"Has the tigress become a turtledove?" The gossips in Milan were incredulous. "She must have lost her voice to turn so sweet." The object of this back-scratching was Maria Meneghini Callas, making her comeback at La Scala after a 2½-year exile, self-imposed because of a fight with Impresario Antonio Ghiringhelli. Throughout rehearsals for her return vehicle,
Gaetano Donizetti's little-known Poliuto, Callas kept her fiery temper banked despite numerous production problems, including a threatened backstage strike and the director's walkout. By opening night, scalpers were getting $500 for a $50 seat. Paris Couturier Pierre Balmain provided 6,000 pink carnations to enhance La Scala's...
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