the couple did not even think about parting. Onassis and Callas began to live together. But the ardent lover, having achieved what he wanted, turned into a despotic and rude roommate who was in no hurry to register a marriage. Callas resignedly endured both insults in front of friends, and betrayal, and even the fact that Onassis raised a hand against her. And this sacrifice of her provoked even greater attacks of aggression in her lover.

Blinded by love, the opera diva left the stage and decided to devote herself to love, no matter what. She gave up her self-esteem, lost her voice, withdrew into herself. All she dreamed of was to experience the moments that she experienced with Onassis on the yacht "Christina".

But in 1968, Mary was faced with another blow - she learned from the newspapers that Aristotle Onassis had married the widow of the President of the United States, Jacqueline Kennedy. She closed herself off and stopped leaving the apartment. A month later, Onassis rushed to Paris and begged his beloved for forgiveness, assuring that this marriage for him was just a PR move and an image deal that had nothing to do with feelings and relationships.

His newly minted wife, former US First Lady Jackie Kennedy, turned out to be a calculating lady, too energetic and cold. Her extravagance was legendary: she traveled the world and spent such sums on furs and jewelry that even the fantastically wealthy shipowner grabbed his heart. Jackie bought designer gizmos in stores, the creations of famous couturiers - in hundreds, leaving them in the closet even unpacked. The style icon, as she was called, appeared in public in transparent dresses and mini-skirts, and social events were more important and interesting for her than the suffering and illness of an aging spouse.

When the only son of Onassis, Alexander, died in a plane crash, the billionaire almost went crazy - life for him lost its meaning. The last years of his life, he found solace only with the all-forgiving Mary. But when Callas became pregnant at 43, Onassis did not allow her to give birth, saying that he already had heirs. He died on March 15, 1975 in a Paris hospital, and next to him was Maria Callas. Jackie was in New York at that time, and when she learned about the death of her faithful, she calmly ordered a collection of mourning dresses from Valentino.

Callas spent the last years of her life in Paris and practically never left the apartment, where she died in 1977. The body was cremated and buried in the Pere Lachaise cemetery. After stealing an urn with ashes and returning it back, the ashes were scattered over the Aegean Sea.

Unfortunately, it was completely unthinkable and the unfulfilled love of the great storyteller Andersen and his snow queen Jenny Lind.