The perfume tribute to Maria Callas
The Merchant of Venice e il Teatro La Fenice celebrate the Divine
On the occasion of the centenary of the birth of Maria Callas, The Merchant of Venice presented at the Teatro La Fenice the first official perfume dedicated to the Divine to be discovered in the city, Venice, protagonist of the first rendez-vous with her greatest love.
The Maria Callas Estate, an institution that represents and preserves the cultural and material legacy of the famous soprano, has entrusted The Merchant of Venice with the creation of the artist’s first official fragrance on the occasion of the centenary of her birth, which took place on 2 December 2023.
In Venice, Callas made her debut at the Teatro La Fenice in 1949 at just 24 years old with Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde conducted by Tullio Serafin and, again here, in 1957 at the Hotel Danieli, during a party organized in her honor by the American journalist Elsa Maxwell, began the great love story with Aristotle Onassis.
I don’t need the money, dear. I work for art.
(Maria Callas)
It is no coincidence, therefore, that The Merchant of Venice, a brand that promotes the perfumery art and Venetian manufacturing tradition through the valorisation of its history and artisanal excellence, was chosen to combine grace and strength, elegance and myth in a new Eau de Parfum inspired by the great diva.
A perfume with floral notes, which expresses the femininity of the Divine and which hides a deep amber base with a multifaceted and persistent character, inspired by the personality of Maria Callas, as well as the bottle that plays with black and white, the colors she loved to wear, and her signature placed on a tulle decoration that recalls her iconic silk scarves.
The perfect experience to immerse yourself in the magic of opera and the world of Maria Callas is certainly to visit the La Fenice Theater and, in particular, the permanent exhibition dedicated to the artist. This retraces the singer’s 7 years of Venetian performances through archive materials and stage photographs which give us some essential moments in the life of a young lady destined to become a legend.
Then, almost in front of the Theater, you can visit the Boutique The Merchant of Venice in Campo San Fantin. The amazing flagship store, really one of a kind, it is located in a magnificent 17th-century pharmacy set up in its current guise in 1846 by the architect Gianbattista Meduna, who was in charge of the reconstruction of the La Fenice Theater after the fire of 1836.
Here you can try the Maria Callas fragrance, or get lost among the many creations of The Merchant of Venice that pay homage to Venice and its symbols, such as the Murano Collection. The line is made up of Eau de Parfum fragrances dedicated to the Mude, the ancient trade routes that the Venetian merchants undertook in distant countries to import highly prized raw materials, and enclosed in bottles inspired by the tradition of Murano glass art.
