La Scala in delirium!
+ come to our exhibition please
Hello everyone,
Hope you had fabulous weeks. My favourite things were watching Paris Is Burning (1990) for the first time, and getting things ready for our opening night at Subcult next Friday.
Together with the wildly talented Emily Brady, Brunei Deneumostier, Vera Santana Alvarez and Loranique Pienaar, we will be showcasing works related to intimacy through a female lens. Stop by if you’re in Amsterdam! I’ve prepared some writing and a curated library of books which I will introduce more in-depth next week.
In the vein of women’s art and performance, I’d love to write you about the wonderful biography of Maria Callas by Arianna Huffington, which is somewhat of a niche pick maybe, but oh it’s really worth it.
This was the first book I read in 2025 and not only is it still with me, it also sparked what I foresee will be a lifelong passion for opera. The book is where the title of this newsletter comes from. La Scala in delirium! What a sentiment!
When Kody and I visited Athens last October, we found ourselves walking around a lot, exploring the city’s jasmine and fig scented neighbourhoods. But no matter where we aimed our excursions, we always ended up in front of the Maria Callas Museum. I’m not exaggerating when I say we were there at least once a day, without ever intending to. Such is the pull of the great Callas, I suppose, as I would soon come to find out. I walked out of the museum shop with one of the many biographies on offer, and I am so glad I chose this one.
Huffington’s work (published in 1980) is a gripping, scandalous and heart-wrenchingly sensitive glimpse into the troubled life of a brilliant artist. Starved of love and maternal affection, young Maria devoted herself to the pursuit of operatic success, conquering hearts of international audiences with her powerful voice and the nuanced emotions it was able to convey.
This voice, so non-traditional and rough around the edges, had also gained her a fair share of brutal enemies. Few celebrities at the time had been as attacked, defamed and scrutinised, by her jealous peers and the media alike.
What added to the outrage, was Callas’ strong personality. She was the token “difficult woman” of her generation, continuously challenging authority, standing up for her craft and vision, following her intuition above all else and, importantly, saying “no” even to the most powerful of men – even if it risked her reputation which, naturally, it always did.
She was not just an incredible vocal talent, but also an admirable businesswoman. After reading her biography, I wish that fact was more acknowledged. Instead of her love life, perhaps, which consistently sent tabloids into a feeding frenzy. It’s true that the Callas-Onassis-Kennedy love triangle is perhaps the most fascinating (and aggravating) 9-year situationship there ever was, but surely there is more to a brilliant woman’s life than her romantic misadventures.
The life of Maria was a dramatic account of heroes, villains, frenemies and romance. A most gripping plot which, sadly, was also a life. Her story is a powerful and sadly timely reminder of the unforgiving pressure and vilification women come under whilst in the public eye, especially when their personal lives come into play.
If, like me, you harbour a passion for the great femmes fatales of the stage, I also thoroughly recommend Errand Into The Maze: The Life and Works of Martha Graham (2024) by Deborah Jowitt. I got this substantially sized volume at Three Lives & Co. in Greenwich Village (whose lovely staff helped me out as I unsuccessfully searched for “Running Errands in The Dark” instead.) But I think you can now get it in Europe as well!
It’s an extensive biography of the brilliant dancer and choreographer Martha Graham, the path of her troubled reputation and the history of American modern dance, which she helped forge. Not to mention, it’s a beautiful edition filled with mesmerising photographs by Graham’s friend and collaborator Barbara Morgan.
My Pinterest is filled with the most beautiful photography of Maria Callas and Martha Graham right now. So inspiring and stylish!
Thank you for reading, I hope you liked it, and I’ll speak to you next week.
Love,
Zuzanna
See you there!!!