This piece recounts the passionate friendship between Dallas Morning News classical music critic John Ardoin and opera legend Maria Callas. It highlights their exuberant reunion at Dallas Love Field in the 1960s, showcasing their deep affection and the public's astonishment.
He was obsessed with a woman whose voice he loved, which didn’t keep him from writing the truth, even if it meant killing a friendship. Editor’s note: This story was originally published December 6. 2018. We’re bringing it back because of renewed interest in the opera great, Maria Callas , sparked by the new biopic “Maria” starring Angelina Jolie, which is in theaters this month and streaming on Netflix. The story resonated for years as a staple of Dallas’ journalistic folklore.
It happened in the 1960s. The setting was Love Field, with the emphasis on “love.” The late John Ardoin, then the classical music critic for The Dallas Morning News, arrived at the airport in eager anticipation of once again meeting the woman whose voice, whose career, whose very being was the object of his obsession. Ardoin, who worked from 1966, retiring in 1998, was, according to many, the journalistic laureate of Callas’ rich career. He wrote no fewer than four books about her. Ardoin was acknowledged as best known for his friendship with and writing on Maria Callas. Ardoin, an ebullient, forthright figure, was a lively writer, his literary personality rivaling his character in raciness and volubility. No one who witnessed the scene at Love Field would dare say otherwise. Robert D.’Bob’ Compton, 91, who worked at The Dallas Morning News from 1956 to 1998, said the best story about the Love Field meeting was told for years by the late Joe Laird, a photographer who accompanied Ardoin to the airport for his reunion with Callas and who knew how to spin a story. ‘It happened during one of the times Callas returned to Dallas,’ Compton said. ‘Joe went along to take pictures for Ardoin. Callas got off the plane, and they met each other in the lobby. John starts shouting, ‘Madama! Madama! Madama!’ In return, Callas starts shouting, ‘John, John, John!’ And then they embrace in the middle of the lobby.’ The spontaneous display was the essence of emotion and exuberance, Compton said. All the while, stunned passersby looked on, startled by the openness of such affectio
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