Maria Callas, The Birth Of A Legend

Maria Callas at the inauguration of the so-called "Little Scala" or "Piccola Scala" hall of Milan's La Scala opera house on December 26, 1955

Callas with her husband, Giovanni Battista Meneghini, in 1958

Maria Callas waving as she arrives at Milan's Malpensa airport on January 16, 1958

Callas leaving a nightclub in Milan with her companion, Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, on September 6, 1959

Callas, considered both a diva and a fashion icon, on June 19, 1961

Callas singing at a charity gala for the Maltese Order hospital at the Champs Elysées theater in Paris on June 5, 1963

Callas performing with mezzo-soprano Giulietta Simionato in the Bellini opera "Norma," in Paris on May 23, 1964

Callas holding her two favorite dogs at Orly airport in Paris on January 9, 1966

Callas signing autographs in Moscow on June 22, 1970

Egyptian actor Omar Sharif (left) and French actor Jean-Pierre Cassel (right) flank Maria Callas during the last rehearsal session of the "Gala de l'Union des Artistes" in Paris on April 23, 1971

Italian baritone Tito Gobbi (center), Princess Grace of Monaco (left) and her daughter Caroline (right) as they leave the Greek Orthodox Church in Paris after funeral services for Maria Callas on September 20, 1977

The gravestone of Maria Callas at Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris

White leather gloves worn by the opera singer Maria Callas in "La Traviata" along with pieces of jewelry she wore, displayed in the exhibition, "Maria Callas: A Woman, a Voice, a Myth" at the Italian Cultural Institute in New York in 2011

Opening of the exhibition "Maria Callas Forever…" in St. Petersburg, Russia on November 3, 2011