# Callas on stage and offstage



## Green pasture

Have wanted to create this thread for a long time, one devoted to an organized gallery of pictures of Maria Callas on stage in her operatic roles and her colourful life offstage. Since filmed evidences of her prowess as a singing-actress on stage are only few and far between, we have to content with only photos for many of her operatic roles.

Discussions here should best be focusing on the events depicted in the photos. Discussions on her art, singing, life and career are best held on the "La Divina" thread started by Diminuendo, while those on the artistic and technical aspects of her live and studio recordings should best take place on the "New Maria Callas Box" thread started by Itulian.

New pictures will be added to this thread from time to time.

Happy viewing!  :tiphat:


----------



## Green pasture

*Callas debut in Italy, August 1947, as La Gioconda at Arena Verona*

Photos of Maria in her official debut in Italy in August 1947 at the Arena Verona as La Gioconda.




























...Continued on next post ^^...


----------



## Green pasture

*Callas debut in Italy, August 1947, as La Gioconda at Arena Verona*

...continued from above ^^...


----------



## Green pasture

*Callas as Kundry in Parsifal, Rome Opera, March 1949*

Callas as Kundry in Wagner's Parsifal, Rome Opera, March 1949, conducted by her beloved mentor Tullio Serafin. It was one of the heavy Wagnerian dramatic soprano roles she undertook early in her career.




























...continued on next post ^^...


----------



## Green pasture

*Callas as Kundry in Parsifal, Rome Opera, March 1949*

...continued from the above post ^^...


----------



## Green pasture

*Callas as Isolde, probably in Venice in Dec 1947 - January 1948*

Callas as Isolde in Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, probably at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice in Dec 1947 - January 1948, conducted by Serafin.


----------



## Green pasture

*Callas as Brünnhilde in Die Walküre, Venice, Jan 1949*

Callas as Brünnhilde in Die Walküre, Teatro La Fenice, Venice, Jan 1949, conducted by Serafin. It was within the same month that she replaced the indisposed Margherita Carosio and sang Elvira in Bellini's I Puritani. The alternating of the roles of Brünnhilde and Elvira in her performances at La Fenice within a short span of time created a huge sensation and marked the birth of the Callas legend.


----------



## Tietjens Stolz

Congrats on the new thread Plummie!  Looking forward to more posts from you and Marschallin. ^o^


----------



## Marschallin Blair

Plummie, you little archivist you! You should be my secretary. <Kiss.>

Where do you get all of these treasures?


----------



## gardibolt

God, I wish someone had recorded that Walküre.


----------



## Marschallin Blair

gardibolt said:


> God, I wish someone had recorded that Walküre.


I know: Can you 'imagine' Callas' frenzied encounter with Wotan in Act III?!

- God, or rather, 'Goddess,' help us._ ;D_


----------



## Green pasture

Marschallin Blair said:


> Plummie, you little archivist you! You should be my secretary. <Kiss.>
> 
> Where do you get all of these treasures?


Thank you so much Marschallin darling for accepting the invitation to join the board of Callasiana curators! :tiphat: _;D_. Your ever so infectious ebullience and great style and flair will inject the always much-needed life and sparkle to this thread. _;D _

Many of the pictures here come from the GBOpera online magazine's (Italy) marvellous Maria Callas archive - it's a gold mine (came to know not too long ago the secret of many of the much-missed Annie's fabulous postings of pictures on the "New Callas box thread and I have added many to my Pinterest La Divina collection _;D_)

Have originally thought of following a chronological order based on Maria's performance annals, but eventually I have come to feel that this is difficult because new discoveries pop up from time to time.

Yet, it still is most helpful to use Frank Hamilton's "Maria Callas: Performance Annals" as a reference tool to check and then indicate here on board the date and venue of the performances and events depicted in the pictures:
http://hamilton.francocorelli.nl/mc/index.html

So let's begin our work. There is by the way no working hours at all. _;D_ We can come in whenever we are able to do so.

Other fellow Callas aficionado: if you have any good Callas picture that you feel should make an appearance here, please feel free to post, but would appreciate very much if you could help add in a description or two, especially if you know the date, venue and other people in the pictures.


----------



## Green pasture

*Callas' role debut as Fiorilla in Rossini's Il Turco in Italia, Rome, Oct 1950*

Now borrowing a couple of pics originally posted by Annie, Maria's first foray into a Rossini comedic role at the Teatro Eliseo in Rome, Oct 1950.



















How one wishes a live recording of an entire performance could have survived! (not just a single aria)


----------



## Marschallin Blair

^^ _GOD are those cute!_

<Kiss.>


----------



## Marschallin Blair

plumblossom said:


> Thank you so much Marschallin darling for accepting the invitation to join the board of Callasiana curators! :tiphat: _;D_. Your ever so infectious ebullience and great style and flair will inject the always much-needed life and sparkle to this thread. _;D _
> 
> Many of the pictures here come from the GBOpera online magazine's (Italy) marvellous Maria Callas archive - it's a gold mine (came to know not too long ago the secret of many of the much-missed Annie's fabulous postings of pictures on the "New Callas box thread and I have added many to my Pinterest La Divina collection _;D_)
> 
> Have originally thought of following a chronological order based on Maria's performance annals, but eventually I have come to feel that this is difficult because new discoveries pop up from time to time.
> 
> Yet, it still is most helpful to use Frank Hamilton's "Maria Callas: Performance Annals" as a reference tool to check and then indicate here on board the date and venue of the performances and events depicted in the pictures:
> 
> http://hamilton.francocorelli.nl/mc/index.html
> 
> So let's begin our work. There is by the way no working hours at all. _;D_ We can come in whenever we are able to do so.
> 
> Other fellow Callas aficionado: if you have any good Callas picture that you feel should make an appearance here, please feel free to post, but would appreciate very much if you could help add in a description or two, especially if you know the date, venue and other people in the pictures.












You're terribly sweet.

Plummie, I was thinking: your idea of 'Callasiana Curators' for a thread title is cute; but I also like the idea of 'Callas Land' for a thread title as well.

What do you think?

What do any of the other Callas fans think? (This is actually an open question.)

Anyway, your thread- your call _;D_ . . .

Thanks for the tool sets: 'GBOpera online' and 'Frank Hamilton's "Maria Callas: Performance Annals."'

What a tremendous archival resource.


----------



## Green pasture

Marschallin Blair said:


> You're terribly sweet.
> 
> Plummie, I was thinking: your idea of 'Callasiana Curators' for a thread title is cute; but I also like the idea of 'Callas Land' for a thread title as well.
> 
> What do you think?
> 
> What do any of the other Callas fans think? (This is actually an open question.)
> 
> Anyway, your thread- your call _;D_ . . .
> 
> Thanks for the tool sets: 'GBOpera online' and 'Frank Hamilton's "Maria Callas: Performance Annals."'
> 
> What a tremendous archival resource.


My great pleasure. _;D_ That's awfully cute suggestion for the thread title: Callasland Gallery _;D_ But alas, TC doesn't seem to allow members to edit thread titles.  So we can only rename it in our imagination for the time being. _;D_


----------



## Green pasture

*Callas as Norma at Teatro Massimo Bellini, Catania, March 1950*

...not long before she replaced an indisposed Tebaldi and made her debut at La Scala in April 1950 as Aida.


----------



## Marschallin Blair

^ Third picture down: Definitely a woman who's in charge._ 'Love it.'_


----------



## DarkAngel

plumblossom said:


> My great pleasure. _;D_ That's awfully cute suggestion for the thread title: Callasland Gallery _;D_ But alas, TC doesn't seem to allow members to edit thread titles.  So we can only rename it in our imagination for the time being. _;D_


Oh my, Maria's skin is so beautiful, an inner iridescent glow that almost makes the pearls take a back seat, those eyes are set max stun level.......I can't take my eyes off her

What will PB come up with next


----------



## Marschallin Blair

DarkAngel said:


> Oh my, Maria's skin is so beautiful, an inner iridescent glow that almost makes the pearls take a back seat, those eyes are set max stun level.......I can't take my eyes off her
> 
> What will PB come up with next





















_"Yeah. . . Maria?- its Harper's Bazaar on the phone. They want to set up an interview with you."_


----------



## Green pasture

DarkAngel said:


> What will PB come up with next


These are probably all for this week, DarkAngie darling, can't put up too many too soon as we need to reserve many goodies for future postings to keep this thread going. _;D_

Meanwhile, we shouldn't leave the "New Callas Box" thread cold. Hence journal/magazine articles on Maria will be reserved for that thread. I will have a re-look at the goodies posted by Annie and see which ones are worth re-posting in blown-up images. _;D_


----------



## Il_Penseroso

Callas in poliuto, La Scala 1960 with Franco Corelli! OMG! :kiss::kiss::kiss:

http://eocm5.homestead.com/Callas_Gallery_Donizetti_3.html


----------



## Green pasture

Il_Penseroso said:


> Callas in poliuto, La Scala 1960 with Franco Corelli! OMG!
> 
> http://eocm5.homestead.com/Callas_Gallery_Donizetti_3.html


Thank you for your contribution. :tiphat: _;D_ Let us help you with our special blown-up image service, which the board of curators is always glad and ready to provide. _;D_

Callas and Corelli in Poliuto, 7 December 1960, opening night of La Scala's 1960-61 season


----------



## Marschallin Blair

plumblossom said:


> Thank you for your contribution. :tiphat: _;D_ Let us help you with our special blown-up image service, which the board of curators is always glad and ready to provide. _;D_
> 
> Callas and Corelli in Poliuto, 7 December 1960, opening night of La Scala's 1960-61 season













^ And Ars-'_Uber Alles_'-vocalis for the most pristine-sounding transfer.

Divina starts off nervous and a bit stiff- but when she gets into her element after awhile- the drama that she brings to_ Poliuto_ is nothing short of genius.


