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Giuseppe VERDI (1813-1901) Verdi Heroines
Macbeth (1847) Nel di della vittoria... Vieni! t'affretta... Or tutti sorgete [7:50] La luce langue [4:10] Una macchia è qui tuttora [11:18] Ernani(1844) Surta è la notte ... Ernani, Ernani, involami [6:16]
Don Carlo (1867) Tu che la vanità [10:46] Otello (1887) Mi parea. M'ingiunse di coricarmi... Mia madre aveva una povera ancella... [5:19] Piangea cantando... [7:14] Ave Maria, piena di grazia [4:36] Aroldo (1857) O Cielo! Dove son io? [9:46] Don Carlo O don fatale [4:44] Aida (1871) Ritorna vincitor! [7:08]
Maria Callas
(soprano)
Philharmonia Orchestra/Nicolo Rescigno (Macbeth, Ernani,
Don Carlo - Tu che la vanità)
Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire/Nicola
Rescigno
rec. 19-21, 24 September 1958, No.1 Studio, Abbey Road, London
(Macbeth, Ernani, Don Carlo - Tu che la vanità); 17-27
December 1963, 20-21 February 1964, Salle Wagram, Paris except
(Aida) April 1964, Salle Wagram, Paris. EMI CLASSICS
GREAT RECORDINGS OF THE CENTURY 3 80020 2 [79:12]
This
new issue in EMI’s ‘Great Recordings of the Century’ line
will be essential to fans and collectors of recordings by
Maria Callas. Paired with her recordings of mad scenes, also
with Nicolo Rescigno and the Philharmonia Orchestra, this
recital of Verdi Heroines stems from the time at which
Callas had split from both La Scala in Milan and the Metropolitan
Opera in New York. The 1958 September sessions were the only
dates on which she worked in Abbey Road.
Having
already triumphed with Lady Macbeth during the 1952-53 season
at La Scala, Callas fills the role with convincing drama,
acting as well as singing with that enormous power and range
which made her such a compelling stage performer. Una
macchia è qui tuttora, that famous ‘out, damned spot!’ scene
has a richness and vibrancy the equivalent of which I can’t
say I’ve heard elsewhere, and while this selection won’t
entirely replace that live recording of the complete opera
(EMI 566447-2) with Victor de Sabata, at least there are
the considerable benefits of good stereo sound, and you no
longer have to wade through the somewhat mixed level of contributions
from the rest of the cast.
Callas’s
Elvira has all of the imploring pathos that you could wish
for in Surta è la notte, in which Verdi’s beguilingly
light accompaniments deceive the ear, and give the impression
of life carrying on almost as normal while the heroine’s
situation is as desperate as can become. The coloratura ending
is truly spectacular, even if Callas doesn’t have the lightness
of voice to make it sound genuinely easy. The dark opening
of Tu che la vanità contrasts nicely with the previous
aria, and Callas’s voice soars over the orchestra as she
invites us to weep over her sorrow. Where Ernani was
not part of Callas’ stage repertoire, Don Carlo most
certainly was, and the extended solo which at times falls
almost into kind of romantic recitative is delivered with
great presence.
With
the sequence from Otello opens the ‘side 2’ section
of this CD, with the slightly less secure intonation and
more reedy sound of the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts
du Conservatoire winds. The acoustic of the Salle Wagram,
at the time a run-down former dance hall, is flattering for
the voice but less so for the orchestra, at least in the
way it seems to have been recorded at longer distance. The ‘willow
song’ or Mia madre aveva una povera ancella however
has great plaintive character, and with those dramatic contrasts
the beauty of the deceptively simple Ave Maria are
definitive Callas.
The
recordings Maria Callas made in early 1964 and 1965 - in
between stage performances of Tosca and Norma -
were not up to the singer’s exacting standards, and remained
unreleased until being partially published in 1972, the rest
in 1978 shortly after her death. While the clarity in her
voice is less brilliant than in the earlier sessions, the
inner drama of the roles comes through, and the inclusion
of O Cielo! Dove son io? from the less well-known Aroldo has
its own intrinsic interest. The anecdote about how the recording
of Ritorna vincitor! from Aida came about is
recounted in the booklet notes, and Callas’s passionate point-proving
makes for a stunning finale.
This
CD is well presented, with all texts and booklet notes in
Italian, German, French and English. While a compilation
like this might be acceptable as a ‘warts and all’ collection,
there are in fact very few warts in evidence, and for the
most part absolutely superb singing from the great heroine
Maria Callas. Taste may be divided about her vocal colour
in some places, but the dramatic and emotional power which
she could bring to operatic parts is undeniable and very
much in evidence on these recordings. To fans this is an
inevitable ‘must have’, but the same should go for Verdi
connoisseurs who will find a huge amount to enjoy on this
most emphatic of recitals.
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