Hair pulled up in a bun, shoulders covered with a cape, arms crossed and shoes with heels, the statue of Maria Callas, inaugurated by the mayor of Athens a few days ago, is controversial.
Wrapped in a gilded bronze case, it was erected near the ancient Roman theater of Herodion, as part of the celebrations to be held in 2023 to mark the hundredth anniversary of the birth of the diva (December 2, 1923 - September 16, 1977 ).
Surrounded by olive trees, in a peaceful setting, in front of the pedestrian street of Dionysiou Aéropagitou, the work of art shines… But does not pass.
Critics are raining even on social networks.
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Oscar statuette or C-3PO
Many Internet users are wondering. Is it a "kitsch replica of the Oscar statuette", "the female version of C-3 PO" the robot from Star Wars or a new version of Terminator?
“Looks like Gandhi in heels,”
further comments on Twitter suggest. Some lovers of the diva are offended:
"from the front, and being myopic, it can pass, but in profile, it's a horror".
Ilias Tzempedonidis, artistic coordinator of the Opera of Naples and specialist in the work of Maria Callas, welcomes the fact that his country
"is finally honoring this emblematic and colossal personality, with the highlight of a statue in the middle. heart of Athens ”.
But he would have preferred
"something closer to the diva."
Especially when we know that in Greece, we are admired for our sculptures.
You just have to see our museums,
”he notes.
"Her deep but sad gaze, her natural elegance of a Greek tragedian"
The sculptor, Aphrodite Liti
To respond to criticism and try to calm the controversy, the sculptor Aphrodite Liti, who made this statue, a teacher at the School of Fine Arts awarded many times for her works like the
Owls of Athens
, justified herself in explaining that it was "her" Callas, the way she perceived the diva, "
with her deep but sad gaze, her natural elegance of a Greek tragedian
". She would have obtained a carte blanche from the Maria Callas foundation for her creation. But nothing helps, public opinion is not fading.
Cultural events around the world priestess of the Opera are linked.
After the performances of Monica Bellucci at the Herodion theater and Marina Abramovich, which have just ended, an exhibition has taken over on the island of Corfu, which presents her costumes for La Scala in Milan as well as her objects and partitions.
The Maria Callas museum, should be inaugurated soon.
Located in Mitropoléos Street, in a neoclassical four-storey building with an area of 1,070 m², this building, built on the initiative of the Athens City Hall, will offer a collection of personal objects of the diva, but… without refer to the statue.
