“The present scores are as enticing for the tangible connection they offer to the roles Callas came to define – her marked copies of Il pirata, Carmen and Poliuto are a highlight – as they are for tracing an alternate career of parts left un-sung: the duets marked in the score for Francesca da Rimini, for example, in which the titular role was famously taken by Magda Olivero in the 1959 La Scala production, offer a tantalizing glimpse of the performances that might have been,” said Christie’s.
Callas died a very wealthy woman in 1977. A major Sotheby’s sale of her estate in Milan in 2007 that included gowns, jewelry, and her record collection also contained the 55 musical scores – in her personalized cloth bindings, in various colors, bearing her monogram on the spine – now back on the market with Christie’s and estimated to sell for $15,000-23,000.
