An Introduction to 7 Deaths of Maria Callas

7 Deaths of Maria Callas takes us through seven arias from works by the composers

• Bellini
• Bizet
• Donizetti
• Puccini
• Verdi

The arias from these composers were all performed by Callas herself throughout her storied career.

Seven arias are sung in their original language as Callas performed them.

• Violetta’s aria from La traviata, Act 3: “Addio, del passato”
•  Tosca’s aria from Tosca, Act 2: “Vissi d’arte”
• Desdemona’s aria from Otello , Act 4: “Ave Maria”
• Cio-Cio-San’s aria from Madame Butterfly, Act 2: “Un bel dì, vedremo”
• Carmen’s aria (Habanera) from Carmen, Act 1: “L’amour est un oiseau rebel”
• Lucia’s aria from Lucia di Lammermoor, Act 3: “Il dolce suono”
• Norma’s aria from Norma, Act 1: “Casta Diva”

These seven arias all have one thing in common. All seven are the final arias sung by the heroine before they tragically die in their respective operas, hence the “7 Deaths” of the title.

The films are titled “Burning”, “Knifing”, “Jumping”, “Hara-kiri”, “Strangulation”, “Consumption” and “Madness”. These titles each match the deaths of the heroines.

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The opera ends with an eighth and final death. The scene is set in a hotel room in Paris where the real Callas died.

As well as classic arias, there is new music from Serbian composer, Marko Nikodijević.