19 January 1949

Having just sung her first Brünnhilde in Die Walküre 11 days earlier, Callas, at the insistence of Serafin, replaces the indisposed Margherita Carosio in the coloratura role of Elvira in I puritani at La Fenice in Venice. The operatic world is stunned by her performance. This is the turning point in Callas’s career and the start of her involvement in the rehabilitation of the Italian bel canto repertoire.