03 / Immersive journey

Immersive journey

This sensory and visual experience, spread over 800 m², transported visitors to the heart of Maria Callas' art and intimate life, revealing her expressions and stage intensity. More than 30,000 visitors were able to discover or rediscover the artist and the woman through rare documents and objects. This project, combining passion and rigour, is a testament to the exceptional commitment of Tom Volf, who is bringing Callas' legacy to a wider audience, whether opera lovers or novices.

Three acts — the Diva, the Woman, the Legend

The exhibition unfolds in three narrative sections:

" The Diva ” — the stage, the voice, the triumph
" The Woman ” — private life, love, exile
" The Legend ” — posterity and the myth

Visitors discover 5,000 photographs, more than 300 letters and the unfinished memoirs, with private Super 8 films, previously unreleased concert recordings, stage costumes and even holiday films with Grace Kelly. The common thread: Callas's own original interviews, with no outside mediation — the singer's voice tells her own story.

Practical information

Scenography : Philippine Ordinaire · Agence Trafik
First exhibition at La Seine Musicale since the venue opened
Institutional partners : Conseil départemental des Hauts-de-Seine · Maria Callas Endowment Fund
Surface area : 800 m² · Attendance : more than 30,000 visitors in three months
Opening hours : Tuesday–Sunday 11 am–7 pm (until 8 pm on performance nights)

Monaco revival — Grimaldi Forum (April 2018)

To mark the 40th anniversary of Maria Callas's death, the exhibition was restaged at the Espace Indigo of the Grimaldi Forum from 11 to 15 April 2018, with free admission, opened by H.S.H. Prince Albert II. Tom Volf himself took part in a screening and public discussion on 15 April at 3 pm. This revival paid tribute to Callas's Monaco years alongside Aristotle Onassis (1960-1967).

“Glory, legend and intimate drama.”
Exponaute · September 2017

“An immersive and intimate exhibition that favors the human dimension.”
Olyrix

The exhibition's guest book

During the exhibition's three months at La Seine Musicale, visitors left hundreds of messages — emotional testimonies, personal memories linked to Maria Callas, tributes sometimes written by hand. A selection is kept in the gallery above, alongside images of the exhibition.

The second chapter: Monaco, 2018

Grimaldi Forum · 11 → 15 April 2018

A year after La Seine Musicale, the exhibition Maria by Callas was invited to the Grimaldi Forum for the 40th anniversary of the singer's death. Tom Volf redeployed its scenography over five days, this time focusing on the singular relationship between Callas and the Principality — the years 1960 to 1967, when she settled there away from the stage, shared a great love with Aristotle Onassis, and moved in Monaco society.

The exhibition was opened by H.S.H. Prince Albert II. The presentation was enriched by Monegasque collections rarely accessible until then: Opéra de Monte-Carlo, Société des Bains de Mer, Archives Audiovisuelles, Prince's Palace. On Sunday 15 April, Tom Volf attended a screening of the film Maria by Callas followed by a conversation with the audience.

Practical information — Monaco 2018

Dates : 11 → 15 April 2018 (5 days)
Venue : Grimaldi Forum, Monte-Carlo
Opening : H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco
Curator : Tom Volf
Occasion : 40th anniversary of Maria Callas's death
Support : Maria Callas Endowment Fund · Opéra de Monte-Carlo · Société des Bains de Mer · Archives Audiovisuelles de Monaco · Prince's Palace
Closing event : screening of the film Maria by Callas and meeting with Tom Volf (15 April, 3 pm)

04 / Press reviews

They've talked about it

She is one of the few opera singers to have achieved such an aura and such fame: Maria Callas, known simply as La Callas, or “the Diva”, is the subject of a landmark exhibition at La Seine Musicale, on the outskirts of Paris, marking 40 years since her death. An immersive, intimate journey that favors the human dimension of the woman over a more educational, musicological approach.

France Info

Gathered together by Tom Volf, curator of the exhibition and author of the largest book ever published on the Diva assoluta, photographs, private Super-8 films, private recordings of her concerts, intimate letters, rare interview footage and behind-the-scenes images of her performances, along with stage costumes and iconic objects, offer a new perspective on the life of the woman who reformed vocal interpretation and made tabloid headlines. Numerous innovative devices restore the virtuosity, vocal technique and emotion conveyed by Maria Callas's voice. Optimal listening quality runs throughout the exhibition, particularly in a 360° room where one can hear Maria Callas as if she were there.

Radio France

Unless you are a passionate fan who has read and seen everything, chances are you will discover images you have never seen before at the “Maria by Callas” exhibition, which opens this Saturday, 16 September, at La Seine Musicale. Its organizer, Tom Volf, spent several years scouring archives and collections around the world to unearth previously unseen films and recordings.

Forum Opéra

The exhibition traces Callas's professional and artistic career as well as her love affairs and Maria's emotional fragility. In the 360 room, with its optimal acoustics, you hear several great filmed arias performed by the diva, projected on four screens with subtitles. You listen to excerpts from Tosca, Carmen, Lucia di Lammermoor, Norma, Anna Bolena… Maria Callas's stage presence is particularly striking. You discover previously unseen video excerpts and interesting, sometimes intimate interviews, such as the one in which she speaks of her musical bond with the French conductor Georges Prêtre (who died last January). All in all, a beautiful, extensive exhibition that introduces a magnetic woman.

The stage years

Maria by Callas — Exhibition

In pictures