----------



## Green pasture

plumblossom said:


> ...continued from the above post ^^...


As read from Michael Scott's book _MMC_, La Scala had planned a series of Parsifal in May 1956 to present Callas' Kundry, with Erich Kleiber (Carlos' daddy, with whom Callas had worked for I Vespri in Sicilianni at the Florence May Festival in 1951) conducting the performances. Unfortunately, Erich Kleiber died suddenly, so eventually Parsifal was replaced by Giordano's Fedora. Walter Legge remarked that this was "as odd a change in repertory as any opera house has devised." Fortunately for posterity, Callas' Kundry has been preserved in a RAI broadcast recording made on 20-21 November 1950. Yet it is something else again to imagine what it could have been had Kleiber senior managed to live on and conduct a La Scala production of Parsifal with the thin, post-diet Maria as Kundry.


----------



## Bellinilover

I was always struck by this photograph from Act III of LA TRAVIATA, because Callas' Violetta really does appear to be at death's door (though here you really need to enlarge the photo to see this!):









As Elvira in I PURITANI:


----------



## Green pasture

Bellinilover said:


> I was always struck by this photograph from Act III of LA TRAVIATA, because Callas' Violetta really does appear to be at death's door (though here you really need to enlarge the photo to see this!):
> 
> View attachment 75504
> 
> 
> As Elvira in I PURITANI:
> 
> View attachment 75505


Thank you for your very kind contributions! :tiphat: _;D_ Please allow us to do a bit of enhancement with our image enlarging service. _;D_

Callas in Act 3 of La Traviata, the legendary Visconti production at La Scala in May 1955










Callas as Elvira in I Puritani, studio photo taken during one of her performances in her pre-diet years


----------



## Marschallin Blair

plumblossom said:


> As read from Michael Scott's book _MMC_, La Scala had planned a series of Parsifal in May 1956 to present Callas' Kundry, with Erich Kleiber (Carlos' daddy, with whom Callas had worked for I Vespri in Sicilianni at the Florence May Festival in 1951) conducting the performances. Unfortunately, Erich Kleiber died suddenly, so eventually Parsifal was replaced by Giordano's Fedora. Walter Legge remarked that this was "as odd a change in repertory as any opera house has devised." Fortunately for posterity, Callas' Kundry has been preserved in a RAI broadcast recording made on 20-21 November 1950. Yet it is something else again to imagine what it could have been had Kleiber senior managed to live on and conduct a La Scala production of Parsifal with the thin, post-diet Maria as Kundry.












Speaking of Callas' Kundry, Renata Scotto at her b#tchy best describes the incredible dramatic power Callas had early on with the type of genius that completely captivated people like Visconti and Bonynge. . . . . . and 'without' being (yet) the polished and enameled Diva the world subsequently came to know:

"She was fat and she had this _vociaccia_- you know what a_ vociaccia_ is? You go kill a cat and record it scream. She had this bad skin. And she had this rich husband. We laugh at her, you know that? And then, I sat in on a rehearsal with Maestro Serafin. You know, it was _Parsifal_ and I was supposed to see if I do one of the flowers. I didn't. And she sing that music. . . And he tell her this and he tell her that and little by little this voice had all the nature in it- the forest and the magic castle and hatred that is love. And little by little she not fat with bad skin and rich-husband-asleep-in-the-corner; *she witch who burn you by standing there*." (emphasis added)

- _Maria Callas Magazine_, No. 73, November 2014, p. 52










Well, 'yeah': molten lava usually burns.


----------



## Green pasture

*Callas' very first Norma, Teatro Communale, Florence, 30 Nov & 5 Dec 1948*

Just received 10 Maria Callas International Club Magazine issues from Mr. Karl van Zoggel in pdf at reduced price. What a doll he is _;D_. The issues contain so many rare pictures that have not been enjoying wide circulation. Just can't wait to share one here, from Maria's very first performance as Norma, taking place in Florence in late Nov - early Dec 1948. With her are her beloved mentor Tullio Serafin and her Pollione, tenor Mirto Picchi.


----------



## Green pasture

*Callas' very first Violetta, Teatro Communale, Florence, Jan 1951*

And here is a picture of her very first performance as Violetta in LA TRAVIATA, taking place in Florence in Jan 1951:










(Courtesy of the Maria Callas International Club)


----------



## Marschallin Blair

^ Gorgeous finds, Plummie.

_Merci beaucoup. _

(I love your new icon by the way.)


----------



## Green pasture

Marschallin Blair said:


> ^ Gorgeous finds, Plummie.
> 
> _Merci beaucoup. _
> 
> (I love your new icon by the way.)


Again my great pleasure. :tiphat: _;D_ Now here is another TRAVIATA picture, from the performance celebrating the centenary of the world premiere of the opera in Jan 1953 at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice:










Meanwhile, looking forward most eagerly to what you would like to share with us from the MCIC collections. _;D_


----------



## DarkAngel

Marschallin Blair said:


> ^ Gorgeous finds, Plummie.
> 
> _Merci beaucoup. _
> 
> *(I love your new icon by the way.)*


Yes great choice I was wondering when PB would change to a Callas avatar........Marschallin we are waiting 



> Just received 10 Maria Callas International Club Magazine issues from Mr. Karl van Zoggel in pdf at reduced price. What a doll he is _;D_. The issues contain so many rare pictures that have not been enjoying wide circulation.


That could cause sleep depravation next few nights..........PB you are making us so jealousssssssss


----------



## Marschallin Blair

DarkAngel said:


> Yes great choice I was wondering when PB would change to a Callas avatar........Marschallin we are waiting












Get in line._ ;D_

- I'll order the _Medea_ pictures tonight- promise.

I'm still waiting for my book from the Maria Callas International Club.


----------



## Diminuendo

A great idea for a thread. Luckily there are so many amazing pictures around. I myself thought of buying them, but then I decided that having money for food is more important  The pictures are amazing, but I think I'll stick with my current avatar. Of course the forum will be a better place with more Callas avatars.


----------



## Green pasture

DarkAngel said:


> Yes great choice I was wondering when PB would change to a Callas avatar........Marschallin we are waiting
> 
> That could cause sleep depravation next few nights..........PB you are making us so jealousssssssss


Mr van Zoggel is a real doll _;D_ Do find his email address on the MCIC official website and send your purchase request. Before that you can access the index of the magazine to decide which issues/articles you would like to have:

http://www.callasintclub.com/overzicht.htm

Happy shopping _;D_


----------



## Marschallin Blair

^ _"Special delivery for Madame Callas."_


----------



## Green pasture

Marschallin Blair said:


> Get in line._ ;D_
> 
> - I'll order the _Medea_ pictures tonight- promise.
> 
> I'm still waiting for my book from the Maria Callas International Club.


Maria's Medea has long been widely recognized as your area of specialty in Callasiana curatorship, so the Medea collection is completely under your charge. _;D_

Do include this one in the forthcoming Medea collection on this thread, from the March 1954 performance at the Teatro La Fenice, Venice - a particularly haunting, poignant and soulful depiction of Maria's Medea in preparation for the stage:










The most imposing one remains that long-cape-on-the-stairs from the Dec 1953 La Scala performance conducted by Bernstein. ;D


----------



## Marschallin Blair

plumblossom said:


> Maria's Medea has long been widely recognized as your area of specialty in Callasiana curatorship, so the Medea collection is completely under your charge. _;D_
> 
> Do include this one in the forthcoming Medea collection on this thread, from the March 1954 performance at the Teatro La Fenice, Venice - a particularly haunting, poignant and soulful depiction of Maria's Medea in preparation for the stage:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The most imposing one remains that long-cape-on-the-stairs from the Dec 1953 La Scala performance conducted by Bernstein. ;D












For facial make-up and hair styling, I like Callas' Bernstein/La Scala look the best- but for the outfit, I love the one she wore at Florence the most.

- Okay, that covers the 'looks.'

As for the performance of _Medea_ as a 'whole'- I like the galvanizing electricity and psycho-drama of the Rescigno/Dallas.

But then, for the ferocious stentorian declamation and quality of her 'voice'- nothing even comes close to the ending of the Florence performance with her "_E che? Io son Medea!"_

All of the soft and finessing feminine sides of Medea are best done in her Serafin performance, I freely admit.

But then, the essence of _Medea_ for me is incandescent DRA-MA.


----------



## gardibolt

plumblossom said:


> Maria's Medea has long been widely recognized as your area of specialty in Callasiana curatorship, so the Medea collection is completely under your charge. _;D_
> 
> Do include this one in the forthcoming Medea collection on this thread, from the March 1954 performance at the Teatro La Fenice, Venice - a particularly haunting, poignant and soulful depiction of Maria's Medea in preparation for the stage:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The most imposing one remains that long-cape-on-the-stairs from the Dec 1953 La Scala performance conducted by Bernstein. ;D


I can't hit Like enough times. A marvelous photo.


----------



## Green pasture

Here is the grand Medea-in-long-cape-on-the-stairs portrait in more natural light. My scanner is a size too small, so had to re-take photo instead. _;D_


----------



## Green pasture

*Callas as Euridice in Haydn's Orfeo e Euridice, June 1951, Florence*

Maria in her one and only world premiere, singing the role of Euridice in Haydn's Orfeo e Euridice, in June 1951 at the Florence May Festival. The performances (only two in the run), taking place soon after Verdi's I Vespri Sicilliani, were conducted by Erich Kleiber (Carlos' father). Unfortunately, it was not broadcast by RAI and therefore not recorded. Her two co-principals were tenor Tyge Tygesen (Orfeo) and bass Boris Christoff (Creonte). Pictures courtesy of Maria Callas International Club.




























...Continued on next post ^^...


----------



## Green pasture

...Continued from previous post ^^...


----------



## Marschallin Blair

plumblossom said:


> Here is the grand Medea-in-long-cape-on-the-stairs portrait in more natural light. My scanner is a size too small, so had to re-take photo instead. _;D_


You do the Lord's work, plummie. . . or rather, 'The Goddesses'".


