Here EMI have collected
all the studio recitals Callas made
for the company, including two discs
with mop-up takes that were not issued
until long after her death. All the
discs have been available separately
but it is convenient, and it saves shelf-space,
to have them in a box with a width corresponding
to less than four jewel-cases.
There will probably
always be some controversy about the
pros and cons of Callas as a singer
and actress. It is true that the journey
through these thirteen discs, admittedly
not always very well-filled, exposed
this listener to a fair share of heavy
vibrato, squally high notes and throaty
delivery, sometimes decidedly ugly.
As a remedy there are also heavenly
pianissimos, dramatic conviction and
a constant identification with the different
characters. Whatever she sings there
is a face in the singing, no mere vocalizing.
It can be argued that to find Callas
in her true mettle one should turn to
her complete recordings – and there
are more than twenty sets in the EMI
catalogue alone – where she also interacts
with some great singing-actors, notably
Tito Gobbi. Spreading the listening
of this set over several weeks I found,
however, that Callas on her own can
illuminate so much of a role and, after
all, most arias are outpourings of the
characters’ innermost feelings and thoughts,
interior monologues. Callas is of course
not the only soprano to be thus illuminating
and there are cases where her frayed
tone or other deficiencies can be contra-productive
to her dramatic intentions, where the
regal tones of her greatest competitor
Renata Tebaldi can be more telling.
Still I never gave in to the temptation
to indulge in excessive comparisons,
which would have made my listening sessions
eternal and this review probably interminable.
My conclusion when
finishing listening was that Callas
always has something personal to express
in all these arias. Whether one likes
what one hears or not is a personal
matter but one thing is clear: she never
becomes dull or indifferent.
I am not going to linger
over every single aria in this review
but rather give a general impression
and pick some items that are special.
For fuller reviews of the first two
discs, the Puccini
album and the "Lyric
and Coloratura Arias" I can
refer readers to my reviews a couple
of years ago when they were issued on
Regis with some additional material
from complete operas or live concerts.
I made some random comparisons between
the Regis and EMIs but could find very
little difference, even though I listened
through headphones. Interestingly the
timings show that most of the Regis
transfers are a few seconds shorter
and consequently should be marginally
sharper in pitch but at least my ears
couldn’t hear any difference. It should
also be said that the Puccini recital
on Regis excluded the two arias from
Madama Butterfly. Instead that
disc had substantial excerpts from the
complete Butterfly with Karajan
and Nicolai Gedda, including the two
arias. The differences are minimal.
On CD3, recorded in
1955 but not released until three years
later, the Medea aria offers
a lot of acidulous singing but still
more easy on the ear than in her complete
recording. The three excerpts from Spontini’s
La vestale are reminders of a
role she sang at La Scala in 1954. Her
first tone in Tu che invoco,
after the beautifully played horn solo,
has an inward lyrical quality that is
touching, and this aria, so rarely heard,
also finds her in unusually steady voice.
Spontini’s dramatic orchestral writing
can also be admired in this long scene.
Her beautiful legato is shown at its
best in both the following arias, of
which Caro oggetto especially
has a delicious melody. Clean tone and
excellent coloratura mark the two Sonnambula
arias, Ah! non credea mirarti,
beautifully sung followed by a lively
Ah! non giunge where she sports
a fine trill.
Listening to CD4 makes
one regret than she never recorded Lady
Macbeth or Abigaille complete, since
these excerpts are so spine-chillingly
good - two evil characters who probably
haven’t been better performed. "The
New Callas", as was the epithet
applied to Elena Suliotis when she was
the great sensation in the mid-1960s,
recorded both but when it came to Macbeth
her voice was already more or less wrecked,
while her record debut in Nabucco
a handful of years earlier was possibly
the most fabulous dramatic singing of
the entire decade. Callas back in 1958
had also started her decline vocally
but Verdi wouldn’t have minded and her
identification is total. The first act
aria is a thriller, La luce langue
is inwardly menacing and the bleak sleepwalking
scene has one sitting on the edge of
the chair. Besides the singing the expert
instrumentation is also a great asset
to this opera, which can’t always be
said about Nabucco which is arguably
the crudest, most primitive of the galley
operas. This however serves to bring
out the personalities of the main protagonists.
