Exhibiting Callas: from Paris to Monaco (and beyond)

2026-10-26

How do you exhibit a voice? That is the singular challenge of any exhibition devoted to a performer: the essence of her art is invisible. The Foundation's answer lies in its collection — for what surrounds the voice can indeed be shown: the photographs and negatives, the letters in her hand, the costumes, the backstage images, the personal films.

Paris, 2017: the demonstration

At La Seine Musicale, in partnership with the Departmental Council of the Hauts-de-Seine, the Maria by Callas exhibition deployed unpublished archives, private recordings, costumes and iconic objects across 800 square metres. More than 30,000 visitors in three months: proof that a broad public — far beyond opera devotees — wants to meet the woman behind the legend.

Monaco, 2018: the journey travels

Restaged at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco and inaugurated by H.S.H. Prince Albert II, the exhibition demonstrated something else: that the visitor journey adapts to a place and its history — Callas's Monegasque story — enriched by local collections. A scenography is not a fixed set; it is a method.

Paris, 2025: the collection at home

In December 2025, the presentation at the Town Hall of the 8th arrondissement gave the Paris public a foretaste: handwritten correspondence, unpublished audiovisual archives, the costume of the last Tosca and the crown of Turandot in conservation cases.

What comes next: a museum, and exhibitions that travel

These three milestones converge towards the Maria Callas Museum in Paris, planned for the fiftieth anniversary, 16 September 2027. But the collection will not wait between walls: the Foundation welcomes proposals from museums and institutions wishing to host an exhibition built from its archives — write to us, and see the licensing and loan conditions. Support these projects.

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