EMI offer here yet another way to sample their large archive of
recordings by Maria Callas, this time somewhere between the 70
CD box for those who must have everything - or at least all the
studio recordings - and the various 1 or 2 disc anthologies of
popular arias. Although I had heard most of these recordings before,
I had forgotten just how individually Callas portrays each of
the characters she plays. Although three Puccini operas are highlighted,
there is never any mistaking which heroine she is portraying.
The innocence of Mimì is clearly different to that of Butterfly,
and Tosca is clearly worlds apart from either. And this is done
largely by musical means, by variation of phrasing, tone colour
and articulation, and usually by a careful interpretation of the
composer’s instructions in the score. There is no room for blandness
in any of Callas’s performances here, and none of the all-purpose
beauty of tone at which too many modern sopranos aim at the expense
of clarity of diction or articulation. There are certainly a few
moments here where her singing can only be described as ugly,
and there is one performance – that of Carmen – which I regard
as wholly misconceived. A pity to have chosen it in preference
to “Turandot” or “Rigoletto”, both much more convincing in every
way as performances, but even in “Carmen” I was never bored.
I
could easily stop there and simply urge those who do not have
these recordings already to buy this set – but I should first
explain what is included here. Each of these sets of highlights
has been available before, in 1990 or 1998, and only two offer
more than an hour of music. In every case I was left feeling somewhat
disappointed at the amount of wonderful music and performance
that was left out which could easily have been included. Admittedly
at the remarkably low prices at which the set has been advertised
by some dealers this might seem an unfair comment, but it does
seem slightly ungenerous and unnecessary to give such short measure
given the age and wide existing circulation of these performances.
Callas
recorded some of these operas more than once, but the choice of
version has been made well. Thus we have the later versions of
“Norma” and “Lucia di Lammermoor”, in both cases the voice somewhat
less fresh but the interpretation even more individual, but the
first “Tosca”, in every way superior to its remake. Similarly
the live “La Traviata” is far ahead of the earlier Cetra studio
recording.
The
choice of content for each disc appears to have been made according
to two different principles. For the most part what we have are
highlights of the operas, rather than of Callas’s performances
in them. Thus the “Carmen” disc starts with the children’s chorus
and includes not only Don José’s solo but also his duet with Micaëla
and the latter’s aria. In “Lucia di Lammermoor” we have Enrico’s
cavatina and Edgardo’s solos in the final scene. I have to say
that I greatly enjoyed all of these, but equally I can understand
why in “Madama Butterfly” and even more in “La Traviata” the focus
is almost exclusively on Callas. “La Traviata” is in fact unlike
all of the other sets in that it is a live performance from La
Scala in 1955. There have been many live recordings available
on various fringe labels of Callas in this opera, but this is
certainly the best of those that I have heard. The sound may be
primitive by comparison with the other operas, but one soon gets
used to it, and it is wonderful to hear such a vivid portrayal.
No
texts or translations are included, but the booklet includes good
historical notes about each work together with a full synopsis
of each. Somewhat oddly for a set celebrating the work of a single
singer, there are no biographical notes about her or indeed about
any of the other performers, neither is there any attempt to fit
these recordings into the context of Callas’s overall recording
career.
Avid
collectors of Callas will certainly have most if not all of
this already, but the set can be especially recommended to
those with other versions of these operas and to those wanting
a succinct demonstration in seven of the operas of why Callas
is regarded by many as one of the greatest, if not the greatest,
dramatic sopranos of recent times. The excerpts from “Carmen”
provide additional interest in showing her limitations, although
there is still much enjoyment to be had from the disc as the
other roles are well and often imaginatively cast, as indeed
they are throughout this set. The various conductors, especially
Serafin, Karajan and de Sabata, all give idiomatic and dramatic
performances of each opera.
John Sheppard
see also Review
by Göran Forsling
Casts and Recording details
Norma
Maria Callas (soprano) –
Norma; Franco Corelli (tenor) – Pollione; Christa Ludwig (mezzo-soprano);
Adalgisa; Nicola Zaccaria (bass) – Orovesco: Chorus and Orchestra
of La Scala, Milan/Tullio Serafin: recorded November 1960
at La Scala
Carmen
Maria Callas (soprano) –
Carmen; Nicolai Gedda (tenor) – Don José; Andréa Guiot (soprano)
– Michaëla; Robert Massard (baritone) – (Escamillo); Nadine
Sautrau (soprano) – Frasquita; Jane Berbié (mezzo-soprano)
– Mercédès; Claude Calès (baritone) – Moralès; Chorus and
Orchestra of the Paris Opera/Georges Prêtre: recorded in the
Salle Wagram, Paris in July 1964
Lucia di Lammermoor
Maria Callas (soprano) –
Lucia; Ferrucio Tagliavini (tenor) – Edgardo; Piero Cappuccilli
(baritone) – Enrico; Bernard Ladysz (bass) – Raimondo; Leonard
del Ferro (tenor) – Arturo; Margreta Elkins (mezzo-soprano)
– Alisa; Renzo Casellato (tenor) – Normanno; Philharmonia
Chorus and Orchestra/Tullio Serafin: recorded in Kingsway
Hall, London, in March 1959
La Bohème
Mari Callas (soprano) –
Mimì; Giuseppe Di Stefano (tenor) – Rodolfo; Rolando Panerai
(baritone) – Marcello; Manuel Spatafora (baritone) – Schaunard;
Nicola Zaccaria (bass) – Colline; Anna Moffo (soprano) – Musetta;
Carlo Badioli (bass) – Alcindoro; Chorus and Orchestra of
La Scala, Milan/Antonio Votto: recorded in La Scala in August
and November 1956
Madama Butterfly
Maria Callas (soprano) –
Butterfly; Lucia Danieli (mezzo) – Suzuki; Nicolai Gedda (tenor)
– Pinkerton; Mario Borriello (baritone) – Sharpless; Chorus
and Orchestra of La Scala, Milan/Herbert von Karajan: recorded
at La Scala in August 1955
Tosca
Maria Callas (soprano) –
Tosca; Giuseppe Di Stefano (tenor) – Cavaradossi; Tito Gobbi
(baritone) – Scarpia; Franco Calabrese (baritone) – Angelotti;
Angelo Mecuriali (tenor) – Spoletta; Dario Caselli (baritone)
- Sciarrone/Gaoler; Chorus and Orchestra of La Scala, Milan/Victor
de Sabata: recorded at La Scala in August 1953
Aida
Maria Callas (soprano) –
Aida; Richard Tucker (tenor) – Radamès; Fedora Barbieri (mezzo);
Tito Gobbi (baritone) – Amonasro; Giuseppe Modesti (bass)
– Ramfis; Nicola Zaccaria (bass); Franco Ricciadi (tenor)
- Un messaggero; Chorus and Orchestra of La Scala, Milan/Tullio
Serafin: recorded at La Scala in August 1955
La Traviata
Maria Callas (soprano) –
Violetta; Giuseppe Di Stefano (tenor) – Alfredo; Ettore Bastianini
(baritone) – Germont; Silvana Zanolli (mezzo) – Flora; Luisa
Mandelli (mezzo); Giuseppe Zampieri (tenor) – Gastone; Arturo
La Porta (bass) – Baron; Antonio Zerbini (baritone) – Marquis;
Silvio Maionica (bass) – Doctor; Franco Ricciardi (tenor)
– Giuseppe; Chorus and Orchestra of La Scala, Milan/Carlo
Maria Giulini; recorded live at La Scala on 28 May 1955