Callas is formidable but also sings
with serene beauty, only occasionally
disfiguring a phrase but the final note
is one to seek shelter from.
A master of florid
singing she also negotiates the coloratura
of Elvira’s aria from Ernani
and sings with admirable lightness.
As Elisabetta in Don Carlo, a
role she never undertook on stage, she
is still masterly, contrasting lyrical
girlish tones with high-strung drama,
contralto chest notes versus ethereal
pianissimo.
"Mad Scenes"
is the collective title of CD5. Such
scenes tend to be long indeed–the madder
the longer–and this well-filled disc
(47 minutes was indeed over average
for an LP in the late 50s) only finds
room for three. The longest is the act
2 scene from Anna Bolena and
I wouldn’t have minded some more cue
points for easier access to favourite
passages, for example the heavenly simple
and beautiful rendering (at 13:40) of
the melody that is best known as Home,
sweet home. Elsewhere she has her
shrill moments but many more of serene
beauty and deep insight and the four
other soloists make good contributions.
For Ofelia she lightens
her voice and wavers between sadness
and gaiety. She shows her fine trill
in the ballad Pâle et blonde
(6:05), based on the Swedish folk song
Näckens polska and inserted
in the opera as a tribute to Swedish
soprano Kristina Nilsson who was the
first Ofelia. "Näcken"
is an evil water-sprite in Nordic mythology.
Callas also makes the
most of the scene from Il pirata,
seventeen minutes long but with an orchestral
introduction of four minutes.
With the two volumes
entitled "Callas à Paris"
(CDs 6-7) we are already well into the
1960s but her singing is still more
or less unimpaired. When she sings softly
she can spin those thin silken threads,
when giving an aria – like the one from
Alceste – the full dramatic treatment,
the voice still has the power and intensity
and only occasionally it turns wobbly
and shrill–at least not much more so
than a decade earlier. Her Orphée
is warm toned with romantic inflexions,
her Carmen is Carmen – remember
the EMI slogan when the complete opera
arrived some years later - her Dalila
challenges almost any other version.
She is lively and joyful in Je veux
vivre and the polonaise from Mignon
is light and airy.
The aria from Le
Cid is a relative rarity – as is
the whole opera. CBS recorded it in
the 1970s with Domingo and Bumbry and
it contains some grand music but it
is not on a par with Massenet’s more
established masterpieces. There is no
denying the dramatic potential of Pleurez,
mes yeux!, however, especially when
sung with the intensity and lyrical
mournfulness of Callas. Depuis le
jour in contrast is restrained and
beautiful with the tone fairly concentrated
even in fortissimo. Ô malheureuse
Iphigénie! is arguably the
noblest and most tragic Gluck aria,
sung here with Callas’s inward glow,
but it has to be said that during the
two years that had elapsed since the
previous recital, her voice had deteriorated,
become more shrill, more frayed. Her
pianissimo singing is as marvellous
as ever but under pressure and when
singing above the stave it is harder,
more grating on the ear.
Prêtre’s interlude
in Berlioz’s D’amour l’ardente flame
(after ca. 3:00) is so self-indulgent
that one could suspect Bernstein to
be at the helm and the Callas reading
is unique in its nervous intensity.
There are recorded versions that are
more beautiful and fall more easily
on the ear – Janet Baker and Frederica
von Stade come to mind – but Callas
has more face. Her personification of
Leila in Bizet’s Les Pêcheurs
de perles is another example of
an aria that can be pretty enough in
a well sung performance but in Callas’
hands becomes something much more important.
Sung mostly at mezzaforte or below it
also sounds comfortable and she demonstrates
at the end that her trill is still in
good shape. Her Manon, Charlotte and
Marguerite are all superb; three clearly
differentiated characters speaking to
us through the loudspeakers and we forget
the odd squally note when these women
of flesh and blood reveal their innermost
feelings.
