The Divine

By Natasha, Out Of School

If I had to pick a favourite singer it would be Maria Callas, no competition. I discovered Maria Callas by chance as a precocious, awkward teenager, and ‘La Divina’, the moniker given to her, seemed to fit her transcendent voice perfectly. Her voice so completely captured the spectrum of human emotion and experience, from sublime happiness to utter desolation, and everything in between and beyond. Her voice would transport me despite language barriers. Even now, listening to her 1958 recording of ‘Casta Diva’ is like taking a deep breath, like exhaling stress and inhaling calm.