Six original costumes worn by soprano Maria Callas during her performances at Teatro alla Scala are on display in the United States for the first time, at the Luther W. Brady Art Gallery at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
Maria Callas Costumes on Display at Luther W. Brady Art Gallery in Washington D.C.
By David Salazar(Image courtesy of Teatro alla Scala)
The exhibition, “Callas at La Scala: Costumes for Ifigenia, Amina, Anna, Fiorilla,” runs through March 21, 2026, and features costumes created for Callas as she performed four iconic roles: Ifigenia in “Ifigenia in Tauride,” Amina in “La Sonnambula,” Anna in “Anna Bolena,” and Fiorilla in “Il Turco in Italia.”
The exhibition also explores Callas’s creative collaborations with designers Nicola Benois and Piero Tosi and directors Franco Zeffirelli and Luchino Visconti. Alongside the costumes, visitors will find costume sketches, performance photographs, and audio excerpts of Callas singing, with each costume displayed against enlarged scenic designs from the original productions.
Interpretive texts for the exhibition were researched and written by students in the Costume History course at GW’s Corcoran Theatre and Dance program, integrating the exhibition into the Corcoran School’s Spring semester curriculum.
The costumes’ travel to Washington was made possible through collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute of Washington and the Embassy of Greece in Washington, D.C.
The gallery is open Wednesday through Saturday, 1–5 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public.
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