Up till then Walter
Legge had produced all her recitals,
except "Callas at La Scala",
where Walter Jellinek was the producer.
The rest of them were made under the
supervision of Michel Glotz during an
intense period from December 1963 to
April 1964 resulting in four records.
Added to this on CD11 are the two arias
from Il corsaro, recorded in
1969 with Peter Andry in charge. These
are the last official recordings Callas
made and they were not released until
after her death.
Do I detect a more
incipient beat in the voice on the Verdi
recital (CD8) than on previous discs?
Partly, yes, but her Desdemona is still
marvellous and one need only listen
to the third "salce" (track
1, ca 1:05) to realize that the old
magician is still at work. She is a
forceful Odabella in Attila and
the intensity is never in question but
here she is far too strained and shrieky
to invite repeated listening. The same
goes for Elisabetta’s second act aria
from Don Carlo: much involved
and considered singing but too much
compromised voice production. Her O
don fatale from the same opera is
much more enjoyable with impressive
chest notes and she is indeed one of
the most formidable Ebolis on records.
CD9 finds her in repertoire
one normally doesn’t associate with
Callas, but remembering her early recording
of Isolde’s Liebestod it comes
as no surprise that she can make the
most of Beethoven’s long concert aria
Ah! perfido where she differentiates
well between the furious and sorrowful
moods. Some unsteadiness is noticeable
but at this stage of her career that
is only what can be expected. The aria
from Oberon is sung in the original
English and the opening "Ocean!
thou mighty monster" is delivered
with the force of a tsunami. One still
cringes at her final note though.
Callas singing Mozart
poses some problems. Of course her Figaro
Contessa is sad, her Donna Anna
properly furious and Donna Elvira more
dangerously angry than any other I have
heard but one misses the beauty and
smoothness of tone that one expects
in Mozart. The music must not offend
the ear, Mozart said, however dramatic
the situation. Well, it does here and
I think the composer would have complained.
On the other hand he was a man
of the theatre and whatever aspects
one can have on Callas’s singing it
is never bland.
On CD10 she returns
a last time to the bel canto repertoire
and her Angelina in La Cenerentola
is properly girlish with some beautiful
soft notes only nudged at. Mathilde
in Guglielmo Tell is a warm hearted
creature – as she should be – the aria
proper is among Callas’ loveliest creations,
apart from a couple of sour high notes,
but she makes amends with some delicious
soft pianissimos and the long diminuendo
on the final note is perfectly controlled.
The Semiramide aria is fiery,
her Marie in La figlia del reggimento
is light and sprightly, Lucrezia
Borgia is sung with feeling and she
is a charming Adina in L’elisir d’amore.
CD 11 is yet another
all-Verdi recital. What is immediately
noticeable is the sharper sound and
since most of the titles were recorded
at roughly the same time as the previous
disc I suspect that this is due to the
digital remastering, done by Paul Baily,
whereas Simon Gibson was responsible
for most of the others. This is mostly
for the good, not least do we hear more
of Verdi’s often delicious orchestration.
The Attila aria is one fine example.
The singing in general has the same
characteristics as on the previous discs
but it is interesting to note that on
the two arias from Il corsaro,
recorded as late as 1969, Callas’s voice
is actually freer from the disfiguring
beat on high sustained notes and she
phrases with her customary elegance
and has some ravishing pianissimos.
On the other hand she seems more distanced
and it is hard to know whether this
is a result of the recording balance
or if she actually had lost volume.
At the end of track 4 she is seriously
over-parted by the orchestra. Tacea
la notte from Il trovatore
is more forceful than on the complete
set with Karajan, recorded almost a
decade earlier. Her tone is also shriller
than in 1969. The cabaletta is fiery
but a little unsubtle. The aria from
I vespri siciliani is better
controlled but the real gems are the
two arias from Un ballo in maschera.
On CDs 12 and 13 we
are treated to recordings covering her
whole career but in the main never issued
during her lifetime. Most of these she
recorded at other times and thus it
is fascinating to compare. There are
even alternative takes from the same
sessions. Most interesting is probably
the third act duet from Aïda
with Franco Corelli as Radamès.
