Search - Vincenzo Bellini, Tullio Serafin, Maria Callas :: Bellini - Norma / Maria Callas, Ludwig, Corelli, Zaccaria, Teatro alla Scala, Serafin

CALLAS: THE TRIUMPH OF BRAINS OVER VOCAL DECLINE

lesismore26 | Chicago, Illinois USA | 03/21/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is still my favorite recording of "Norma". By the time this stereo recording was made in 1960, Callas was already well into the vocal difficulties that five years later brought her career on the opera stage to a end. The uppermost regions of her voice, as heard on this recording, do not fall pleasantly on the ear. The top notes are never secure, much less beautiful. But Callas could still, even in 1960, do some wonderful things with her voice, which still was capable of some amazing things. Her Norma has become much more human than was the case on her previous 1954 monophonic recording (also available), and her phrasing is more beautiful as well. While it cannot be denied that Callas was much more vocally secure on the earlier recording, nor can it be denied that she actually accomplishes something even greater here. The supporting cast of this 1960 "Norma" is much finer than that which was encoountered on the earlier recording. Franco Corelli is a fabulous Pollione, his glorious voice flowing like liquid lava, and in the final scene, meets Callas head on, and on equal ground. Christa Ludwig is a youthful sounding Adalgisa, contrasting well with Callas' more mature vocal timbre. Nicola Zaccaria is a sonorous Oroveso. Tullio Serafin remains for me the greatest of the "Norma" conductors. He shapes a performance that is beautiful, lyrical, yet intense and dramatic. So..... if you can forgive Callas for her declining top notes, you will find beauties here that you will find on no other recording of "Norma"."

Callas, The Greatest Opera Singer? She Has My Vote!

Michael Newberry | Santa Monica | 08/04/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Some people have a funny view of perfection. In Opera, for instance, if you rate musicality, vocal range, characterization, power, beauty, intelligence, and the concept of the entire role as important elements. Then, for me, Callas is the greatest or most perfect singer of the recorded era! (O.K. her voice is not beautiful, but what a voice; who else could/can integrate all that other stuff on such a sublime level?) She gave us definitive versions or interpretations that almost all other sopranos have to contend with; La Traviata, Tosca, Aida, Turandot, Un Ballo in Maschera, Anna Bolena, Lucia, La Sonnabmbula, and etc. Do you wish you had a recording of her Fidelio in Athens? You bet. And I don't think it's controversial to claim that her Norma is her greatest role, and she unleashes on us a monumental portrait of a warrior Priestess. Parenthetically, another plus about Callas' recordings/performances is that it's difficult to find a set that doesn't have a stellar cast and a great conductor. (I could do without the conductor involvement with all the Price/Leinsdorf collaborations, alas.)This Norma is fantastic, from everyone concerned, conductor, soloists, and chorus. The conducting is brilliant, sensually intense and Serafin has an eye/ear for the structure of the whole work. The duets and trios are cataclysmic and the last is act heart wrenching. Zaccaria the bass, what a beautiful big sound, and his legato line is a marvel. Ludwig's voice sounds fresh, warm, and rich, and her acting is tender and dramatic. The young Corelli blazes passionately with a beautiful ringing voice. His sound reminds me of a perfect blend of Pavarotti and Domingo, but he is more exclamatory, Mediterranean bravado personified. And Callas is, in a word, formidable! And I mean as an artist, not only the size of her voice!Several years ago, I made a cross-world move, and I wanted to go with as little luggage as possible. I sold, for almost nothing, some four hundred Classical and Opera CD's, you should have been there! But I took with me only five pieces, almost the perfect deserted island scenario, one of the works was Turandot with Mehta conducting, the other was this Norma! This version of Norma is the one to have.Another version is a live recording with Callas (in the best form I have ever heard her), Simionato, Del Monaco, and Zaccaria all red hot, at La Scala, in 1955. Complete with an idiot in the audience shouting BRAVA TEBALDI after Casta Diva, then hold on and just listen to the sparks, more like a blow torch, or guided missiles fly from there on out! WOW!"

THE CALLAS NORMA: A TOWERING IMPERSONATION

lesismore26 | Chicago, Illinois USA | 10/03/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This 1960 performance has been at the storm center of controversy since it's original release in the early 1960's. Yes, Callas' top notes had become a real issue by this time in her career, and there were those who just couldn't cotton to the unsteadiness that was so obvious in the uppermost notes. The rest of the voice, however, actually gained a new eveness and an autumnal glow that was heretofore not heard. Whatever the case, Callas was too great an artist to be dismissed as anything less than that, and those, like myself, who still cherish the vocal fluidity of Sutherland and Caballe in this opera, must yield to the fact that Callas had something very unique and special to bring to this opera (and so many others!). For those who place prime importance on vocal emission, then the Sutherland or Caballe' approach to Norma is decidedly for you. They sing the role with great mastery and vocal beauty. But if you are interested in NORMA, this is the version for you. Moreover, Callas has a very strong supporting cast. Christa Ludwig, while perhaps not as suited to the idiom as was Marilyn Horne on the first Sutherland version, still sings a beautiful Adalgisa. Franco Corelli, then at the dawn of his career, turns in a stentorian Pollione, superior even to Domingo's on the Caballe' recording. Nicola Zaccaria is a wonderfully paternal Oraveso, and Tullio Serafin remains the best "Norma" conductor on records. No. This performance isn't for everybody. A canary fancier will probably find this Norma to be wanting, but many others will find beauties and all sorts of musical subtleties here that will be encountered nowhere else."