Notes and Editorial Reviews
If you're like me, it's always been Callas über Alles; however, many other people still need proof. This CD should do it. Even with her well-known vocal blemishes--a distinct wobble in the 1961 "Casta diva", badly knit registers in the Carmen excerpts from 1964--you know you're in the face of greatness when Callas sings. There's never anything haphazardly phrased or carelessly thought through; a keen mind is wedded here to a musicality that from the moment it begins instinctively knows where a vocal line--or an emotive line--is going.
Most of this generous (74 minutes) CD is culled from recordings from the mid-1950s--the Gianni Schicchi aria a delicious miniature, the Wally aria a portrait of despair,
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Butterfly's "Un bel di" sung like a hopeful teenager, Mimi's two arias the soul of sincerity, "La mamma morta" a mini-opera in itself. The bel canto selections--the last moments of Lucia's mad scene, Rosina's "Una voce poco fa"--are impressive as such, and Callas sings Violetta's music (taken from the so-called "Lisbon" Traviata) with unmatchable pathos. The two French mezzo scenes--from Gluck's Orfeo and Saint-Saëns' Samson et Dalia--recorded later in her career, show a downward shift in the voice's center, but become her just as winningly as the higher-flying scenes do. And the Tosca aria is definitive. A special artist, a special recital.
--Robert Levine, ClassicsToday.com Read less
Works on This Recording
1.
Norma: Casta diva by Vincenzo Bellini
Performer:
Maria Callas (Soprano)
Conductor:
Tullio Serafin
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Milan Teatro alla Scala Orchestra,
Milan Teatro alla Scala Chorus
Period: Romantic
Written: 1831; Italy
Length: 5 Minutes 33 Secs.
Language: Italian
Notes: This selection is a stereo recording.
2.
La Wally: Ebben?... Ne andrò lontana by Alfredo Catalani
Performer:
Maria Callas (Soprano)
Conductor:
Tullio Serafin
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Philharmonia Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1892; Italy
Length: 4 Minutes 51 Secs.
Language: Italian
Notes: This selection is a mono recording.
3.
Andrea Chénier: La mamma morta by Umberto Giordano
Performer:
Maria Callas (Soprano)
Conductor:
Tullio Serafin
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Philharmonia Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1896; Italy
Length: 4 Minutes 53 Secs.
Language: Italian
Notes: This selection is a mono recording.
4.
Gianni Schicchi: O mio babbino caro by Giacomo Puccini
Performer:
Maria Callas (Soprano)
Conductor:
Tullio Serafin
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Philharmonia Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1918; Italy
Length: 2 Minutes 34 Secs.
Language: Italian
Notes: This selection is a mono recording.
5.
Tosca: Vissi d'arte, vissi d'amore by Giacomo Puccini
Performer:
Maria Callas (Soprano)
Conductor:
Victor De Sabata
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Milan Teatro alla Scala Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1900; Italy
Length: 3 Minutes 14 Secs.
Language: Italian
Notes: This selection is a mono recording.
6.
Madama Butterfly: Un bel dì vedremo by Giacomo Puccini
Performer:
Maria Callas (Soprano)
Conductor:
Tullio Serafin
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Philharmonia Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1904; Italy
Length: 4 Minutes 35 Secs.
Language: Italian
Notes: This selection is a mono recording.
7.
La Bohème: Si, mi chiamano Mimì by Giacomo Puccini
Performer:
Maria Callas (Soprano)
Conductor:
Tullio Serafin
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Philharmonia Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1896; Italy
Length: 4 Minutes 49 Secs.
Language: Italian
Notes: This selection is a mono recording.
8.
La Bohème: Donde lieta uscì by Giacomo Puccini
Performer:
Maria Callas (Soprano)
Conductor:
Tullio Serafin
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Philharmonia Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1896; Italy
Length: 3 Minutes 20 Secs.
Language: Italian
Notes: This selection is a mono recording.
9.
La traviata: Addio del passato by Giuseppe Verdi
Performer:
Maria Callas (Soprano)
Conductor:
Franco Ghione
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Lisbon San Carlos National Theater Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1853; Italy
Length: 3 Minutes 14 Secs.
Language: Italian
Notes: This selection is a mono recording.
10.
La traviata: Ah, fors' è lui by Giuseppe Verdi
Performer:
Maria Callas (Soprano)
Conductor:
Franco Ghione
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Lisbon San Carlos National Theater Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1853; Italy
Length: 3 Minutes 17 Secs.
Language: Italian
Notes: This selection is a mono recording.
11.
