Aristotle Onassis, an émigré from Turkey , established himself over
time as one of the world’s wealthiest men. When the two superstars met in Venice in 1957, both were
at the height of their power, fame, and attraction. The fact that Callas was
married at the time of their meeting, did nothing to dissuade Onassis from
pursuing what he wanted. He extended several invitations to Maria and her
husband to join him on his yacht, the Christina, and each time the invitation
was refused.
Not used
to being rebuffed, Onassis traveled to London to
watch Callas perform at Covent Garden in the
premiere of Medea. He
hosted an elaborate post-performance reception for her, decorating the room
with thousands of roses, and inviting such dignitaries and celebrities as
Winston Churchill, Gary Cooper, The Duchess of Kent, and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.
Callas
remained unimpressed and made only a brief appearance. A month later, however,
Maria and her husband accepted an invitation to an Onassis celebrity-packed
cruise. This time, the lady was charmed, and thus begun the ups and downs of
the world famous affair.
The cruise lasted several weeks, at the end of which
Callas left her husband. Onassis had won, again…but, perhaps, Maria had lost.
At the beginning of the affair Onassis flew all around the world just to be by
her side, even for minutes at a time. After awhile, however, the tables were
turned. Callas had temporarily set her career aside to be with Onassis, and
found herself following him around the world.
Whether the passion had
diminished, only the two lovers will ever know, but the Greek shipping tycoon
had set his sites on a higher prize, Jacqueline Kennedy. In October of 1968,
Callas learned, along with the rest of the world, that Jacqueline Kennedy had
become Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.
Maria was
forty five and never seemed to fully recover from the betrayal. She grew
reclusive, and made a final tour of Europe, America ,
and Asia in 1973-1974, but her voice had begun
to fail her. Predictably enough, the Kennedy-Onassis match did not thrive, but
the Callas- Onassis romance never was fully rekindled. Aristotle Onassis died
in 1975, and Maria Callas died just two years later.
