In this, the first of four programmes on Maria Callas, I trace Callas’ childhood and upbringing in New York, her studies with Elvira de Hidalgo, her “first career” in Greece, those prodigious and now legendary early performances in South America, and her long awaited debut in 1951 at what would become her artistic home, La Scala in Milan. Presented by Adriaan Fuchs. For more information, please visit www.onandofftherecord.com