----------



## Marschallin Blair

plumblossom said:


> Maria in her one and only world premiere, singing the role of Euridice in Haydn's Orfeo e Euridice, in June 1951 at the Florence May Festival. The performances (only two in the run), taking place soon after Verdi's I Vespri Sicilliani, were conducted by Erich Kleiber (Carlos' father). Unfortunately, it was not broadcast by RAI and therefore not recorded. Her two co-principals were tenor Tyge Tygesen (Orfeo) and bass Boris Christoff (Creonte). Pictures courtesy of Maria Callas International Club.


What a cute picture. _;D_

I love how young Divina looks here- almost as young as me.

Being a teenager myself, naturally I notice such shallow things. . .

Okay. . . 'teenager-ish.'

Thank you, plummie.

Thank you, Maria Callas International.

<Mmmmmmmmmwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!>


----------



## Green pasture

Marschallin Blair said:


> You do the Lord's work, plummie. . . or rather, 'The Goddesses'".


Am handing over this photographic masterpiece (by La Scala's resident photographer Erio Piccagliani) to you. Please save it to your hard disk so that you can use it later when curating the Medea collection without having to take the trouble to scan or take photo again. _;D_


----------



## Green pasture

Marschallin Blair said:


> What a cute picture. _;D_
> 
> I love how young Divina looks here- almost as young as me.
> 
> Being a teenager myself, naturally I notice such shallow things. . .
> 
> Okay. . . 'teenager-ish.'
> 
> Thank you, plummie.
> 
> Thank you, Maria Callas International.
> 
> <Mmmmmmmmmwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!>


Maria was 28 at that time, but by dressing up for this opera, she seems to have taken an elixir that takes her back to the age of 16. _;D_


----------



## Marschallin Blair

plumblossom said:


> Maria was 28 at that time, but by dressing up for this opera, she seems to have taken an elixir that takes her back to the age of 16. _;D_


She's so cute looking with her 'deb ball' look that I just want to come up to her and 'hug' her.


----------



## DarkAngel

plumblossom said:


> Maria in her one and only world premiere, singing the role of Euridice in Haydn's Orfeo e Euridice, in June 1951 at the Florence May Festival. The performances (only two in the run), taking place soon after Verdi's I Vespri Sicilliani, were conducted by Erich Kleiber (Carlos' father). Unfortunately, it was not broadcast by RAI and therefore not recorded. Her two co-principals were tenor Tyge Tygesen (Orfeo) and bass Boris Christoff (Creonte). Pictures courtesy of Maria Callas International Club.
> 
> ...Continued on next post ^^...


PB you are really "doing the lord's work" nice Orfeo e Euridice pix series I have never seen those before anywhere, would seem to be a strange role for Maria to sing, at first thought I would say not too interested in hearing that.......but I may have said the same thing about Armida and boy what a revelation that was!

How do you like Marschallin's new super maxi-blonde avatar?


----------



## Green pasture

DarkAngel said:


> PB you are really "doing the lord's work" nice Orfeo e Euridice pix series I have never seen those before anywhere, would seem to be a strange role for Maria to sing, at first thought I would say not too interested in hearing that.......but I may have said the same thing about Armida and boy was that a revalation that was












Maria sang too few operatic roles from the Classical era on stage. Among them is* Constanze from Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail* (the only Mozart role she ever sang on stage), which she sang at *La Scala in April 1952 for only 4 times *(within the same month she sang Armida at the Florence May Festival). We have to content with only two souvenirs of her Constanze: "Marten aller arten" from the Dec 1954 RAI concert and the Nov 1957 rehearsal for the concert opening the Dallas Civic Opera.



> How do you like Marschallin's new super maxi-blonde avatar?


'Like' is too light a word; I LOVE it. Bright and sunny _;D_


----------



## Marschallin Blair

DarkAngel said:


> PB you are really "doing the lord's work" nice Orfeo e Euridice pix series I have never seen those before anywhere, would seem to be a strange role for Maria to sing, at first thought I would say not too interested in hearing that.......*but I may have said the same thing about Armida and boy what a revelation that was!*
> 
> How do you like Marschallin's new super maxi-blonde avatar?












Unlike, say, Rene Fleming's Armida- which is gorgeously-if-placidly sung- Callas' Armida is something from another 'universe' entirely. The range, control, flexibility and the sheer volume and power of her two-and-a-half octave voice is very much in evidence in her one recording of the opera.

Callas could reach the high F with the greatest of ease (Fleming doesn't even try it on either her cd or DVD recording)- and her middle and lower ranges are as every bit as dark and mezzo-ish as the high notes are stratospheric.

And its not 'just' that she could hit these high-water-mark high notes- but rather the 'way' in which she did (which is unprecedented to this day).

Callas had far greater power than a _soprano leggero_- where she had a timbre, ferocity, and volume of expression that these types of singers never possessed. Nothing sounds white, weak, or "flutey" with Callas' coloratura on the high end. Her singing has a vehemence and a compelling dramatic power that Rossini would positively worship had he heard her.


----------



## Marschallin Blair

plumblossom said:


> Maria sang too few operatic roles from the Classical era on stage. Among them is* Constanze from Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail* (the only Mozart role she ever sang on stage), which she sang at *La Scala in April 1952 for only 4 times *(within the same month she sang Armida at the Florence May Festival). We have to content with only two souvenirs of her Constanze: "Marten aller arten" from the Dec 1954 RAI concert and the Nov 1957 rehearsal for the concert opening the Dallas Civic Opera.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> DarkAngel: How do you like Marschallin's new super maxi-blonde avatar?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 'Like' is too light a word; I LOVE it. Bright and sunny _;D_
Click to expand...

. . . and starved to summery-tanned near perfection. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha.

_Merci_, plummie.


----------



## Green pasture

Marschallin Blair said:


> Unlike, say, Rene Fleming's Armida- which is gorgeously-if-placidly sung- Callas' Armida is something from another 'universe' entirely. The range, control, flexibility and the sheer volume and power of her two-and-a-half octave voice is very much in evidence in her one recording of the opera.
> 
> Callas could reach the high F with the greatest of ease (Fleming doesn't even try it on either her cd or DVD recording)- and her middle and lower ranges are as every bit as dark and mezzo-ish as the high notes are stratospheric.
> 
> And its not 'just' that she could hit these high-water-mark high notes- but rather the 'way' in which she did (which is unprecedented to this day).
> 
> Callas had far greater power than a _soprano leggero_- where she had a timbre, ferocity, and volume of expression that these types of singers never possessed. Nothing sounds white, weak, or "flutey" with Callas' coloratura on the high end. Her singing has a vehemence and a compelling dramatic power that Rossini would positively worship had he heard her.


Your commentary inspires me to put up the Armida collection (again courtesy of MCIC). _;D_ It is coming up in a while......._;D_


----------



## Marschallin Blair

plumblossom said:


> Your commentary inspires me to put up the Armida collection (again courtesy of MCIC). _;D_ It is coming up in a while......._;D_












_'Fab-u-lous'. _

- I still have not received my MCIC _Callas Vol. I _book yet- which ostensibly was sent to me last week from the Netherlands.

I also placed my order with them last week for my _Medea _photos- but I still have yet to hear from Mr. Van Zoggel.


----------



## Green pasture

The pictures hosting website seems to have encountered a service disruption, so the display of the Armida collection will have to be postponed until the hosting website's server is up again. _;D_


----------



## Green pasture

Post has been deleted


----------



## Marschallin Blair

plumblossom said:


> The pictures hosting website seems to have encountered a service disruption, so the display of the Armida collection will have to be postponed until the hosting website's server is up again. _;D_


----------



## Green pasture

Marschallin darling and other fellow Callasians, your advice is much appreciated in this vital matter: which picture hosting website(s) is/are more stable and reliable and what are your recommendations? tinypic.com, the one I have been using, has been having service disruption for hours until now. If this thing continues, I will have to start all over again. flickr seems to be no better and is furthermore very difficult to grasp and use. Photobucket seems to be always down.


----------



## Marschallin Blair

plumblossom said:


> Marschallin darling and other fellow Callasians, your advice is much appreciated in this vital matter: which picture hosting website(s) is/are more stable and reliable and what are your recommendations? tinypic.com, the one I have been using, has been having service disruption for hours until now. If this thing continues, I will have to start all over again. flickr seems to be no better and is furthermore very difficult to grasp and use. Photobucket seems to be always down.


Plummie Diva, in that 'It's all about You' dress-icon of yours- I'd go for Pinterest.com, myself.

There's lots of Callas pictures on that site, incidentally.


----------



## Green pasture

tinypic.com is finally up and back to normal again and all pictures here are back on display. The Armida collection will be put up today. ;D 

Much thanks for your advice Marschallin darling. ;D We talked about jointly working on a Pinterest board. Hope that can happen in due course. ;D


----------



## Marschallin Blair

plumblossom said:


> tinypic.com is finally up and back to normal again and all pictures here are back on display. The Armida collection will be put up today. ;D
> 
> Much thanks for your advice Marschallin darling. ;D We talked about jointly working on a Pinterest board. Hope that can happen in due course. ;D


Of course it can, Super Angel.


----------



## Green pasture

*Callas in Rossini's Armida, April 1952, Florence May Festival*

Maria leading the 20th century revival of Rossini's Armida at the Florence May Festival in April 1952, conducted by her mentor Tullio Serafin. She had learned the role in only 5 days at the insistent request of Serafin. Many of the pictures uploaded here, courtesy of the Maria Callas International Club, are quite rare and not found even in the booklet of Divina Records's CD set. _;D_

The program:










Callas preparing for the performance with tenor Francesco Albanese in her dressing room:










Pictures of performance and curtain calls:




























...Continued on next post ^^...


