The Tragic True Story Of Maria Callas

On December 3, 1923, Maria Cecilia Sophia Anna Kalogeropoulos came kicking and screaming into the world at the Flower hospital and Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. The daughter of recent Greek immigrants to the United States, George and Evangelia "Litza" Dimitriadou, Maria Callas proved a painfully unwelcome addition. After arriving in America, George had shortened the family's name to Callas (via Encyclopedia), but other adjustments to the American way of life proved more difficult. 

To make matters worse, the problems brewing in the couple's marriage had started years before the newborn's birth. Litza's father advised her against marrying George before the couple's nuptials. He firmly believed George could never make his daughter happy. Very early in their marriage, Litza came to the same unfortunate conclusion. George proved laidback, easy-going, and prone to infidelities. Conversely, Litza was highly ambitious, volatile, and obsessed with social climbing.

Despite George's natural good looks and career as a pharmacist, he never shared his wife's desire for luxury or social distinction. As he established a career and enjoyed greater affluence and community standing, he dawdled in a series of affairs that left Litza the equivalent of an "explosive martyr," according to Arianna Huffington's book, "Maria Callas: The Woman Behind the Legend." Maria had just entered a veritable powder keg of a family. 

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