Legendary soprano Maria Callas made her Carnegie Hall debut on January 27, 1959, in a concert production of Vincenzo Bellini’s Il Pirata given by the American Opera Society. These rarely-seen photographs of this highly anticipated event, the first complete American performance of Il Pirata in 100 years, were taken during the rehearsal and performance by Ben Martin, Time magazine’s first staff photographer and their Senior Photographer for more than 33 years.
Recent Acquisitions
September 14, 2009–March 1, 2010
The Carnegie Hall Archives were established in the fall of 1986. Since no central repository existed prior to that time, a significant portion of the Hall’s documented history had been lost, discarded, or otherwise forgotten. Over the past 23 years, through advertisements, stories in the media, trips to flea markets, appeals to the public, and contacts with former employees, vast amounts of material have been recovered, enabling the Archives to reconstruct much of Carnegie Hall’s history. The items currently on display showcase a number of the most interesting items newly acquired by the Archives in 2009.