Condé Nast Traveler Business Travel Awards 2006 The romance ...

pera diva Maria Callas had a very special
relationship with Raffles Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten.
She was a regular guest of the hotel throughout the 1960s,
and indeed has a suite dedicated to her; the Maria
Callas Suite. So what a perfect place to throw an operatic
evening extravaganza.
The Maria Callas Opera Gala was held in the hotel’s
magnificent antiques-laden reception rooms. As a musical
treat, during the soiree the young Russian artist Switlana
Slivia performed some of the arias for which the divine
Maria Callas is famed. The guests enjoyed a historical
four-course dinner that replicated the menu served on
September 3, 1957, the night Maria Callas met Aristotle
Onassis at the Danieli in Venice and the start of an
unforgettable love story that then continued in Hamburg
in 1959. The dinner — Consommé Gelée en Tasse, Scampi
Flamingo with Oriental Rice, Poulet en Cocotte Soumaroff,
and a Soufflé Glacé à l’Aurum with wild berries — was
specially prepared according to original Italian recipes,
copies of which were distributed to the guests at the end
of the evening. Most of the proceeds of the entire event
were donated to the Jedem Kind ein Instrument (an
instrument for every child) Foundation.
Judith Fuchs-Eckhoff, Aldo Simoni, Stefanie Siegmeier and Bruno Tosi
A Historical Menu
and a Musical Treat
The Maria Callas Opera Gala at Raffles Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten
O
This rare cultural and culinary treat coincided with
the “Maria Callas, the Myth goes on” exhibition at
Alsterhaus, Hamburg’s famous department store, which
attracted some 30,000 visitors every day during its month
running. “The Divina has always chosen Hamburg as
starting point of her triumphal concerts all over the
world,” explained Bruno Tosi, president of the Associazione
Culturale Maria Callas, whose remarkable collection of
memorabilia including gowns, jewellery, personal letters
and documents belonging to La Divina form the exhibition.
Some of the stage costumes worn by Maria Callas were
also displayed at Raffles Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten.
The Prima Donna gave her first performance in
Germany, on May 15, 1959. Her tour of Germany was
inaugurated by a huge gala event at the music hall. Aristotle
Onassis was there too, and the two Greek nationals met
at the Vier Jahreszeiten. Callas and the Tanker Tycoon
would share their lives for the next nine years. They
travelled extensively, and they were highly valued guests
at Raffles’ beautiful hotel located on the shores of
Hamburg’s Inner Alster Lake. Rudolf Boter, the Maître
d’hotel at the time, describes Maria Callas as “cordial,
natural, warm hearted.”
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