She was the "La Divina." A force of nature that redefined opera for the 20th century. But when people ask how did Maria Callas die, they aren't usually looking for a dry medical report. They’re looking for the end of a tragedy that rivaled any of the roles she played on stage at La Scala or the Met.
Maria Callas died on September 16, 1977. She was only 53.
Her body was found in her Paris apartment at 36 Avenue Georges Mandel. The official cause of death was a heart attack, technically a myocardial infarction. But if you talk to any die-hard opera fan or historian, they’ll tell you the heart attack was just the final note in a long, agonizing decrescendo. She was alone. She was exhausted. And honestly, she had basically lost the one thing that defined her existence: her voice.
The Medical Reality of 1977
Let’s look at the hard facts first because the rumors have always been wild. Some people claimed she committed suicide. Others whispered about foul play involving her estate. However, the evidence points toward a body that was simply worn out.
By the time 1977 rolled around, Callas was a shadow of her former self. She spent most of her days in her darkened apartment, often staying in bed until the afternoon. Her eyesight was failing—she was notoriously nearsighted and refused to wear glasses in public—and her physical strength had cratered. When the heart attack hit that morning, her maid, Bruna Lupoli, and her butler, Ferruccio Mezzadri, were the ones who found her. There was no grand aria. No final curtain call. Just a quiet, lonely end in a luxury flat.
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Medical experts like Dr. Mario Giacovazzo, who treated her toward the end, eventually suggested that her heart failure wasn't just "bad luck." It was likely the result of dermatomyositis. This is a rare inflammatory disease that causes muscle weakness and skin rashes. For a singer, your "muscles" are your instrument. If your diaphragm and larynx are being attacked by a chronic condition, your career is over. More importantly, the treatment for dermatomyositis in the 70s usually involved heavy doses of corticosteroids and immunosuppressants. These drugs wreak havoc on the heart over time.
So, when we wonder how did Maria Callas die, the answer is a mix of a failing heart and a systemic disease that literally stripped her of her ability to breathe and sing.
The Weight Loss That Started It All
You can't talk about Maria's health without talking about her weight. In the early 1950s, she was a heavy woman. Then, in a span of about a year, she dropped nearly 80 pounds. She claimed she did it by eating salads and chicken, though rumors of a swallowed tapeworm persisted for decades.
That kind of drastic metabolic shock does things to a person. It changed her voice, making it thinner but more agile. It also put immense strain on her nervous system. She became "the most beautiful woman in the world," but she paid for it with her stamina.
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The Aristotle Onassis Factor
It’s impossible to separate her physical decline from her emotional wreckage. Callas met the Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis in 1959. She left her husband, Giovanni Battista Meneghini, for him. She thought she would marry Ari and finally have the family she craved.
Instead, he treated her like a trophy. Then, he discarded her to marry Jackie Kennedy in 1968.
That was the turning point. People close to her said that's when the "light went out." If you're looking at how did Maria Callas die from a psychological perspective, you have to acknowledge the "broken heart" theory. It sounds cliché, but stress-induced cardiomyopathy is a real thing. She stopped practicing. She stopped performing with any regularity. When Onassis died in 1975, Maria reportedly said, "Nothing matters anymore, because nothing will ever be the same again."
The Final Tour Disaster
In 1973 and 1974, she tried to make a comeback with tenor Giuseppe Di Stefano. It was painful to watch. The voice was gone. The high notes were a wobble, or they simply weren't there. She was terrified on stage.
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Critics were brutal. Imagine being the greatest singer in history and having to read that you sound like a "shattered glass." That kind of public humiliation accelerates a physical decline. She retreated into a shell. She became addicted to Mandrax (methaqualone) to sleep. Taking heavy sedatives when you already have a weak heart is a recipe for disaster.
Misconceptions and Conspiracy Theories
Because she was a diva, people wanted a diva’s death.
- The Suicide Rumor: Because she was found with various medications in her system, some thought she took her own life. There was no note. Her friends, like Franco Zeffirelli, vehemently denied this. She was depressed, sure, but she wasn't suicidal.
- The "Murder" Plot: Some fans pointed fingers at her staff or even Vasso Devetzi, a pianist who became a close associate in Maria's final years. Devetzi was accused of isolating Maria to manage her money. While Devetzi was definitely a controversial figure who took control of the estate, there's zero proof she killed Maria.
- The Voice Loss: Many think she died because she lost her voice. While not literally true, the loss of her identity as a singer certainly removed her will to live.
What Her Death Taught the World
Maria Callas’s death was a wake-up call regarding the pressures put on female performers. She was expected to be a fashion icon, a perfect singer, and a tragic lover all at once. The physical toll of her 1954 weight loss, combined with the lack of modern medicine for her muscle disease, made her death at 53 almost inevitable in hindsight.
She was cremated at the Père Lachaise Cemetery. Her ashes were eventually scattered over the Aegean Sea, according to her wishes. It was a return to the Greek roots she always felt a deep, though complicated, connection to.
Steps to Understand the Callas Legacy
If you're trying to wrap your head around the magnitude of this loss, don't just read about her death. You have to hear why her life mattered.
- Listen to the 1953 "Tosca": Recorded with Victor de Sabata. It is widely considered the greatest opera recording ever made. You’ll hear why the world mourned so hard in 1977.
- Watch the Pasolini film "Medea": It’s her only non-singing acting role. It shows the raw, cinematic power she had even when she wasn't hitting a high C.
- Read "Maria Callas: The Woman Behind the Legend" by Arianna Huffington: While some find it sensationalist, it captures the emotional atmosphere of her final years in Paris better than most.
- Compare her "Casta Diva" from 1954 vs 1964: You can actually hear the physical decline we’ve been talking about. It’s haunting.
Maria Callas didn't just die of a heart attack. She died from a lifetime of pushing a human body further than it was meant to go, fueled by a passion that her physical frame eventually couldn't contain. She remains the ultimate example of the "tragic diva," a woman who gave everything to her art until there was nothing left for herself.