----------



## Green pasture

...Continued from previous post ^^...





































...Continued on next post ^^...


----------



## Marschallin Blair

^ <_KiiiiiiiiiiiIIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSSSsssssssssss!_>


----------



## Green pasture

...Continued from previous post ^^...



















...Finished _;D_...


----------



## Marschallin Blair

I take it back: I 'do' love Maria as a blonde sometimes.

'The Blonde Enchantress.'


----------



## Marschallin Blair

I especially love this one!

Look at her happy little face!

- She 'KNOWS' she just 'dec-i-mat-ed' the house.


----------



## Green pasture

plumblossom said:


>


This is the moment when she sings that other-worldly "D'amore dolce impero" that brought the entire house down. _;D_


----------



## Marschallin Blair

^ And she doesn't even look winded.


----------



## DarkAngel

Marschallin Blair said:


> I take it back:* I 'do' love Maria as a blonde sometimes*.
> 
> 'The Blonde Enchantress.'


That was my thought when seeing these great Armida pix............more *BLONDE CALLAS *yeeeeeeessssssssssss!



> This is the moment when she sings that other-worldly "D'amore dolce impero" that brought the entire house down. _;D_





> Look at her happy little face!
> 
> - She 'KNOWS' she just 'dec-i-mat-ed' the house.


Thank goodness we have this immortal "D'amore dolce impero" recorded, no one would believe this was possible........vocal force of nature unleashed, devastating


----------



## Green pasture

DarkAngel said:


> That was my thought when seeing these great Armida pix............more *BLONDE CALLAS *yeeeeeeessssssssssss!


More blonde Callas will come in future. ;D


----------



## Green pasture

*Callas as Fidelio, Athens, Aug - Sep 1944*

Maria sang Fidelio only once in her entire career, at the Herodes Atticus Theatre in Athens in Aug-Sep 1944 while WWII was still on, when she was a member of the Greek National Opera. (Photos courtesy of Maria Callas International Club)














































She touched the music of Fidelio again only during a session on 17 Feb 1972 on Leonore's recitative and aria in the masterclasses she conducted at the Juilliard School of Music in NY.


----------



## Marschallin Blair

^ You turn beautiful posting into an art, plummie.

Fantastic finds.

_Merci beaucoup mon Cher. _


----------



## Green pasture

Marschallin Blair said:


> ^ You turn beautiful posting into an art, plummie.
> 
> Fantastic finds.
> 
> _Merci beaucoup mon Cher. _


My great pleasure! :tiphat: _;D_ You will do even better with the Medea and concert collections. _;D_


----------



## Marschallin Blair

plumblossom said:


> My great pleasure! :tiphat: _;D_ You will do even better with the Medea and concert collections. _;D_












I still have not received my_ Maria Callas Vol. I_ book from MCIC. I submitted an order for my_ Medea _photos to them- and still have not had a PayPal link sent to me to purchase them.

I also asked about getting all of the MCIC's _Maria Callas Magazine_ on a USB memory stick.

- And still, no answer.


----------



## Green pasture

Marschallin Blair said:


> I still have not received my_ Maria Callas Vol. I_ book from MCIC. I submitted an order for my_ Medea _photos to them- and still have not had a PayPal link sent to me to purchase them.
> 
> I also asked about getting all of the MCIC's _Maria Callas Magazine_ on a USB memory stick.
> 
> - And still, no answer.


I have a feeling that Mr van Zoggel, like Pablo Berutti and arsvocalis, has a full-time profession and Divina activities are his part-time pursuit, so it can take quite a while for him to reply. _;D_ Am sure your patience will be richly rewarded. _;D_

You can always email him and ask for updates about your order. _;D_


----------



## Marschallin Blair

^ I'm fully aware that Mr. Van Zoggel has a life of his own to live- and I like him a lot.

Its just that the world needs to revolve around me.

_;D_


----------



## Green pasture

Marschallin Blair said:


> ^ I'm fully aware that Mr. Van Zoggel has a life of his own to live- and I like him a lot.
> 
> Its just that the world needs to revolve around me.
> 
> _;D_


----------



## MAS

I raise my glass to you, MB & PB! You make us callasiani proud!


----------



## Marschallin Blair

MAS said:


> I raise my glass to you, MB & PB! You make us callasiani proud!
> 
> View attachment 75803












MASsy, that's a capital 'C' in _ "Callasiani"_  - which is italicized, boldfaced, and on the marquee for all to see.


----------



## MAS

But of course, Marschallin Blair! I stand corrected - grazie!


----------



## Marschallin Blair

MAS said:


> But of course, Marschallin Blair! I stand corrected - grazie!
> 
> View attachment 75805





















I am, and will always remain, your vision of demure obedience and propriety, MASsy.


----------



## Green pasture

MAS said:


> I raise my glass to you, MB & PB! You make us callasiani proud!
> 
> View attachment 75803


----------



## DarkAngel

They love me, they really love mmmeeeeeee..........


----------



## Marschallin Blair

plumblossom said:


>












Right.

The most important question is: "Where to eat?"


----------



## MAS

duplicate post deleted


----------



## MAS

Marschallin Blair said:


> I am, and will always remain, your vision of demure obedience and propriety, MASsy.


So noted, m'dear!


----------



## Marschallin Blair

MAS said:


> So noted, m'dear!
> 
> View attachment 75807


I am

DY-

-ING!!!

- So me.

- Jayne, and not Sophia, that is.

' ' Subtlety. ' '

Aaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.

My stomach hurts.

I'm crying.










See, Divina can't even believe it.


----------



## Tietjens Stolz

plumblossom said:


> ...continued from the above post ^^...


Plummie dear, something seems to have gone wrong with the pictures-hosting website you're using, such that fat, pre-diet Kundry turns into a slim supermodel.......you might want to do something about this.


----------



## Marschallin Blair

DarkAngel said:


> They love me, they really love mmmeeeeeee..........


Rumor has it that Divina said, "Please, you first. . . right after me."


----------



## Green pasture

Deleted, as a temporary pictures-hosting website problem is resolved.


----------



## Green pasture

Deleted, as a temporary pictures-hosting website problem is resolved.


----------



## Green pasture

Panorama said:


> Plummie dear, something seems to have gone wrong with the pictures-hosting website you're using, such that fat, pre-diet Kundry turns into a slim supermodel.......you might want to do something about this.


It's all back to normal now, Pannie, but I will certainly give it a serious thought as to the need to switch to another picture-hosting website. ;>


----------



## Green pasture

*Callas as Margherita in Boito's Mefistofele, Arena Verona, Juy 1954*

More blonde Callas _;D_

Maria in her only performance as Margherita in Boito's Mefistofele, Arena Verona, July 1954 (only three nights in the run). This was the only time her path crossed with that of Magda Olivero, as Maria alternated the role of Margherita with Magda. But strangely, the two divas did not meet face-to-face with each other.

(The photos - except the last two - are available courtesy of the *Maria Callas International Club*)

The program:










With producer Herbert Graf:










With co-star Ferruccio Tagliavini:










With another co-star, 'Pippo', Giuseppe di Stefano:










A smiling Margherita:










…..Continued on next post ^ ^…


----------



## Green pasture

The performances on stage:














































…Continued on next post ^ ^…


----------



## Green pasture

Two more photos ^ ^



















…Finished ^ ^…


----------



## Marschallin Blair

^ Plummie the ' ' Doll ' ' .

This is such eye candy.

I'm listening to Janet Baker's scenes from_ Les Troyens _right now and I can't tell you how beautiful this whole synaesthetic experience is.

<Kiss.>


----------



## Marschallin Blair

^ I've never seen Callas smile like that. . . 'ever.'

_Cuuuuute._ _;D_


----------



## Green pasture

*Callas as Isolde, Feb 1950, Rome*

More pictures of Maria as Isolde, from a run of performances at the Rome Opera in Feb 1950 conducted by Tullio Serafin. The first, a very rare one, is splendid! _;D_ (Again courtesy of the *Maria Callas International Club*)


----------



## Marschallin Blair

^ That's an Isolde I can believe in!- 'such' the aristocratic-princess.

And can you imagine the size of her 'voice' for Isolde in 1950?

Flagstad.

Callas.

_Immortals._


----------



## Woodduck

plumblossom said:


> More pictures of Maria as Isolde, from a run of performances at the Rome Opera in Feb 1950 conducted by Tullio Serafin. The first, a very rare one, is splendid! _;D_ (Again courtesy of the *Maria Callas International Club*)


My God, that stage set! It's obviously supposed to be act two, which takes place at night, and look at the sky! My high school theater club mounted more convincing productions. And this was the Rome Opera? Rome, Italy - not Rome, Iowa?

Good thing Wieland Wagner came along the following year.


----------



## Marschallin Blair

Woodduck said:


> My God, that stage set! It's obviously supposed to be act two, which takes place at night, and look at the sky! My high school theater club mounted more convincing productions. And this was the Rome Opera? Rome, Italy - not Rome, Iowa?
> 
> Good thing Wieland Wagner came along the following year.


Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha.

- But who's paying attention to the sets?

Callas could sing with nothing but an electric light bulb over her and she'd just 'give you' the time of day by the color of her voice.


----------



## Woodduck

Marschallin Blair said:


> Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha.
> 
> - But who's paying attention to the sets?
> 
> Callas could sing with nothing but an electric light bulb over her and she'd just 'give you' the time of day by the color of her voice.




True enough, but considering what Callas had to say about antiquated, chintzy productions later in her career, I can only wonder what she privately (or not so privately) thought of this one.


----------



## Marschallin Blair

Woodduck said:


> True enough, but considering what Callas had to say about antiquated, chintzy productions later in her career, I can only wonder what she privately (or not so privately) thought of this one.


From someone who'd starve herself to near perfection and who'd rather buy _Italian Vogue _than dinner- I wonder too.


