Callas

On Monday, May 31, 2004 MICHAEL GEORGE CALLAS, 83, of Hagerstown, MD, passed away in Norfolk General Hospital, Norfolk, VA. Born in Hagerstown, MD on Thursday, April 14, 1921, he was the son of the late George and Pella (Strataco) Callas. He was the widower of Betty (Kohler) Callas, who passed away in 1994. He was a 1939 graduate of Hagerstown High School and later graduated for Johns Hopkins University in 1943 with a degree in Civil Engineering. Following graduation from Johns Hopkins Mr. Callas entered the U.S. Army during World War II where served in the 29th Engineering Battalion serving in the Philippines, mapping invasions of the South Pacific Islands and Japan, at the conclusion of the war he returned to Johns Hopkins University where received his Master's degree in Structural Engineering in 1947.

Of all the incisive moments in Terrence McNally's "Master Class," his Tony Award-winning tribute to the astonishing Maria Callas, the most compelling may be when "La Divina" - as her devoted fans called the soprano - mentions criticisms she received: "They said they didn't like my sound. But they didn't like my soul." When Tyne Daly delivers that line in the Kennedy Center's exhilarating new production of the play, you feel all the truth and pain behind it. By that point in "Master Class," it's kind of hard to remember that the real Callas isn't on the Eisenhower Theater stage revealing her inner self, so persuasively does Daly animate the character.

On March 21, 2006, JAMES N. CALLAS; beloved husband of Aspassia (Skippie) Callas, loving father of Nicholas Callas and his wife Marlene, Adora Keil and her husband Christopher and Christina Flintoft and her husband Robert and the late Peter Callas; loving grandfather of Jennie and Christopher Callas and Theona and James Reynen; devoted brother of Helen Leonard and the late Anastasia and George Relatives and friends may call SCHIMUNEK FUNERAL HOME OF...

On March 21, 2006, JAMES N. CALLAS; beloved husband of Aspassia (Skippie) Callas, loving father of Nicholas Callas and his wife Marlene, Adora Keil and her husband Christopher and Christina Flintoft and her husband Robert and the late Peter Callas; loving grandfather of Jennie and Christopher Callas and Theona and James Reynen; devoted brother of Helen Leonard and the late Anastasia and George Relatives and friends may call SCHIMUNEK FUNERAL HOME OF...

As Joan Crawford in the movie "Mommie Dearest," Faye Dunaway raised a coat hanger in order to get her way. As Maria Callas in Terrence McNally's Tony Award-winning play "Master Class," Dunaway only has to raise her voice to an apprentice singer, and the nervous young vocalist is reduced to tears. Call her Diva Dearest.A star vehicle that suits the ultra-thin and still-beautiful Dunaway as well as the elegant black pantsuit she wears with such flair, "Master Class" also suits the Lyric Opera House.

Callas Construction Co. has been awarded a $2.3 million contract to expand the Washington County Detention Center in Hagerstown to include a 70-bed minimum-security addition for prisoners with addictions.Gary Rohrer, chief of planning and codes administration for Washington County, said work should begin early next month and be completed late next year.The addition will house work-release inmates, weekend prisoners and substance abusers.Counseling and rehabilitation programs also will be based in the wing.

The dismissal last week of superstar soprano Kathleen Battle from the Metropolitan Opera Company for "unprofessional conduct" is sure to ignite lively controversy among fiercely partisan devotees. Ms. Battle, 45, is one of the classical music world's biggest stars, right up there with Luciano Pavarotti and Placido Domingo. Observers are rightly comparing her tiff with Met General Manager Joseph Volpe to the famous rift that developed between diva Maria Callas and Met boss Rudolph Bing more than a quarter-century ago.Ms.

When playwright Terrence McNally won the 1996 Tony Award for "Master Class," he thanked the late opera singer Maria Callas "for bringing beauty and passion and integrity to my life." But "Master Class" wasn't the first time Callas figured prominently in a McNally play. More than a decade earlier, the playwright wrote "The Lisbon Traviata," a play named for one of Callas' pirated recordings.Now "The Lisbon Traviata" is receiving its belated Baltimore premiere at Everyman Theatre, where it opens tomorrow.

On March 9, 2003, DONALD WARFIELD of Richmond, VA formerly of Howard County, loving father of Betsy A. Callas and Albert H. Warfield. Mr. Warfield is also survived by five grandchildren and seven great grandchildren. Friends are invited to attend a Memorial Service at the Slack Funeral Home, P.A. 3871 Old Columbia Pike, Ellicott City on Saturday, March 15, 2003 at 3 P.M. Interment private.

