Maria Callas: The exhibition of the summer

she was called 

La Divina

and there is good reason for that.

Maria Callas

The voice of all times was a fascinating, pationate woman, with a sense of style and class that no other woman ever matched. 

I was very glad to visit today the exhibition taking place at the center of Athens, perfectly curated at the Theocharakis Foundation.

More than 200 personal items, photographs, and mementos of her life in three floors

 collected with love by the collector Nico Charalambopoulos

and several other sources

offer the visitor a unique portrait of the singer, the diva, the woman.

B & M Theocharakis Foundation, 

 15 May – 30th September 2017

9, Vas. Sofias Avenue & 1, Merlin Str.

Open daily: 

10a.m. – 6p.m.

Closed for summer holidays:

August 1-25

Olympic tablescape

I always am on the lookout for trully innovative, inspirational, driven by good taste 

products for the home. 

As the French say:
"Le bon goût donne meilleur goût"

So I covet these plates inspired by Greek Antiquity.
Not your usual "souvenir" and a pride to use in any setting, modern or classical!

A future classic from
Sophia-Enjoy Thinking 
I found it on line at UK based
 BORN

Enjoy your momment of Olympic Glory,
xoxo

Greek Light: Queen Calliope's World

Last summer I visited for the first time the shop of Calliope. 

The world famous Greek photographer has been a favorite of mine, a bohemian style icon, an accomplished professional.

Α kaftan came home from her collection

 I loved her work in her first book, a few years ago.

Now she is publishing her second book, 

Children of the Light, Journey in Greece, 

benefiting children charities.

You can see more on Calliope Karvunis, here and here.
Her Instagram is right here.
And see a recent interview

Bracelets that I love

What IS it with bracelets and Spring?

Once Winter goes round the corner, the green flashlight is bleeping

 Spring/Summer_Spring/Summer.

I love my carefree bling of cotton string and beads. 

Is it an "I am a carefree child" reaction?

Is it an "I'm a creative person" statement?

Is it an "I don't bother about gold; give me happiness" prayer of the soul?

Long necklaces, yes, I love them, too.

via

A talisman

via

A promise of sunshine and loved ones, 

and alltogether happy times.

xoxo

La Divina-Maria Kallas' 90th birthday

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maria Callas, Commendatore OMRI ( December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century.

Critics praised her bel canto technique, wide-ranging voice and dramatic gifts. Her repertoire ranged from classical opera seria to the bel canto operas of Donizetti, Bellini and Rossini; further, to the works of Verdi and Puccini; and, in her early career, to the music dramas of Wagner. Her musical and dramatic talents led to her being hailed as La Divina.

Born in New York City and raised by an overbearing mother, she received her musical education in Greece and established her career in Italy. Forced to deal with the exigencies of wartime poverty and with myopia that left her nearly blind onstage, she endured struggles and scandal over the course of her career. She turned herself from a heavy woman into a svelte and glamorous one after a mid-career weight loss, which might have contributed to her vocal decline and the premature end of her career.

The press exulted in publicizing Callas's allegedly temperamental behaviour, her supposed rivalry with Renata Tebaldi and her love affair with Aristotle Onassis. Her dramatic life and personal tragedy have often overshadowed Callas the artist in the popular press.

However, her artistic achievements were such that Leonard Bernstein called her "the Bible of opera"and her influence was so enduring that, in 2006, Opera News wrote of her: "Nearly thirty years after her death, she's still the definition of the diva as artist—and still one of classical music's best-selling vocalists."

He is one of the world's hotest men...and he is Greek

 

 

 

 

...and he likes Paris.

What else can you ask for?

(Interview in English)

 

 

 

El Greco's House in Toledo

All images via here.

Nostalgia-not: The 1990s

The 1980s and 1990s saw the rise of a new generation of "beautiful people" in Greece.

 Those nouveaux-riches made their money in the 1980s as newly appointed government and European Economic Union officials, and in the 1990s they set about to enjoy their wealth.

They were unashamedly rich, often ignorant, and making a lot of fuss about their money.

Women wore Rolex watches and men drove BMWs.

They colonised the northern suburbs of Athens, turning the quiet leafy streets of places like my childhood's Kifissia into massive shopping malls, sending the prices of everything from land to bread skyrocketing high.

Sometimes they were adorable in their uninhibited enjoyment, much like children opening presents on Christmas or New Year's eve, (depending in which country you live), more often stuffing themselves with their newly found shopping power.

My favorite person from those days is Tina Daskalandonakis, the Grecotel heiress, who run sometimes bitter, sometimes hilarious newspaper and magazine articles on the high life. I have kept many of her articles and cherish her little booklets on Christmas and the best spots in Athens. I used to read her articles on line but apparently she doesn't write any more, and I do miss her wit and style.

Another person making an entrance to the Athenian art scene was Rebecca Camhi, infusing the dormant art circles with her aggressive views on traditional Greek and Christian society. The art she patronised in her gallery, encouraged the full up, newly rich folk to enjoy their after-stuffing sickness and pretend to be knowledgeable and patrons of the arts.

Her protegé, artist Konstantin Kakanias, rose to the high circles of art and fashion illustration.

His most iconic creation is Mrs. Tependris, a carricature of the disoriented lower class-turned high society folk, who strives to find her way in the fog of her new status in life.

I remembered all this while taking a look at Tory Burch's post about Kakanias' new projects.

Take a look at his current work here.

Vintage Thingie Thursday-Autumn poster

Hello dear friends,
Today for Vintage Thingie Thursday, I am going to show you our Autumn poster. It is one of four seasonal posters we put up according to the season.
These posters were used in Primary Schools across Greece until the early 1980s, to teach the seasonal activities in the classroom. They depict a time and era when life was simpler, and closer to Nature and God. They were then considered anachronistic, and were banned as they were against the multicultural society that was becoming the thing du jour.
We found a few stored away in an old bookshop and bought them with the intention of selling them in my on-line shop. I never put them up for sale, but we use these four every year.

The original artwork is by a lovely naif painter, Spyro Vasiliou.
(click on images to view larger)

At the center to the left there is the school. Notice the artist's depiction of the school. It links the present with the past, the traditional architecture of the Greek countryside to the pillars of the ancient times, still visible in the many ruins that are scattered across Greece. 

The girls are wearing a blue dress with a white colar, the school uniform that was abolished in 1982 because it  "insulted the kids' individuality". The school uniform was in fact abolishing in the school ground social rivalry and discrimination of the richer and poorer, and helped children concentrate on their studies, not the latest fashions.

To the right, the women are occupied with traditional household work, from feeding the livestock to knitting.

Top and center stage is given to the church, with the little girl kissing the priest's hand, a gesture of respect accompanied by the priest's: "Christ's blessing".

Seasonal activities are also shown, like apple picking and shooting.

Autumn is the season of the land: ploughing and spreading the seeds that will give the crops in the Spring.

It is also the season of wine and spirit making. As the old saying went, three are man's most important toils: harvesting the wheat, harvesting the vine and going to war.

With special thanks to Coloradolady for hosting.

Thank you for taking the time to read and comment. 

See you all next week!