----------



## Tsaraslondon

Marschallin Blair said:


> Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha.
> 
> - But who's paying attention to the sets?
> 
> Callas could sing with nothing but an electric light bulb over her and she'd just 'give you' the time of day by the color of her voice.




True enough. Zeffirelli said he thought only Karajan got it right. For the Mad Scene in *Lucia di Lammermoor*, he dimmed all the lights on stage and just trained a follow spot on her. Zeffirelli thought that that was the perfect thing to do with Callas, as she exuded music, she exuded drama. When he directed Sutherland in the role, he devised all sorts of stage business for her, in order to distract the audience from her, shall we say, less than attractive appearance. With Callas, he said, you didn't have to do anything. Letting her do her own thing in a spotlight was enough.


----------



## Marschallin Blair

GregMitchell said:


> True enough. Zeffirelli said he thought only Karajan got it right. For the Mad Scene in *Lucia di Lammermoor*, he dimmed all the lights on stage and just trained a follow spot on her. Zeffirelli thought that that was the perfect thing to do with Callas, as she exuded music, she exuded drama. When he directed Sutherland in the role, he devised all sorts of stage business for her, in order to distract the audience from her, shall we say, less than attractive appearance. With Callas, he said, you didn't have to do anything. Letting her do her own thing in a spotlight was enough.












Showtime.


----------



## Green pasture

Marschallin Blair said:


> Showtime.


Just marvelous! _;D _Great pity that a motion picture of the 1954 La Scala performance and the 1955 Berlin one can only occur in our imagination. Meanwhile, will copy here tomorrow pictures of the Sep 1954 performances of LUCIA at Teatro Donizetti Bergamo, where the blonde Maria transcends the antiquated, chintzy sets of the provincial theatre._ ;D_


----------



## Green pasture

Marschallin Blair said:


> ^ That's an Isolde I can believe in!- 'such' the aristocratic-princess.
> 
> And can you imagine the size of her 'voice' for Isolde in 1950?
> 
> Flagstad.
> 
> Callas.
> 
> _Immortals._


I would add Frida Leider to make it three. _;D_

The liebestod from the March 1933 performance at the Met (not her studio recording) presents Leider's Isolde in her full glory, despite the dim sound and a voice slightly past its prime. _;D_


----------



## DarkAngel

plumblossom said:


> Just marvelous! ;D Great pity that a motion picture of the 1954 La Scala performance and the 1955 Berlin one can only occur in our imagination. Meanwhile, will copy here tomorrow pictures of the Sep 1954 performances of LUCIA at Teatro Donizetti Bergamo, where the* blonde Maria transcends *the antiquated, chintzy sets of the provincial theatre. ;D


*Blonde Callas Lucia!*............tomorrow is like an eternity 

Love those 54 Blonde Mefistofele pix, this thread is killing me (softly) with Callas visual overload, more more


----------



## MAS

post deleted post deleted


----------



## MAS

Sorry, can't remove the photo!


----------



## Green pasture

*Callas as Lucia di Lammermoor in Teatro Donizetti, Bergamo, Oct 1954*

Blonde Callas Lucia warming up for her forthcoming official debut in the US, in a small provincial theatre in Italy, the Teatro Donizetti in Bergamo, in Oct 1954. ;D

Her co-stars in this run of performances were tenor Ferruccio Tagliavini (gorgeous voice on his early records, but looking more like Lucia's portly uncle rather than her lover) and baritone Ugo Savarese (looking more like Lucia's aged father than her elder brother).

With the threatre superintendant and conductor Francesco Molinari-Pradelli:










Act 1, Scene 2:




























…Continued below ^ ^…


----------



## Green pasture

…Continued from above ^ ^ …



















Act 2, Scene 1:



















…Continued below ^ ^…


----------



## Green pasture

…Continued from above ^ ^…

Act 2, scene 2:



















Handshake from a grateful superintendant:










…Continued below ^ ^…


----------



## Green pasture

The Mad Scene:



















…Finished ^ ^…


----------



## Green pasture

*Blonde Callas as Norma, Violetta and Lucia in Chicago, Nov 1954 (official US debut)*

DarkAngie darling, today you are in the blonde Callasiana paradise - Maria as Norma, Violetta and Lucia in her official US debut at the Chicago Lyric Opera in Nov 1954. _;D_
(Photos courtesy of *Maria Callas International Club*)

Blonde Norma dressing herself:




























Performance on stage:



















…Continued below ^ ^…


----------



## Green pasture

One more shot of blonde Norma on stage:










Curtain call with Nicolai Rossi-Lemeni:










Receiving congratulation from Rosa Raisa, the very first Turandot and a famous Norma in her own time:










…Continued below ^ ^…


----------



## Green pasture

Endearing blonde Violetta with the charming, wooing Alfredo of French-Canadian tenor Leopold Simoneau:










Backstage:










…Continued below ^ ^…


----------



## Green pasture

Blonde Callas Lucia comes to Chicago:










A warm hug from Battista:










Sharing the joy of success with Pippo:










Three…no, four cheers for the blonde who has captured Chicago's hearts:










…Finished ^ ^…


----------



## Marschallin Blair

This picture is so 'G'-'D' cute!

Of course I speak inexactly.

Its 'beyond' 'G'-'D' cute.

Hosannas all the way, plummie.


----------



## Marschallin Blair

_"Lights! Camera! And Callas with make-up!"_

Check out the three women with clasped hands on the right.

It looks like they're thinking, _"We just saw 'WHAT'?!"_

They can't even 'believe' that performance of living art that just leveled everyone.


----------



## Green pasture

Cheers all the way....a dinner hosted by EMI in honour of Maria in Chicago, with Walter Legge and Elizabeth Schwarzkopf present among the guests. _;D_


----------



## DarkAngel

plumblossom said:


> DarkAngie darling, today you are in the blonde Callasiana paradise - Maria as Norma, Violetta and Lucia in her official US debut at the Chicago Lyric Opera in Nov 1954. _;D_
> (Photos courtesy of *Maria Callas International Club*)
> 
> Blonde Norma dressing herself:


The most amazing Callas pix series PB, this pix is so divine it has broken the 1-10 diva scale (a solid 11)

Blonde blonde blonde, I love blonde Callas especially since it is a rare sight making it all the more sought out and lusted after, priceless material

Marschallin must lay down and rest after this much excitement.......


----------



## Marschallin Blair

DarkAngel said:


> The most amazing Callas pix series PB, this pix is so divine it has broken the 1-10 diva scale (a solid 11)
> 
> Blonde blonde blonde, I love blonde Callas especially since it is a rare sight making it all the more sought out and lusted after, priceless material
> 
> Marschallin must lay down and rest after this much excitement.......












Blonde has its occasional moments with Divina, I submit.

But 'fierce' is always the 'Greek Goddess' to me. _;D_


----------



## Azol

I always remind myself to be seated while browsing this breathtaking thread, dammit!!!
More...more...more...
:clap::clap::clap:
:kiss:


----------



## Marschallin Blair

Azol said:


> I always remind myself to be seated while browsing this breathtaking thread, dammit!!!
> More...more...more...
> :clap::clap::clap:
> :kiss:


But why be a spectator, Azol?- be a participant.

Join.

_;D_

Sunhine, love, and high-drama await.

Vivid self-expression is a 'birthright.'


----------



## Woodduck

plumblossom said:


> I would add Frida Leider to make it three. _;D_
> 
> The liebestod from the March 1933 performance at the Met (not her studio recording) presents Leider's Isolde in her full glory, despite the dim sound and a voice slightly past its prime. _;D_


I know this is a Callas thread, but Leider! That Liebestod is magnificent. She sustains the slow tempo with perfect poise and passion. Why do you say she was past her prime? Anybody who can do this after a whole evening of _Tristan_ is pretty prime in my book! I think I'm in love.

OK, back to Callas. :tiphat:


----------



## Marschallin Blair

It came. _*;D ;D ;D *_

Frank Abe's hardcover Callas coffee table book is a little over 12" x 12" and about an inch thick. The paper is acid-free, thick, glossy, and of outstanding quality. All of the photos are black and white. The print quality of the photos is variable, as the photos are from myriad sources.

What I love about this book is that well over half of the photos I've never seen before. There are candid photos of Callas where she looks unguarded and girlish; ones where she looks intensely intellectual and studious with her glasses on while reading scores; and jet-setting ones that I 'love' (especially the one of her at a party at the Italian Embassy in Washington, D.C. on December 17, 1956 where she's shaking hands with the proffered hand of some 'Payne-or-Whitney-family-type'- where Callas has her long Violetta gloves on and the other lady has her little cotillion Jacky-O-type white gloves; both women are wearing their best pearls, of course).

Needless to say, I like the book immensely.

If you want a copy, you can order it from Karl van Zoggel of the Maria Callas International Club:

[email protected]

for

210 EUR to the following bank account:
BIC (Swift) SNSBNL2A
IBAN NL50 SNSB 0820 8382 84
Bank SNS Bank in Nuenen, The Netherlands

or by a Western Union Money Order

or by PayPal (my fave _;D_ )


----------



## Green pasture

Marschallin Blair said:


> It came. _*;D ;D ;D *_
> 
> Frank Abe's hardcover Callas coffee table book is a little over 12" x 12" and about an inch thick. The paper is acid-free, thick, glossy, and of outstanding quality. All of the photos are black and white. The print quality of the photos is variable, as the photos are from myriad sources.
> 
> What I love about this book is that well over half of the photos I've never seen before. There are candid photos of Callas where she looks unguarded and girlish; ones where she looks intensely intellectual and studious with her glasses on while reading scores; and jet-setting ones that I 'love' (especially the one of her at a party at the Italian Embassy in Washington, D.C. on December 17, 1956 where she's shaking hands with the proffered hand of some 'Payne-or-Whitney-family-type'- where Callas has her long Violetta gloves on and the other lady has her little cotillion Jacky-O-type white gloves; both women are wearing their best pearls, of course).
> 
> Needless to say, I like the book immensely.





