The two stars sang together on Callas’
second Norma recording a few
years earlier and sparks are flying
here too. Corelli obviously tries to
out-sing Callas in a glorious but mainly
unsubtle reading, where Callas is the
one who takes care of the nuances but
she also lets herself be carried away
by Corelli’s histrionics and produces
some ugly bleating sounds. Still it
is good to have them together in roles
they both recorded with other partners:
Callas with Richard Tucker and Corelli
a couple of years later with Birgit
Nilsson where he is more nuanced. On
disc 13 we also find Leonora’s act 4
aria from Il trovatore, recorded,
I believe, at the same session as Tacea
la notte. That it took more time
for EMI to release it – not until 1992
– can be explained by some ugly unfocused
singing near the end, but as always
with Callas there are many subtle and
beautiful moments too. Just when I am
writing this I am listening to the wonderful
singing in the originally discarded
Attila aria and as so often I
am totally overwhelmed and can’t continue
writing until the aria is over and here
now is Te Virgin santa from I
Lombardi–the last title of the last
disc–and I have to interrupt my writing
again. Silence has settled upon my room
but in my head Callas’s voice can still
be heard. My advice is that every reader
who still hasn’t acquired these recitals
in one form or other buys this box and
gets access to one of the most fascinating
voices in recorded history. No texts
are included but with Callas they are
not necessary – her message comes through
anyway.
Göran Forsling
Maria Callas
– The Studio Recitals
CD1: Puccini Arias [45:14]
Giacomo PUCCINI
(1858–1924)
Manon Lescaut (1893):
1. In quelle trine morbide [2:56];
2. Sola, perduta, abbandonata
[5:53];
Madama Butterfly (1904):
3. Un bel di, vedremo [4:34];
4. Con onor muore [3:44];
La bohème (1896):
5. Si. Mi chiamano Mimi [4:48];
6. Donde lieta usci [3:32];
Suor Angelica (1918):
7. Senza mamma [5:35];
Gianni Schicchi (1918):
8. O mio babbino caro [2:34];
Turandot (1926):
9. Signore, ascolta [2:30];
10. In questa reggia [6:24];
11. Tu che di gel sei cinta [2:50]
Maria Callas (soprano); Philharmonia
Orchestra/Tullio Serafin
rec. at Watford Town Hall, 15–18 September
1954
CD2: Lyric and Coloratura Arias [49:00]
Francesco CILEA
(1866–1950)
Adriana Lecouvreur (1902)
1. Ecco: respire appena. Io son l’umile
ancella [3:49];
2. Poveri fiori [3:12]
Umberto GIORDANO
(1867–1948)
Andrea Chenier (1896)
3. La mamma morta [4:52];
Alfredo CATALANI
(1854–1893)
La Wally (1892)
4. Ebben? ne andrò lontana
[4:52];
Arrigo BOITO (1842–1918)
Mefistofele (1868)
5. L’altra notte in fondo al mare
[7:28];
Gioachino ROSSINI
(1792–1864)
Il barbiere di Siviglia (1816)
6. Una voce poco fa [6:52];
Giacomo MEYERBEER
(1791–1864)
Dinorah (1859)
7. Ombra leggera (Shadow Song)
[5:42];
Léo DELIBES
(1836–1891)
Lakmé (1883)