Driven and manipulative Evelyn Mulwray in "Chinatown."Driven TV executive Diana Christensen in "Network."Driven and abusive Joan Crawford in "Mommie Dearest."For years Faye Dunaway has been fighting the pushy, larger-than-life stereotype, insisting she is not the roles she plays. But now that she's playing driven opera star Maria Callas, Dunaway embraces the comparison.Local theatergoers can see how well the role fits beginning Tuesday, when the touring production of "Master Class," Terrence McNally's play about Callas, opens at the Lyric Opera House.

There's this misconception about the guys of Calla. With their penchant for creeping, nocturnal sound- scapes and guitarist-lead singer Aurelio Valle's raspy, melancholic vocals, they give the impression that they're a dispirited, depressing group. They all just sit around long-faced, writing songs about how much love and life stink. Not true. "It's the way things come out," says Valle, who's calling from his home in Brooklyn, N.Y. "People interpret things differently, you know. But we don't consider ourselves a dark band.

On Monday, May 31, 2004 MICHAEL GEORGE CALLAS, 83, of Hagerstown, MD, passed away in Norfolk General Hospital, Norfolk, VA. Born in Hagerstown, MD on Thursday, April 14, 1921, he was the son of the late George and Pella (Strataco) Callas. He was the widower of Betty (Kohler) Callas, who passed away in 1994. He was a 1939 graduate of Hagerstown High School and later graduated for Johns Hopkins University in 1943 with a degree in Civil Engineering. Following graduation from Johns Hopkins Mr. Callas entered the U.S. Army during World War II where served in the 29th Engineering Battalion serving in the Philippines, mapping invasions of the South Pacific Islands and Japan, at the conclusion of the war he returned to Johns Hopkins University where received his Master's degree in Structural Engineering in 1947.

On March 9, 2003, DONALD WARFIELD of Richmond, VA formerly of Howard County, loving father of Betsy A. Callas and Albert H. Warfield. Mr. Warfield is also survived by five grandchildren and seven great grandchildren. Friends are invited to attend a Memorial Service at the Slack Funeral Home, P.A. 3871 Old Columbia Pike, Ellicott City on Saturday, March 15, 2003 at 3 P.M. Interment private.

A very important Elvis day is coming up this week. Friday, Aug. 16, will mark the 25th anniversary of the King's death, from drug-induced cardiac arrest on the toilet in his second-floor bathroom at Graceland. Big things of a strangely religious sort are likely in store for that day in his hometown, though that is nothing new. It was clear back in 1987, at the 10th anniversary, when 50,000 "Presleyterians" gathered in the steamy heat of Memphis, Tenn., for a candlelight graveside vigil: Elvis Aron Presley had reached the status of secular saint, with Graceland his Jerusalem, complete with its solemn rituals (vigils)

Maria Callas: An Intimate Biography, by Anne Edwards. St. Martin's Press. 332 pages. $27.95. Maria Callas has become the Marilyn Monroe of the opera world. The soprano's darkly beautiful face is in itself an icon; her voice is more marketable than ever; the story of her brilliant career, tabloid-feeding love life and pathetic, premature death at 53 guarantees a constant stream of books about her. Last year, Greek Fire, the ambitious biography by investigative reporter Nicholas Gage, looked deeply into the soprano's affair with tycoon Aristotle Onassis and came up with a dead baby.

"Greek Fire: The Story of Maria Callas and Aristotle Onassis," by Nicholas Gage. Knopf. 407 pages. $26.95. On July 22, 1959, a super-luxurious yacht set sail from Monte Carlo for a cruise that would take its passengers through the waters of the once-great empire known as Byzantium. The warships of that ancient state, writes Nicholas Gage, "were famous for bombarding enemy vessels with 'Greek fire' -- an incendiary mixture of mysterious compositions that engulfed and destroyed everything it touched."

WASHINGTON -- Tammy Callas of Laurel had her first run-in with product liability issues when she found that her Dow Corning breast implants were leaking chemicals into her body.The leaks caused Mrs. Callas, a mother of two, to develop rheumatoid arthritis, an eye and mouth disease called Sjodren, a thyroid condition, muscle weakness and memory loss, she said. To combat the illnesses, she must undergo chemotherapy for the rest of her life."We had a lot of big plans and dreams," said Mrs. Callas' husband, George.

Here's a novel way to save taxpayer money: make life easier for state legislators by chopping their annual session by one-third, from 90 days to 60 days. It would save at least $500,000 in costs and give lawmakers more time to work at real jobs in the world outside the State House.We suspect that this proposal, from two Western Maryland legislators, Peter G. Callas and George Edwards, won't make it through the General Assembly obstacle course. Their colleagues like the food and lodging allowances spread over 90 days.

It all started when John McCalla was invited to a swing dance. Next thing you know, he's a zoot-suit riot of color and action and outrageous aerials. It's taken only four years for McCalla to become one of the most accomplished and lauded Lindy Hoppers in the region. He's such a fast learner that he's shut down much of his home construction business to teach the vintage dance in halls around the Washington and Baltimore region -- and in his New Windsor living room -- through Swing Dance University.