So happy for our Shopaholic Queen! _;D ;D ;D_ Your joy is absolutely IN-FEC-TIOUS.

Looking forward with great anticipation to your sharing of the gems from this album. _;D_  They will sure become the most sparkling jewels of this thread. _;D_


----------



## Marschallin Blair

^ When I get my new smart phone I will. My most recent phone died on me this week.


----------



## Green pasture

*Callas in her only Mozart role on stage, La Scala, April 1952*

Maria in the one and only Mozart role she ever sang on stage, Constanze in Mozart's *Die Entführung aus dem Serail* (The Abduction from the Seraglio), in April 1952 at La Scala (only 4 performances in the run).

Again, the photos are available courtesy of the *Maria Callas International Club*. _;D_

The program:









The performance on stage:





































…Continued below ^ ^…


----------



## Green pasture

Constanze with her maid Blonde on a little bridge:










Kissing the conductor Jonel Perlea:










The cast:



















...Finished, and that's all for this week ^^...

Going for a short break. Will come back next week to post more, including more blonde Callas. _;D_


----------



## Marschallin Blair

^ Plummie, you're one of the Precious Few. I love you. Thanks. 

Have a fun weekend!


----------



## Green pasture

MAS said:


> post deleted post deleted


MASie darling, before going for my short break, let me fix this one for you. _;D_ Many thanks for your contribution. _;D_

*Another picture of Callas as Isolde at Rome Opera, Feb 1950.*










And Maria looks so beautiful, dignified, regal and sparkling as the Princess Isolde. _;D_


----------



## MAS

plumblossom said:


> MASie darling, before going for my short break, let me fix this one for you. _;D_ Many thanks for your contribution. _;D_
> 
> *Another picture of Callas as Isolde at Rome Opera, Feb 1950.*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And Maria looks so beautiful, dignified, regal and sparkling as the Princess Isolde. _;D_


THANK YOU plumblossom, you're a peach!


----------



## DarkAngel

Marschallin Blair said:


> *210 EUR to the following bank account:*
> BIC (Swift) SNSBNL2A
> IBAN NL50 SNSB 0820 8382 84
> Bank SNS Bank in Nuenen, The Netherlands
> 
> or by a Western Union Money Order
> 
> or by PayPal (my fave _;D_ )


I almost choked on my chai tea when I saw that price, Marschallin you are totally devoted (I hope you are not starving this week) 

We are* jealousssssssss.........
*


----------



## MAS

Blond Callas in Chicago


----------



## DarkAngel

plumblossom said:


>


Absolutely fabulous, I'll take it.......send the bill to Mr Legge at EMI

Lady on the couch expression is priceless, total diva dazzle mode ........


----------



## Marschallin Blair

DarkAngel said:


> I almost choked on my chai tea when I saw that price, Marschallin you are totally devoted (I hope you are not starving this week)
> 
> We are* jealousssssssss.........
> *


_'De-VOT-ed?'_

<slight smile>

- 'Capricious.'


----------



## Marschallin Blair

DarkAngel said:


> Absolutely fabulous, I'll take it.......send the bill to Mr Legge at EMI
> 
> Lady on the couch expression is priceless, total diva dazzle mode ........


I got the impression the lady on the couch was thinking, "Some days my meds work. Some days they don't. Guess what day is today?"


----------



## Tietjens Stolz

plumblossom said:


>


That's actually Callas' favourite couturier Madame Biki gaping with speechless admiration and adoration how absolutely magnificent La Divina looks in her creation.


----------



## Marschallin Blair

Panorama said:


> That's actually Callas' favourite couturier Madame Biki gaping with speechless admiration and adoration how absolutely magnificent La Divina looks in her creation.


Yes, Puccini's granddaughter herself paying homage. _;D_

- I like her already.


----------



## Tietjens Stolz

plumblossom said:


> More blonde Callas _;D_
> 
> A smiling Margherita:


Love this one especially, such cute, infectious smile, the very incarnation of the lovely Gretchen in Goethe's original work. Easy to understand why Faust falls for her.


----------



## Marschallin Blair

Panorama said:


> Love this one especially, such cute, infectious smile, the very incarnation of the lovely Gretchen in Goethe's original work. Easy to understand why Faust falls for her.


Joseph Campbell has his _Hero With a Thousand Faces_.

We Callistas have our 'Diva With a Thousand Faces.'

She can capture any character from any place or time.

She's the ultimate actress in my book.

She can portray anything. . . and of course, 'sing' anything.

She is, as Dame Judy Dench said of her, "completely supreme."


----------



## MAS

The very incarnation of Diva


----------



## Marschallin Blair

Maria Callas interview with Jean-Pierre Farkas from January 31, 1970:
_
J.-P.F.: Behind this legend I wonder if there isn't some truth, your life has been under storms of famous personalities and memorable tantrums, what is behind all this?

M.C.: What is behind it is that to achieve a result of great class and quality we need outbursts of anger if we don't have time to persuade people gently. There are always people trying to persuade you to do things that they want, so those cases make it impossible to be nice. _

- _Maria Callas Magazine_, No. 73, November 2014, p. 20

With artistry on the level of _Poliuto_, its easy to understand.


----------



## Green pasture

*Callas' return to Greece in Aug 1960*

More blonde Callas to come…but first, the brunette Callas with a cute short bob hairstyle in 1960 _;D_

In August 1960, Maria returned to Greece for a couple of performances of Norma at the Epidaurus conducted by her Tullio Serafin. Her long time supporter, Costis Bastias, founder and one-time manager of the Greek National Opera, kept her company throughout the visit.

Again, photos are available courtesy of the *Maria Callas International Club*. _;D_

Arrival in Athens, Aug 9, 1960:




























Press conference in Athens, Aug 10, 1960:



















…Continued below ^ ^…


----------



## Green pasture

More photos of Press con in Athens, Aug 10, 1960:














































…Continued below ^ ^…


----------



## Green pasture

More photos of Press con in Athens, Aug 10, 1960:


----------



## Green pasture

*Callas as Norma in Epidaurus, Greece, Aug 1960*

Because she had cut her hair short the year before, Maria had to don on a blonde wig for the two performances of Norma at the Epidaurus in Aug 1960. This is the last stage performance in which she appeared as a blonde. _;D_

The performance on stage:





































…Continued below ^ ^…


----------



## Green pasture

…Continued below ^ ^….


----------



## Green pasture

…Continued below ^ ^…


----------



## Green pasture

A grateful Greek audience awarded her with a big laurel:














































…Continued below ^ ^…


----------



## Green pasture

Acknowledging thunderous applause from the huge audience:










Hugging and kissing her longtime supporter Costis Bastias, who had played a key role in employing the 17-year old Maria as a member of the Greek National Opera in 1940:










...Finished ^^...


----------



## Marschallin Blair

Plummie, <_Kiss. Kiss. Kiss_> (Holding you back at arm's length, looking at you admiringly and then pulling you back into me.) <_Kiiiiiis_.>

- 'Such' beautiful photos.

<_Whispering_> 'Thank you.'










I really love this one.










And of course this one.


----------



## DarkAngel

> Because she had cut her hair short the year before, Maria had to don on a blonde wig for the two performances of Norma at the Epidaurus in Aug 1960. *This is the last stage performance in which she appeared as a blonde.* _;D_





plumblossom said:


> …Continued below ^ ^….


Magnificent pictures again PB, we ADORE YOU..............

Blonde Callas as the powerful warrior priestess Norma deep in contemplation, I love when Norma shows some signs of her warrior nature like that dagger in her belt, a hint of Danger which can be unleashed

For Marshallin Maria dons the long cape for dramatic effect striking those diva poses


----------



## Marschallin Blair

DarkAngel said:


> Magnificent pictures again PB, we ADORE YOU..............
> 
> Blonde Callas as the powerful warrior priestess Norma deep in contemplation, I love when Norma shows some signs of her warrior nature like that dagger in her belt, a hint of Danger which can be unleashed
> 
> For Marshallin Maria dons the long cape for dramatic effect striking those diva poses


Well in all candor, Dark Angel: Maria 'is' the pose, while a lesser diva like myself has to 'strike one.'

Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha.

<Nose-to-nose rub.>


----------



## Green pasture

DarkAngel said:


> Magnificent pictures again PB, we ADORE YOU..............


----------



## Green pasture

Marschallin Blair said:


> Plummie, <_Kiss. Kiss. Kiss_> (Holding you back at arm's length, looking at you admiringly and then pulling you back into me.) <_Kiiiiiis_.>
> 
> - 'Such' beautiful photos.
> 
> <_Whispering_> 'Thank you.'


----------



## Green pasture

*Callas' Aida on stage, 1950-1953*

Too many blonde Callas pix could become aesthetically exhausting. _;D_ So there is a need for a reliever. But is this too strong a reliever? _;D_

Again, all gratitude to the *Maria Callas International Club *for having made these fabulous pix available. _;D_

Callas in her debut at La Scala in Apr 1950, replacing an indisposed Tebaldi:





































…Continued ^ ^….