8. Dov’è l’indiana bruna?
(Bell Song) [8:06];
Giuseppe VERDI
(1813–1901)
I vespri siciliani (1855)
9. Mercé, dilette amiche
[4:02]
Maria Callas (soprano); Philharmonia
Orchestra/Tullio Serafin
rec. at Watford Town Hall 17, 18, 20
and 21 September 1954
CD3 Callas at La Scala [41:50]
Luigi CHERUBINI
(1760–1842)
Medea (1797)
1. Dei tuoi figli [4:46];
Gasparo SPONTINI
(1774–1851)
La vestale (1807)
2. Tu che invoco [10:50];
3. O Nume tutelar [2:30];
4. Caro oggetto [3:44]
Vincenzo BELLINI
(1801–1835)
La sonnambula (1831)
5. Compagne teneri amici … Come per
me sereno [5:49]
6. Oh! se una volta sola … Ah! non
credea mirarti … Ah! non giunge
[13:58];
Maria Callas (soprano); Orchestra del
Teatro alla Scala, Milano/Tullio Serafin
rec. at Teatro alla Scala, Milano 9–12
June 1955
CD4: Verdi Arias I [49:14]
Giuseppe VERDI
Macbeth (1847)
1. Nel di della vittoria … Vieni!
t’affretta [7:44];
2. La luce langue [4:07];
3. Una macchia è qui tuttora
[11:09];
Nabucco (1842)
4. Ben io t’invenni … Anch’io dischiuso
un giorno [9:06];
Ernani (1844)
5. Surta è la notte … Ernani,
Ernani, involami [6:10];
Don Carlo (1867)
6. Tu che le vanità [10:36];
Maria Callas (soprano); Philharmonia
Orchestra/Nicola Rescigno
rec. at No. 1 Studio, Abbey Road, London
19, 21 and 24 September 1958
CD5: Mad Scenes [47:23]
Gaetano DONIZETTI
(1797–1848)
Anna Bolena (1830)
1. Piangete voi? … Al dolce guidami
castel nation [19:57];
Ambroise THOMAS
(1811–1896)
Hamlet (1869)
2. À vos jeux … Partagez-vous
mes fleurs … Et maintenant écoutez
ma chanson [10:23];
Vincenzo BELLINI
(1801–1835)
Il pirata (1827)
3. O! s’io potessi … Col sorriso
d’innocenza [17:02];
Maria Callas (soprano); Monica Sinclair
(contralto), John Lanigan (tenor), Joseph
Rouleau (bass), Duncan Robertson (tenor)(1);
Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus/Nicola
Rescigno ;
rec. at Kingsway Hall, London, 24 and
25 September 1958
CD6: Callas à Paris I
[49:08]
Christoph Willibald
GLUCK (1714–1787)
Orphée et Eurydice (1774)
1. J’ai perdu mon Eurydice [4:25];
Alceste (1767)
2. Divinités du Styx [4:24];
Georges BIZET
(1838–1875)
Carmen (1875)
3. L’amour est un oiseau rebelle
(Habanera) [4:03];
4. Près des ramparts de Séville
(Séguedille) [2:04];
Camille SAINT-SAËNS
(1835–1921)
Samson et Dalila (1877)
5. Printemps qui commence [5:14];
6. Samson, recherchant ma présence
… Amour! viens aider ma faiblesse!
[4:10];
7. Mon Coeur s’ouvre à ta
voix [5:15];
Charles GOUNOD
(1818–1893)
Roméo et Juliette (1867)
8. Ah! Je veux vivre dans ce rêve
[3:38];
Ambroise THOMAS
Mignon (1866)
9. Ah, pour ce soir … Je suis Titania
(Polonaise) [5:08];
Jules MASSENET
(1842–1912)
Le Cid (1885)
10. De cet affreux combat … Pleurez,
mes yeux! [6:05];
Gustave CHARPENTIER
(1860–1956)
Louise (1900)
11. Depuis le jour [4:39];
Maria Callas (soprano); Orchestre National
de la Radiodiffusion Française/Georges
Prêtre;
rec. at Salle Wagram, Paris, 28–31 March
and 4, 5 April 1961
CD7: Callas á Paris II
[43:04]
Christoph Willibald GLUCK
Iphigénie en Tauride (1779)
1. Ô malheureuse Iphigénie![4:30];
Hector BERLIOZ
(1803–1869)
La Damnation de Faust (1854-56)
2. D’amour l’ardente flame [8:08];
Georges BIZET
Les Pêcheurs de perles (1863)
3. Me voilà seule … Comme
autrefois [5:56];
Jules MASSENET
Manon (1884)
4. Jen e suis que faiblesse … Adieu,
notre petite table [3:16];
5. Suis-je gentile ainsi? … Je marche
sur tous les chemins [2:49];
Werther (1892)
6. Werther! Qui m’aurait dit … Des
cris joyeux [6:59];
Charles GOUNOD
Faust (1859)
7. Je voudrais bien savoir … Il était
un Roi de Thulé … Ô Dieu!
