When Maria Meneghini Callas, in a gleaming white hoopskirt gown, stepped demurely before the Metropolitan Opera's golden curtain after the first act of Verdi's La Traviata last week, plainclothesmen planted themselves at the head of the aisles near the stage. Nobody was sure who was supposed to be protected from what, but the cops' presence was clearly unnecessary. On her first Met appearance this season, Soprano Callas carried the house from the moment she lifted her first note across the orchestra pit.
Forgotten was Callas' walkout from the Rome Opera last month (TIME, Jan....
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