Maria Callas (1923–1977)

I'll be offering a more extensive Review later-on, but right now I simply want to savour and praise this extraordinary recording. Most of the disc is an Italian-language version, from 1950, of the Second Act of Wagner's PARSIFAL, with the remainder her final known recording, a 1976 performance of Beethoven's vocal scene "Ah perfido!". The Wagner obviously has other important singers, and Africo Baldelli's Parsifal is clean and airy, very different from most others I have heard, yet utterly show more compelling. By contrast, the Klingsor of Giuseppe Modesti is almost -- forgive me -- too modest. La Callas is glorious: I wish I could have seen her in this role. I will re-check this against the printed score, but my instinct is that there are a couple of tiny cuts here, and perhaps even a wrong note from La Callas. Viitorio Gui's conducting of the Rome RAI Orchestra is business-ilke and the sound is about what you could expect in a recording never intended for extensive distribution. The Beethoven is a diiferent story. The piece itself is an odd-ball in the repertory, but seems top have been written with Callas in mind. In this Paris performance she accompanied herslf on the piano, and the piano-playing alone is worth the price of admission. What an artist -- what a being, transcending art show less

INFORMATION-This album contains the following tracks:
Manon Lescaut, opera
1 Act 2. In quelle trine morbide (Giacomo Puccini), 2:51
2 Act 4. Sola, perduta, abbandonata (Giacomo Puccini), 5:54
Madama Butterfly (Madame Butterfly), opera
3 Act 2. Un bel dì vedremo (Giacomo Puccini), 4:35
4 Act 2. Con onor muore (Giacomo Puccini), 3:44
La bohème, opera
5 Act 1. Sì. Mi chiamano Mimì (Giacomo Puccini), 4:51
6 Act 3. Donde lieta uscì (Giacomo Puccini), 3:21
Suor Angelica, opera
7 Senza mamma (Giacomo show more Puccini), 5:37
Gianni Schicchi, opera
8 O mio babbino caro (Giacomo Puccini), 2:36
Turandot, opera
9 Act 1. Signore, ascolta! (Giacomo Puccini), 2:30
10 Act 2. In questa reggia (Giacomo Puccini), 6:26
11 Act 3. Tu che di gel sei cinta (Giacomo Puccini), 2:49
La sonnambula, opera
12 Act 1. Compagne, teneri amici...Come per me sereno (Vincenzo Bellini), 5:47
13 Act 3. Oh, se una volta sola...Ah, non credea mirarti (Vincenzo Bellini), 14:05 show less

01 "L'amour Est Un Oiseau Rebelle" (Habanera) (From Carmen)
Composed By – Georges Bizet
4:05
02 "O Mio Babbino Caro" (From Gianni Schicchi)
Composed By – Giacomo Puccini
2:33
03 "Ebben? Ne Andrò Lontana" (From La Wally)
Composed By – Alfredo Catalani
4:17
04 "Mon Coeur S'ouvre À Ta Voix" (From Samson Et Dalila)
Composed By – Camille Saint-Saëns
5:15
05 "Vissi D'arte, Vissi D'amore" (From Tosca)
Composed By – Giacomo Puccini
3:19
06 "La Mamma Morta" (From Andrea Chenier)
Composed By – Umberto show more Giordano
4:56
07 "Porgi Amor" (From Le Nozze Di Figaro)
Composed By – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
4:10
08 "J'ai Perdu Mon Eurydice" (From Orphée Et Eurydice)
Composed By – Christoph Willibald Gluck
4:22
09 "Ritorna Vincitor!" (From Aida)
Composed By – Giuseppe Verdi
7:07
10 "Ecco: Respiro Appena ...Io Son L'umile Ancella" (From Adriana Lecouvreur)
Composed By – Francesco Cilea
3:47
11 "Un Bel Di Vedremo" (From Madama Butterfly)
Composed By – Giacomo Puccini
4:44
12 "Casta Diva" (From Norma)
Composed By – Vincenzo Bellini
5:34
13 "Signore, Ascolta!" (From Turandot)
Composed By – Giacomo Puccini
2:32
14 "Depuis Le Jour" (From Louise)
Composed By – Gustave Charpentier
4:43
15 "Si, Mi Chiamano Mimi" (From La Bohème)
Composed By – Giacomo Puccini
4:49
16 "Suicidio!" (From La Gioconda)
Composed By – Amilcare Ponchielli
4:43
17 "Pace, Pace Mio Dio!" (From La Forza Del Destino)
Composed By – Giuseppe Verdi
6:27 show less

INFORMATION-This album contains the following tracks:
Madama Butterfly (Madame Butterfly), opera
1 Act II: Un bel dì, vedremo (Giacomo Puccini), 4:43
Carmen, opera
2 Act I: L'amour est un oiseau rebelle (Habanera) (Georges Bizet), 4:02
La Wally, opera (dramma musicale) in 4 acts
3 Act I: Ebben? ne andrò lontana (Alfredo Catalani), 4:49
Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), opera
4 Act I: Una voce poco fa (Gioachino Rossini), 6:52
Norma, opera
5 Act I: Casta Diva (Vincenzo Bellini), show more 5:36
Samson et Dalila, opera in 3 acts, Op. 47
6 Act II: Mon coeur s'ouvre à ta voix (Camille Saint-Saëns), 5:16
Rigoletto, opera
7 Act I: Caro nome (Giuseppe Verdi), 5:12
La Traviata, opera
8 Act I: Sempre libera (Giuseppe Verdi), 4:04
Roméo et Juliette, opera
9 Act I: Je veux vivre dans ce rêve (Charles Gounod), 3:39
La bohème, opera
10 Act I: Sì, mi chiamano Mimì (Giacomo Puccini), 4:49
Don Giovanni, opera, K. 527
11 Act II: Mi tradì quell'alma ingrata (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart), 3:44
Cavalleria rusticana, opera (melodramma) in 1 act
12 Voi lo sapete, o mamma (Pietro Mascagni), 6:16
La Gioconda, opera in 4 acts
13 Act IV: Suicidio! (Amilcare Ponchielli), 4:17
Gianni Schicchi, opera
14 O mio babbino caro (Giacomo Puccini), 2:35
Turandot, opera
15 Act II: In questa reggia (Giacomo Puccini), 6:23
Tosca, opera
16 Act II: Vissi d'arte, vissi d'amore (Giacomo Puccini), 3:03 show less