Last December, WRTI celebrated the 100th birth anniversary of the legendary soprano Maria Callas with a one-hour radio special, La Divina: Maria Callas at 100.
Opera lovers and the broader public alike now have another reason to celebrate Callas' life and legacy: the release of Maria, a Netflix biopic from director Pablo Larrain starring Angelina Jolie. As global attention turns once again to one of opera's greatest stars, we're re-broadcasting our special on Wednesday, Dec. 11 at 2 p.m. After it airs, this entertaining program will also be available for on-demand listening right here until Dec. 25.
Written and hosted by Mike Bolton and produced by WRTI’s senior producer, Alex Ariff, La Divina explores how Callas’ incomparable voice and dramatic life shaped her indelible legacy. Her story is told through some of her most iconic performances (including arias from Puccini’s Tosca, Bellini’s Norma, Bizet’s Carmen, and Rossini’s The Barber of Seville).
We also spoke with some of the leading voices in opera today, including soprano Sondra Radvanovsky and tenor Lawrence Brownlee; Evans Mirageas, Artistic Director of Cincinnati Opera; Elizabeth Zharoff, singer, vocal coach and popular YouTuber; and Craig Rutenberg, former Head of Music of The Metropolitan Opera.