----------



## Green pasture

Callas' Aida at Teatro San Carlo, Naples, Apr 27, 1950, with Ebe Stignani as Amneris, Ugo Savarese as Amonasro and Mirto Picchi as Radames:














































…Continued ^ ^…


----------



## Green pasture

More pix of the Apr 27 1950 Naples performance:










The May 1950 performance at Palacio de Belles Artes in Mexico City, where Maria first sang that house de-ci-ma-ting high E flat at the close of Act 2 to teach the self-important tenor Kurt Baum a lesson he would never forget. _;D_










Image of the vocal "beast" who le-vell-ed the house _;D_:



















The July 1951 performance at Palacio de Belles Artes in Mexico City, where Maria sang an even more house de-ci-ma-ting high E flat at the close of Act 2 _;D_:










…Continued ^ ^…


----------



## Green pasture

Aida at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, June 1953, during the Coronation season, with Giulietta Simionato as Amneris:



















Maria's last Aida on stage, at the Arena in July 1953 Verona in, with Mario del Monaco as Radames and Elena Nicolai as Amneris, conducted by her beloved mentor Tullio Serafin:










…Finished ^ ^…


----------



## Green pasture

*Callas as Turandot, Venice, Naples, Buenos Aires, 1948-1949*

From the Ethiopian princess collection, let's move on to the Chinese princess collection. _;D_

Teatro La Fenice, Venice, Jan 1948:




























Teatro San Carlo, Naples, Feb 1949:










…Continued below ^ ^…


----------



## Green pasture

Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires, May 1949, with Mario del Monaco as Calaf, conducted by her beloved mentor Tullio Serafin:














































...Finished ^^...


----------



## Marschallin Blair

^ YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!

I could dilate, but refrain.

I kiss your cheek repeatedly, plummie.


----------



## Tsaraslondon

All these photos are gold, and I thank Plumbossom and MB repeatedly for the posts.

One thing that strikes me, though, from many of these early photos, is that Maria was not always particularly fat. One might describe her as statuesque, but she was never the size of, say Caballe and Jessye Norman.

One wonders if her voice would have lasted longer if she had remained at about the weight she got to for the 1954 La Scala *Lucia di Lammermoor* and *Alceste* when she already looks quite slim.


----------



## Marschallin Blair

GregMitchell said:


> All these photos are gold, and I thank Plumbossom and MB repeatedly for the posts.
> 
> One thing that strikes me, though, from many of these early photos, is that Maria was not always particularly fat. One might describe her as statuesque, but she was never the size of, say Caballe and Jessye Norman.
> 
> One wonders if her voice would have lasted longer if she had remained at about the weight she got to for the 1954 La Scala *Lucia di Lammermoor* and *Alceste* when she already looks quite slim.


I want to 'kiss' Greg Mitchell- for what?: the three-thousandth-and-first time?- for getting me into Callas, however inadvertently, by all of his fantastically informed and illuminating posts on great singing. . .

It is interesting to speculate on what the volume and control of Callas' voice would have been like had she been heavy throughout her life.

I wonder if she would have finessed her later singing with the extreme dramatic preciosity that she did if she always had a super-charged instrument at her disposal.

Her early fifties first _Lucia_ in Mexico City has this tremendous volume and power to it- but it lacks all of the intellectual and dramatic subtleties of her later Karajan/La Scala and Karajan/Berlin performances, where of course she was well on her way to becoming svelte.


----------



## Green pasture

Marschallin Blair said:


> I wonder if she would have finessed her later singing with the extreme dramatic preciosity that she did if she always had a super-charged instrument at her disposal.
> 
> Her early fifties first _Lucia_ in Mexico City has this tremendous volume and power to it- but it lacks all of the intellectual and dramatic subtleties of her later Karajan/La Scala and Karajan/Berlin performances where of course she was well on her way to becoming svelte.


The same could be said if one compares her 1952 Mexico City Traviata with the 1958 CG Traviata. _;D_



















Here're glimpses of the Violetta collection, which is going to take quite some time to organize due to the sheer amount of fabulous rare pix. _;D_ Possibly end of this year, or early next year. _;D_


----------



## Marschallin Blair

^ I await with bated breath but with moueing lips.

<Mwwwwaaaaaaaaaaaaah!>

_;DDD_


----------



## Woodduck

Marschallin Blair said:


> I want to 'kiss' Greg Mitchell- for what?: the three-thousandth-and-first time?- for getting me into Callas, however inadvertently, by all of his fantastically informed and illuminating posts on great singing. . .
> 
> It is interesting to speculate on what the volume and control of Callas' voice would have been like had she been heavy throughout her life.
> 
> I wonder if she would have finessed her later singing with the extreme dramatic preciosity that she did if she always had a super-charged instrument at her disposal.
> 
> Her early fifties first _Lucia_ in Mexico City has this tremendous volume and power to it- but it lacks all of the intellectual and dramatic subtleties of her later Karajan/La Scala and Karajan/Berlin performances where of course she was well on her way to becoming svelte.


Maybe if she'd kept about 15 pounds more on her she'd have sung well for another 15 years, and we'd have had to wait a little longer for the delicate renditions of French opera. But she was quite capable of subtlety early on. We forget how young Callas was in 1951; even in her twenties, she exhibited an artistic imagination and a musical finesse most singers never attain. If the Mexico Lucia lacks the nuance of later ones, she probably just thought more afterward about how to express the fragile personality of a melancholy young woman who, trapped in a dank and drafty castle with a bunch of grim Presbyterians under the perpetual glumness of a Scottish sky, would crack and go haywire under pressure.


----------



## Marschallin Blair

Woodduck said:


> Maybe if she'd kept about 15 pounds more on her she'd have sung well for another 15 years, and we'd have had to wait a little longer for the delicate renditions of French opera. But she was quite capable of subtlety early on. We forget how young Callas was in 1951; even in her twenties, she exhibited an artistic imagination and a musical finesse most singers never attain. If the Mexico Lucia lacks the nuance of later ones, she probably just thought more afterward about how to express the fragile personality of a melancholy young woman who, trapped in a dank and drafty castle with a bunch of grim Presbyterians under the perpetual glumness of a Scottish sky, would crack and go haywire under pressure.


Oh I totally agree with all of this.

Its just that I think that Callas was even more clever in camouflaging her later deficiencies than a lot of people know. She's such a genius dramaturge that she can sell a note short and not 'sound' like she's deliberately doing so.


----------



## Azol

These Turandot photos from 1949... I am speechless...


----------



## Marschallin Blair

Azol said:


> These Turandot photos from 1949... I am speechless...


But not speechless enough to 'like' each and every one of them? _;D_

plummie does a lot of work retrieving these treasures you know.


----------



## Antony

Oh, Plumblossom and Marschallin Blair, you must see this

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.165860256814219.42001.157412724325639&type=3

Hope you like it

And many thanks to GregMitchell for writing great reviews


----------



## Marschallin Blair

Antony said:


> Oh, Plumblossom and Marschallin Blair, you must see this
> 
> https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.165860256814219.42001.157412724325639&type=3
> 
> Hope you like it
> 
> And many thanks to GregMitchell for writing great reviews


Thanks, Anthony.

That Callas Facebook page is cute as hell. . . to a point.

Why are there pictures of Bose speakers when only B&W Nautiluses will do? _;D_


----------



## DarkAngel

Marschallin Blair said:


> ^ I await with bated breath but with moueing lips.
> 
> <Mwwwwaaaaaaaaaaaaah!>
> 
> _;DDD_


I am running out of words to describe the wonderous rare and unique photos our priceless plummie has shared with us.

I was just discussing Parsifal in another thread, I feel like the grail knights that come to the Callas altar everyday to witness the presentation of the grail (in this case photos) and receive my spiritual enlightenment for the day, more more 

Those large group shots of Aida and Turandot are extra fab!!


----------



## Green pasture

plumblossom said:


> Because she had cut her hair short the year before, Maria had to don on a blonde wig for the two performances of Norma at the Epidaurus in Aug 1960. This is the last stage performance in which she appeared as a blonde. _;D_


Adding one more photo to the *1960 Epidaurus Norma *collection. _;D_


----------



## Green pasture

plumblossom said:


> Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires, May 1949, with Mario del Monaco as Calaf, conducted by her beloved mentor Tullio Serafin:


Adding one more photo to the *1949 Buenos Aires Turandot *collection. _;D_


----------



## Green pasture

Coming up......Maria as *Queen Elisabeth of Spain in Verdi's Don Carlo at La Scala in Apr 1954*. _;D_


----------



## Green pasture

*Callas as Elisabeth de Valois in Don Carlo, La Scala, Apr 1954*

In Apr 1954, Maria sang two queens at La Scala, Queen Alceste and Queen Elisabeth. ;D By then she was already the undisputed Queen of La Scala. _;D_

Featured here is Maria's Queen Elisabeth in Verdi's Don Carlo. She sang the role only for 4 nights in the La Scala production, but the Queen's Act 5 aria became a favourite concert piece of hers and was often programmed in her recitals.














































…Continued below ^ ^…


----------



## Green pasture

…Continued below ^ ^…


----------



## Green pasture

…Continued below ^ ^….


----------



## Green pasture

…Finished ^ ^…


----------



## Marschallin Blair

^ Callas really is a Renaissance Spanish queen to the life.

In fact, everyone in the room is just floored looking at her.










Too bad Velaquez couldn't do 'her' portrait.

<Collapsing into hugs and kisses> Stellar photos. Thanks again, plummie.


----------



## Green pasture

The real Elisabeth de Valois (above), and her successor, King Philip II's 4th wife Anna of Austria. _;D_

With the help of La Scala's hugely talented dress designer Nicola Benois, who followed faithfully the royal style of Renaissance Spain, Maria became the Renaissance queen to the life, even more regally royal than the real Elisabeth and the blonde Anna. _;D _


----------



## gardibolt

Wow she was indeed already quite thin by April 1954. The weight loss is startling.


----------



## Marschallin Blair

gardibolt said:


> Wow she was indeed already quite thin by April 1954. The weight loss is startling.


Will to Power.

Just 'Do it.'


----------



## DarkAngel

> In Apr 1954, Maria sang two queens at La Scala, Queen Alceste and Queen Elisabeth. ;D
> *By then she was already the undisputed Queen of La Scala.* _;D_
> 
> Featured here is Maria's Queen Elisabeth in Verdi's Don Carlo. She sang the role only for 4 nights in the La Scala production, but the Queen's Act 5 aria became a favourite concert piece of hers and was often programmed in her recitals.


Well put, all hail La Regina.............

