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Recitals 1954-1969

Georges Prêtre, Nicola Rescigno, Tullio Serafin, Duncan Robertson, John Lanigan

EMI Import

• List price: $115.98
• Lowest new price: $114.79
• Lowest used price: $49.99

1. Medea: Dei tuoi figli (Atto 1)
2. La Vestale: Tu che invovo (Atto II)
3. La Vestale: O Nume tutelar (Atto II)
4. La Vestale: Caro oggetto (Atto III)
5. La Sonnambula: Compagne, teneri amici...Come per me serano (Atto I)
6. La Sonnambula: Oh! se una volta sola...Ah! non creda mirarti..Ah! non giunge (Atto III)
7. Adriana Lecouvreur: Ecco: respiro appena. Io son l'umile ancella (Atto I)
8. Adriana Lecouvreur: Poveri fiori (Atto IV)
9. Andrea Chénier: La mamma morta (Atto III)
10. La Wally: Ebben?... ne andrò lontana (Atto I)
11. Mefistofele: L'altra notte in fondo al mare (Atto III)
12. Il Barbiere di Siviglia: Una voce poco fa (Atto I)
13. Dinorah: Ombra leggiera
14. Lakmé: Dov'e l'indiana bruna? (Atto II)
15. I Vespri Siciliani: Mercè, dilette amiche
16. Anna Bolena: Piangete voi?...Al dolce guidami castel natio (Atto II)
17. Hamlet: A vos jeux... Partagez-vous mes fleurs... Et maintenant, ecoutez ma chanson (Acte IV)
18. Il pirata: Oh! s'io potessi...Col sorriso d'innocenza (Atto II)
19. Macbeth: Nel di della vittoria...Vieni! t'affretta (Atto I)
20. Macbeth: La luce langue (Atto II)
21. Macbeth: Una macchia e qui tuttora (Atto IV)
22. Nabucco: Ben io t'invenni... Anch'io dischiuso un giorno (Atto II)
23. Ernami: Surta e la notte... Ernani, Ernani, involami (Atto I)
24. Don Carlo: Tu che le vanita (Atto IV)
25. Otello: Mi parea. M'ingiunse di coricarmi... Mia madre aveva una povera ancella (Atto IV)
26. Otello: Piangea cantando (Atto IV)
27. Otello: Ave maria piena di grazia (Atto IV)
28. Aroldo: Ciel, ch'io respiri!...Salvami, salvami tu gran Dio! (Atto I)
29. Aroldo: O Cielo! Dove son io? (Atto II)
30. Don Carlo: Non pianger, mia compagna (Atto II)
31. Don Carlo: O don fatale (Atto III)
32. I Lombardi Alla Prima Crociata: O Madre, dal cielo soccori (Atto II)
33. Attila: Liberamente or piangi...Oh! nel fuggente nuvolo (Atto I)
34. Il corsaro: Egli non riede ancor...Non so le tetre immagini (Atto I)
35. Il corsaro: Né sulla terra... Vola talor dal carcere... Verro... Ah, conforto e sol la speme (Atto II)
36. Il Trovatore: Tacea la notte placida... Di tale amor (Atto I)
37. Ivespri siciliani: Arrigo! ah, parli a un core (Atto IV)
38. Un Ballo in Maschera: Ecco l'orrido campo... Ma dell'arindo stelo divulsa (Atto II)
39. Un Ballo in Maschera: Morrò, ma prima in grazia (Atto III)
40. Aida: Ritorna vincitor! (Atto I)
41. Manon Lescaut: In quelle trine morbide (Atto II)
42. Manon Lescaut: Sola, perduta, abbandonata (Atto IV)
43. Madama Butterfly: Un bel di vedremo (Atto II)
44. Madama Butterfly: Con onor muore (Atto II)
45. La Boheme: Si. Mi chiamano Mimi (Atto I)
46. La Boheme: Donde lieta usci (Atto III)
47. Suor Angelica: Senza mamma
48. Gianni Schicchi: O mio babbino caro
49. Turandot: Signore, ascolta (Atto I)
50. Turandot: In questa reggia (Atto I)
51. Turandot: Tu che di gel sei cinta (Atto III)
52. La Cenerentola: Nacqui all'affanno...Non più mesta (Atto II)
53. Guglielmo Tell: S'allontanano alfine...Selva opaca (Atto II)
54. Semiramide: Bel raggio lusinghier (Atto I)
55. La Figlia del Reggimento: Convien partier (Atto I)
56. Lucrezia Borgia: Tranquillo ei posa...Com'è bello (Atto I)
57. L'Elisir d'Amore: Prendi, prendi; per me sei libero (Atto II)
58. Scena & Aria: Ah! perfido, Op. 65
59. Oberon: Ocean! thou mighty monster
60. Le nozze di Figaro: Porgi, amor
61. Don Giovanni: Or sai chi l'onore (Atto I)
62. Don Giovanni: Crudele?... Non mi dir (Atto II)
63. Don Giovanni: In quali eccessi, o Numi!...Mi tradi quell'alma ingrata (Atto II)
64. Orphee et Eurydice: J'ai perdu mon Eurydice (Acte IV)
65. Alceste: Divinites du Styx (Acte I)
66. Carmen: L'amour est un oiseau rebelle (Habanera) (Acte I)
67. Carmen: Pres des remparts de Seville (Seguedille) (Acte I)
68. Samson et Dalila: Printemps qui commence (Acte I)
69. Samson et Dalila: Samson, recherchant ma presence ... Amour! viens aider ma faiblesse! (Acte II)
70. Samson et Dalila: Mon coeur s'ouvre a ta voix (Acte II)
71. Romeo et Juliette: Ah! Je veux vivre dans ce reve (Acte I)
72. Mignon: Ah, pour ce soir ... Je suis Titania (Polonaise) (Acte I)
73. Le Cid: De cet affreux combat ... Pleurez, mes yeux! (Acte III)
74. Louise: Depuis le jour (Acte III)
75. Iphigénie en Tauride: O malheureuse Iphigénie (Acte II)
76. La Damnation de Faust: D'amour l'ardente flamme (4e Partie)
77. Les pêcheurs de perles: Me voilà sule ... Comme autrefois (Acte II)
78. Manon: Je ne suis que faiblesse ... Adieu, notre petite table (Acte II)
79. Manon: Suis-je gentille ainsi? ... Je marche sur tous les chemins (Acte III)
80. Werther: Werther! Qui m'aurait dit ... Des cris joyeux (Air des lettres) (Acte III)
81. Faust: Je voudrais bien savoir ... Il était un Roi de Thulé ... Ô Dieu! que de bijoux ... Ah! Je ris (Air des bijoux) (Acte III)