que de bijoux … Ah! je ris (Jewel
Song) [11:24];
Maria Callas (soprano); Orchestre de
la Société des Concerts
du Conservatoire/Georges Prêtre;
rec. at Salle Wagram, Paris, 2–8 May
1963
CD8: Verdi Arias II [39:53]
Giuseppe VERDI
Otello (1887)
1. Mi parea … Mia madre aveva una
povera ancella [5:04];
2. Piangea cantando [7:12];
3. Ave Maria piena di grazie
[4:45];
Aroldo (1857)
4. Ciel, ch’io respire! … Salvami,
salvami tu, gran Dio! [3:26];
5. O Cielo! Dove son io [9:40];
Don Carlo (1867)
6. Non pianger, mia compagna
[4:52];
7. O don fatale [4:41];
Maria Callas (soprano); Orchestre de
la Société des Concerts
du Conservatoire/Nicola Rescigno;
rec. at Salle Wagram, Paris, 17–27 December,
1963 and 20, 21 February, 1964
CD9: Mozart, Beethoven, Weber [44:23]
Ludwig van BEETHOVEN
(1770–1827)
1. Scena and Aria: Ah! perfido
Op. 65 (1795-96) [14:18];
Carl Maria von
WEBER (1786–1826)
Oberon (1826)
2. Ocean! thou mighty monster [9:03];
Wolfgang Amadeus
MOZART (1756–1791)
Le nozze di Figaro (1786)
3. Porgi, amor [4:14];
Don Giovanni (1787)
4. Or sai chi l’onore [3:14];
5. Crudele?... Non mi dir [5:52];
6. In quail eccessi, o Numi! …Mi
tradi quell’alma ingrate [6:26];
Maria Callas (soprano); Orchestre de
la Société des Concerts
du Conservatoire/Nicola Rescigno;
rec. at Salle Wagram, Paris, 6–23 December
1963 and 8 January 1964
CD10: Rossini and Donizetti Arias
[39:22]
Gioachino ROSSINI
(1792–1868)
La Cenerentola (1817)
1. Naqui all’affanno … Non più
mesta [6:18];
Guglielmo Tell (1829)
2. S’allontanano alfine … Selva opaca
[8:32];
Semiramide (1823)
3. Bel raggio lusinghier [8:34];
Gaetano DONIZETTI
(1797–1848)
La figlia del reggimento (1840)
4. Convien partir [4:05];
Lucrezia Borgia (1833)
5. Tranquillo ei posa … Com’è
bello [8:15];
L’elisir d’amore (1832)
6. Prendi, prendi; per me sei libero
[3:33];
Maria Callas (soprano); Orchestre de
la Société des Concerts
du Conservatoire/Nicola Rescigno;
rec. at Salle Wagram, Paris, 4–23 December,
1963 and 13–24 April 1964
CD11: Verdi Arias III [52:07]
Giuseppe VERDI
I lombardi (1843)
1. O Madre, dal cielo soccorri
[3:59];
Attila (1846)
2. Liberamente or piangi … Oh! nel
fuggente nuvolo [5:24];
Il corsaro (1848)
3. Egli non riede ancor … Non so
le tetre immagini [5:16];
4. Né sulla terra …Vola talor
dal carcere … Verró … Ah conforto
è sol la speme [5:57];
Il trovatore (1853)
5. Tacea la notte placida … Di tale
amor [6:07];
I vespri siciliani (1855)
6. Arrigo! ah, parli a un core [4:32];
Un ballo in maschera (1859)
7. Ecco l’orrido campo … Ma dell’arido
stelo diculsa [9:16];
8. Morrò, ma prima in grazia
[4:26];
Aida (1871)
9. Ritorna vincitor [7:06];
Maria Callas (soprano); Orchestre de
la Société des Concerts
du Conservatoire; Orchestre du Théâtre
National de l’Opéra de Paris
(3, 4)/Nicola Rescigno
