Μουσείο Μαρία Κάλλας
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The museum's logo
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The museum's facade, 2023
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| Established | 2023 |
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| Location | 44 Mitropoleos Street, Athens, Greece |
| Owner | Municipality of Athens |
| Website | https://mariacallasmuseum.gr/en/ |
The Maria Callas Museum is a biographical museum dedicated to the renowned Greek soprano Maria Callas. It opened on 26 October 2023, and is situated in Athens, Greece.
In 2000, the Municipality of Athens took part at an auction of Callas' personal objects, thus initiating a Callas-themed collection, with the initial prospect of creating an exhibition for the 2004 Summer Olympics.[1] In 2010, the Municipality of Athens bought a three storey neoclassical building of the interwar period situated on 44 Mitropoleos Street, for 7 million euros.[2] Three years later, a previous plan to house a theatrical museum at the building failed, and thus the idea for transferring the Callas collection there was born.[2] The related museologic study by Erato Koutsoudaki, Andromache Gazi and Alexandros Charkiolakis was first presented in 2014.[2] Eventually, the Maria Callas Museum was inaugurated a decade later, on Thursday, 26 October 2023.[3][4] For the 2023 – 2028 period, its administration was assigned to the administerial board of the Technopolis cultural venue.[5]
The museum includes numerous personal objects, operatic costumes[6] and personal haute couture garments, some created by Biki. According to the museum's co-designer, architect and museologist Erato Koutsoudaki, the museum's collection is not its greatest asset;[2][7] its exhibitions were designed on the basis of Callas' personality; they include her singing voice and interviews of hers.[2]
37°58′32″N 23°43′51″E / 37.9755°N 23.7308°E / 37.9755; 23.7308