Average customer rating:

Wretched marketing excess!

I am driven to give such a low rating to this collection of the work of one of the greatest artists ever to be recorded because it is a massive distortion of her legacy.

The greatness of Maria Callas did not arise from her skills as a mere songbird or as a concert singer. Callas was a singing actress with a phenomenal ability to create living, breathing characters on the opera stage. She succeeded in this to a degree largely unmatched by her contemporaries, not at all by her successors, and seldom (if ever) by her predecessors. Many, perhaps most of her truly telling moments did not occur in arias that could be lifted out of context and placed on the disks of this set.

Consider her famous studio recording of "Tosca" with diStefano and Gobbi. I assert that there is as much art and genius in her entrance lines, "Mario. Mario! Mario!!" as there is in her brilliantly sung "Vissi d'arte." (Speaking of that, just where are her Tosca and her Norma among these eleven disks and 78 tracks? Such omissions are major distortions in themselves.)

There is no shortage of fine Callas recital material on the market for those casually interested in Maria Callas as a singer. For those who would experience Maria Callas as an artist, her complete operatic performances must be savored.

One earlier Amazon reviewer asked "Can a Callas fan actually live without this?" With all respect to that person's opinion, which I take to be honest and heartfelt, my answer to that question is "Yes, easily." In the same way, to the reviewer who described the set as "Indispensable," I am forced to respond, "Not hardly!"

Long Day's Journey. . .

This is a must have for the serious Callas fan, and perhaps will only
be completely understood by one who knows the long journey of
this artist. From the "fat" Callas with voice to spare to the soignee
diva with only a shred of sound left, her musical and interpretive
intent is always clear, always penetrating, always atonishing.

Compare these studio recordings to the re-issued live concert recordings on EMI to get a more complete picture of Callas. For the new listener, some of the later recordings on the recital set will be
troubling, for many times you have to listen "past" the voice itself.

For those of us who already owned these recordings in some form, it
is nice to have them new and clean.

Can A Callas Fan actually live without this?

This collection is the best because it does not only allow you to have to whole set in a cheaper price but it lets you feel Callas in her intimate moment without other singers. That way we get to feel her voice alone. What is great about the la Divina is that her voice does not only sound good but it acts by itself. You don't have to see her to feel the character is singing. Some recordings are not in her "prime" but who cares. No soprano in living memory can surpass her acting and emotional voice. Other sopranos may sound like an angel but you would have to look at the libretto to understand and create the emotion. For someone like me whose native tough is not Italian, or French emotion to the song is more important. I can boldly say that some arias here are better performed that her complete opera series just like In Questa Reggia in Turandot and the Madam Butterfly arias. So if you have the buck don't hesitate buy this complete collection. This is a Maria Callas collection that is indispensable.

Indispensable

This 11-CD set is titled "Recitals 1954-1969." The title can be misleading although it's not intentional. These CD's are not "live" recordings of actual recitals Callas gave in 1954-1969; instead, these are official studio recordings of opera arias she made for EMI during this period.

This beautiful set includes all 11 of the aria albums of the new EMI Callas Edition (except "Live in Concert" and "The EMI Rarities"):

CD 1: Maria Callas at La Scala; CD 2: Lyric & Coloratura Arias; CD 3: Mad Scenes; CD 4: Verdi Arias Vol. I; CD 5: Verdi Arias Vol. II; CD 6: Verdi Arias, Vol. III; CD 7: Puccini Arias; CD 8: Rossini & Donizetti Arias; CD 9: Mozart, Beethoven & Weber; CD 10: Callas in Paris, Vol. I; CD 11: Callas in Paris, Vol. II

The CD's in this set are all individually packaged (each CD has its own case and booklet) just as what you'll get when you buy them separately. The advantage of buying this set, therefore, is its reduced price and the slipcase that holds these 11 single CD's. This is a convenient way to collect all of Callas's official solo albums.

A lot of these performances are legendary and absolutely essential, and no serious Callas collector will regret buying this set.