rec. January and April, 1964 (7), February
1964 and April 1985 (6), April 1964
(2, 8, 9), April 1964 and January 1985
(1, 5), February and March 1969 (3,
4)
CD12: The EMI Rarities 1953–1961
[63:28]
The 1953 Test:
Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART
Don Giovanni (1787)
1. Non mi dir (Take 1) [5:26];
2. Non mi dir (Take 2) [5:04];
Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino/Tullio
Serafin;
rec. at Teatro Comunale, Florence, 17
January 1953
The Mono Version of the Sleepwalking
Scene from Macbeth:
Giuseppe VERDI
Macbeth (1847)
3. Una macchia è qui tuttora
[11:12];
Philharmonia Orchestra/Nicola Rescigno;
rec. at No. 1 Studio, Abbey Road, London,
September 1958
The 1960 and 1961 Tonini Sessions:
Gioachino ROSSINI
Semiramide (1823)
4. Bel raggio lusinghier [5:34];
Giuseppe VERDI
I vespri siciliani (1855)
5. Arrigo! ah parli a un core
[4:04];
Gaetano DONIZETTI
Lucrezia Borgia (1833)
6. Tranquillo ei posa … Com’è
bello [8:03];
Gioachino ROSSINI
Guglielmo Tell (1829)
7. S’allontanano alfine … Selva opaca
[8:25];
Semiramide (1823)
8. Bel raggio lusinghier [5:22];
Vincenzo BELLINI
(1801–1835)
Il Pirata (1827)
9. Sorgete … Lo sognai ferito, esangue
[9:23];
Monica Sinclair (contralto), Alexander
Young (tenor)(9); Philharmonia Orchestra
and Chorus/Antonio Tonini
rec. at Kingsway Hall, London, nov.
1961
Maria Callas (soprano)
CD13: The EMI Rarities 1962–1989
[51:08]
The 1962 Tonini Sessions:
Giuseppe VERDI
Don Carlo (1867)
1. O don fatale [4:27];
Gioachino ROSSINI
La Cenerentola (1817)
2. Naqui all’affanno … Non più
mesta [6:11];
Carl Maria von WEBER
Oberon (1826)
3. Ocean! thou mighty monster [8:02];
Philharmonia Orchestra/Antonio Tonini
rec. at Kingsway Hall, London, April
1962
The 1964 Prêtre Sessions:
Giuseppe VERDI
Aida (1871)
4. Pur ti riveggo, mia dolce Aida
[9:32];
Franco Corelli (tenor); Orchestre du
Théâtre National de l’Opéra
de Paris/Georges Prêtre
rec. at Salle Wagram, Paris, June 1964
The 1964/5 Rescigno Sessions:
Giuseppe VERDI
I lombardi alla prima crociata (1843)
5. Te, Vergin santa [3:46];
Il trovatore (1853)
6. Vanne … D’amor sull ali rosee
[6:27];
Orchestre de la Société
des Concerts du Conservatoire/Nicola
Rescigno
rec. at Salle Wagram, Paris, April 1954
and January 1965
The 1969 Rescigno Sessions:
Giuseppe VERDI
I vespri siciliani (1855)
7. Arrigo! ah parli a un core
[3:38];
Attila (1846)
8. Liberamente or piangi! [4:45];
I lombardi alla prima crociata (1843)
9. Te, Vergin santa [3:21];
Orchestre de la Société
des Concerts du Conservatoire/Nicola
Rescigno
rec. at Salle Wagram, Paris, February
and March 1969
Maria Callas (soprano)
EMI CLASSICS 0946 3 68033 2 6
[13 CDs: 45:14 + 49:00 + 41:50 + 49:14
+ 47:23 + 49:08 + 43:04 + 39:53 + 44:23
+ 39:22 + 52:07 + 63:28 + 51:08]
for
details