Orfeo ed Euridice: J'ai perdu mon Eurydice by Christoph W. Gluck
Performer:
Maria Callas (Soprano)
Conductor:
Georges Prêtre
Orchestra/Ensemble:
ORTF National Orchestra
Period: Classical
Length: 4 Minutes 23 Secs.
Language: French
Notes: This selection is a stereo recording.
12.
Samson et Dalila, Op. 47: Mon coeur s'ouvre à ta voix by Camille Saint-Saëns
Performer:
Maria Callas (Soprano)
Conductor:
Georges Prêtre
Orchestra/Ensemble:
ORTF National Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1877; France
Length: 5 Minutes 15 Secs.
Language: French
Notes: This selection is a stereo recording.
13.
Carmen: L'amour est un oiseau rebelle "Habañera" by Georges Bizet
Performer:
Maria Callas (Soprano)
Conductor:
Georges Prêtre
Orchestra/Ensemble:
René Duclos Chorus,
National Theater Opera Orchestra of Paris
Period: Romantic
Written: 1873-1874; France
Length: 4 Minutes 19 Secs.
Language: French
Notes: This selection is a stereo recording.
Composition written: France (1873 - 1874).
14.
Carmen: Près des ramparts de Seville "Seguidilla" by Georges Bizet
Performer:
Nicolai Gedda (Tenor),
Maria Callas (Soprano)
Conductor:
Georges Prêtre
Orchestra/Ensemble:
René Duclos Chorus,
National Theater Opera Orchestra of Paris
Period: Romantic
Written: 1873-1874; France
Length: 4 Minutes 32 Secs.
Language: French
Notes: This selection is a stereo recording.
Composition written: France (1873 - 1874).
15.
Carmen: Les tringles des sistres tintaient "Gypsy Song" by Georges Bizet
Performer:
Jane Berbié (Mezzo Soprano),
Maria Callas (Soprano),
Nadine Sautereau (Soprano)
Conductor:
Georges Prêtre
Orchestra/Ensemble:
René Duclos Chorus,
National Theater Opera Orchestra of Paris
Period: Romantic
Written: France
Length: 4 Minutes 19 Secs.
Language: French
Notes: This selection is a stereo recording.
Composition written: France (1873 - 1874).
16.
Lucia di Lammermoor: Spargi d'amaro pianto "Mad Scene" by Gaetano Donizetti
Performer:
Raphäel Arié (Bass),
Tito Gobbi (Baritone),
Maria Callas (Soprano)
Conductor:
Tullio Serafin
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Florence Maggio Musicale Orchestra,
Florence Maggio Musicale Chorus
Period: Romantic
Written: 1835; Italy
Length: 3 Minutes 51 Secs.
Language: Italian
Notes: This selection is a mono recording.
17.
Il barbiere di Siviglia: Una voce poco fa...Io sono dolcile by Gioachino Rossini
Performer:
Maria Callas (Soprano)
Conductor:
Alceo Galliera
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Philharmonia Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1816; Italy
Length: 6 Minutes 20 Secs.
Language: Italian
Notes: This selection is a stereo recording.
Sound Samples
Norma (1997 Digital Remaster): Casta Diva
La Wally (1997 Digital Remaster): Ebben?...Ne andrò lontana
Gianni Schicchi (1997 Digital Remaster): O mio babbino caro
Andrea Chenier (1997 Digital Remaster): La mamma morta
Tosca (1997 Digital Remaster), ACT 2: Vissi d'arte
Madama Butterfly Lib. Giacosa and Illica (1997 Digital Remaster): Un bel dì vedremo
La Bohème (1997 Digital Remaster): Sì. Mi chiamano Mimì
La Bohème (1997 Digital Remaster): Donde lieta uscì (Mimì's Farewell)
La Traviata (1997 Digital Remaster): Ah, fors'è lui
La Traviata (1997 Digital Remaster): Addio del passato
Orphée et Eurydice (1997 Digital Remaster): J'ai perdu mon Eurydice
Samson et Dalila (1997 Digital Remaster): Mon coeur s'ouvre à ta voix.
Carmen (1997 Digital Remaster), Act 1: L'amour est un oiseau rebelle (Habanera)
Carmen (1997 Digital Remaster): Près des remparts de Séville (Séguidilla)
Carmen (1997 Digital Remaster), Act 2: Chanson bohème: les tringles des sistres tintaient
Il Barbiere di Siviglia (1997 Digital Remaster): Una voce poco fa
Lucia di Lammermoor (1997 Digital Remaster), ATTO TERZO, Scena prima: Spargi d'amaro pianto (Lucia/Raimondo/Coro/Enrico)
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