I think we discussed this in Callas boxset thread but naturally Callas would be cast in the prima donna role of the "passive" queen, but I would love to hear her as Princess Eboli the vengeful rejected woman, the nighttime garden confrontation with Don Carlos and Posa would unleash the tigress in all her fury

This photo is just spell binding for me, I can gaze into her dreamy eyes and relaxed smile for an eternity.....


----------



## Marschallin Blair

^ Callas doing Eboli would be one of the fiercest things 'EV-ER'!- I've often thought that!



















_"Hey Anna! Look at 'this' rock!"_


----------



## Marschallin Blair

These Callas _Medea_ photos are from Robert Clark's personal photo collection of the November 5, 1958 rehearsal at the Dallas State Fair Music Hall.



















^ That's Theresa Berganza's autograph incidentally.



















^ I 'love' this one.


----------



## Marschallin Blair




----------



## DarkAngel

Something tells me Marschallin has more great Medea pix stashed away (Scala, Florence) for future release when the time is right, wonderful series we are in your debt........

Where did you find that crazy picture of Callas with huge ring, that is just super fabulous, party time more champagne darlingggggg...........


----------



## Green pasture

Now, it's my turn to *hug and kiss* you, my darling co-curator. _;D ;D ;D_

<KiiiiiiiiiiSSSSSSSssssss!>

Many, many more are to come. _;D_

Absolutely WONDERFUL, FANTASTIC pix of the 1958 Dallas Medea!


----------



## Marschallin Blair

DarkAngel said:


> Something tells me Marschallin has more great Medea pix stashed away (Scala, Florence) for future release when the time is right, wonderful series we are in your debt........
> 
> Where did you find that crazy picture of Callas with huge ring, that is just super fabulous, party time more champagne darlingggggg...........











*

'More' Medea pictures?- Is there 'room enough' for two divas at TC? ;D . . . *

I found that picture on the Internet- where I can't remember.


----------



## Green pasture

Coming up: Maria as the Greek Queen i.e. *Alceste at La Scala in Apr 1954*. _;D_

Need some time to dig out and organize the pix. Expected to put them up Friday EST morning. _;D_


----------



## Tsaraslondon

The photos of Teresa Berganza in the Dallas *Medea* remind me of Berganza's reminiscences of working with Callas and how Callas was an extremely generous colleague. Berganza was quite a young woman at the time, and she said Callas gave her tips on how to act the old nurse. She also said that when the applause came after her aria, which she sang over the supine body of Medea, Callas wouldn't move a muscle until the applause had died down.


----------



## Green pasture

*Blonde Callas at home in Verona, 1954*

To lessen the agony of waiting for the arrival of Her Majesty Queen Alceste, here comes blonde Callas with her black poodle in the warmth and cuteness of domestic intimacy at her Verona home (1954). _;D_


----------



## Marschallin Blair

plumblossom said:


> To lessen the agony of waiting for the arrival of Her Majesty Queen Alceste, here comes blonde Callas with her black poodle in the warmth and cuteness of domestic intimacy at her Verona home (1954). _;D_












Domestic goddess, stage goddess, 'Universal Goddess'- the Goddess With a Thousand Faces.


----------



## Marschallin Blair

Callas at the September, 4 1957 Venice Excelsior party- basking in her Statusphere- looking past those casualties of gaucherie who went to Heathfield, Benenden, or, say, Cheltenham Ladies' School.

Divas are born, not made._ ;D_


----------



## Green pasture

GregMitchell said:


> The photos of Teresa Berganza in the Dallas *Medea* remind me of Berganza's reminiscences of working with Callas and how Callas was an extremely generous colleague. Berganza was quite a young woman at the time, and she said Callas gave her tips on how to act the old nurse. She also said that when the applause came after her aria, which she sang over the supine body of Medea, Callas wouldn't move a muscle until the applause had died down.


Here is Teresa Berganza's recollection of her friendship with La Divina in full, reproduced in Issue 53 of the *Maria Callas International Club Magazine* (March 2008) _;D_ :




























The pix can be magnified on iphone and ipad. _;D_

Also posted on "New Callas Box" thread. _;D_


----------



## Marschallin Blair

^ Thank you, plummie- and thank you Teresa Berganza- 'so much.' I'm teary-eyed just reading her reminiscences on Callas. What beautifully-expressed thoughts, completely unguarded and heartfelt in every way.

I have every issue of _Maria Callas Magazine_ now, incidentally- I just got them yesterday in the mail on a USB memory stick. Now I'll have to check out issue No. 53.

_Merci beaucoup._


----------



## Tsaraslondon

A lovely reminiscence by Berganza. 

"The artist must be placed before the singer." That could be a distillation of Callas. With most singers the reverse is true.


----------



## Green pasture

*Callas in the title role of Gluck's Alceste, La Scala, Apr 1954*

Maria in her all too few ventures into Classical period operas. Alceste was one of the two royal queens the Queen of La Scala portrayed in Apr 1954. _;D_

Rehearsal:



















Announcing the arrival of Their Majesties Queen Alceste and her husband King Admete. _;D_



















…Continued below ^ ^…


----------



## Green pasture

…Continued below ^ ^…


----------



## Green pasture

…Continued below ^ ^…


----------



## Green pasture

…Continued below ^ ^…


----------



## Green pasture

…Continued below ^ ^…


----------



## Green pasture

Solo curtain call:










The royal attire:










…Finished ^ ^…


----------



## Tsaraslondon

These are fabulous. How slim she is already and how fantastic she looks in that off the shoulder dress.

It's a great pity the recording of *Alceste*, like that of *La Vestale*, her next role at La Scala, is in such execrable sound.


----------



## Green pasture

GregMitchell said:


> These are fabulous. How slim she is already and how fantastic she looks in that off the shoulder dress.
> 
> It's a great pity the recording of *Alceste*, like that of *La Vestale*, her next role at La Scala, is in such execrable sound.







Yes, such a great pity. And in those days RAI had a truly atrocious and nasty practice of destroying the broadcast tapes soon after the radio broadcast, instead of archiving the tapes. As such aficionado of later generations had to depend on off-the-air recordings taped by individual radio listeners of the time at home, not too few of which are less-than-satisfactory in sound.


----------



## Green pasture

Before going for the weekend break, one more collection will be prepared and presented. _;D_

Coming up: Maria's only stage performance as *Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto, Mexico City, June 1952*. _;D_


----------



## Green pasture

*Callas in her only stage performance as Gilda in Rigoletto, Mexico City, June 1952*

Maria in her only stage performance as Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto (only 2 nights), Mexico City, June 1952._ ;D _

Her co-stars were 'Pippo' Giuseppe di Stefano (The Duke of Mantua) and Piero Campolonghi (Rigoletto).

Again, all gratitude to the *Maria Callas International Club *for making the pictures available. _;D_














































…Completed ^ ^…


----------



## Green pasture

Going for a break after posting the Queen Alceste and Gilda collections. _;D_

Coming up next week: *Maria as Madama Butterfly at the Chicago Lyric Opera, Nov 1955*.


----------



## Marschallin Blair

Great photos, plum. <Kiss.>

My mind is running around imagining all of those unexpressed implications from the photo still of how she would be moving around on stage while singing this music.


----------



## Marschallin Blair

_Maria Callas en la Argentina:_


----------



## Marschallin Blair




----------



## Green pasture

Marvellous, just marvellous _;D ;D ;D_ Thanks so much for sharing and posting the article on Maria in Argentina!

<Kiss!> :kiss:

Let's do a division of labour: since the 1955 Chicago BUTTERFLY has been planned for next week, I will put up the three-part article on Maria in Chicago in conjunction to the Cio Cio San collection. _;D_


----------



## Marschallin Blair

"Claudio Arrau Speaks Out About Maria Callas"- special order for plummie:


----------



## Marschallin Blair

"Maria Callas in _Nabucco_":


----------



## Marschallin Blair




----------



## Marschallin Blair




----------



## Marschallin Blair




----------



## Green pasture

<Huggggs and kiiiissssssssssses!> :kiss:

I have ordered one PDF copy of Issue 24 from Mr. van Zoggel straightaway. _;D D D_

Apart from those rare and precious photos, such beautiful insights from a fellow great musician like Claudio Arrau on how they drew inspiration from La Divina is a gem of gems. _;D_


----------



## Green pasture

Even Xena the Warrior Princess has to bow and genuflect humbly before Divina's Abigaille the Warrior Queen. _;D_


----------



## Marschallin Blair

plumblossom said:


> <Huggggs and kiiiissssssssssses!> :kiss:
> 
> I have ordered one PDF copy of Issue 24 from Mr. van Zoggel straightaway. _;D D D_
> 
> Apart from those rare and precious photos, such beautiful insights from a fellow great musician like Claudio Arrau on how they drew inspiration from La Divina is a gem of gems. _;D_


Oh I know!

- I just wish that Arrau would have went on on on about it. Ha. Ha. Ha.

The article is so short.


----------



## Marschallin Blair

plumblossom said:


> *
> Even Xena the Warrior Princess has to bow and genuflect humbly before Divina's Abigaille the Warrior Queen.* *;D*












Nonsense.

Abigaille would hire her as her Praetorian guard.


----------



## Green pasture

Marschallin Blair said:


> Nonsense.
> 
> Abigaille would hire her as her Praetorian guard.


Perhaps Abigaille might have second thoughts about whether Xena really satisfies her standards. :lol:


----------



## Marschallin Blair

plumblossom said:


> Perhaps Abigaille might have second thoughts about whether Xena really satisfies her standards. :lol:












True. . perhaps Lady Death is more suitably appropriate.

Abigaille is, after all, on the _Realpolitik_ 'fast track.'


----------



## Green pasture

The first of the *Maria Callas International Club Magazine*'s 4-part series *"Maria in Chicago"* (Issues 54-57), detailing her activities during her official US debut in Nov 1954 at the Chicago Lyric Opera. _;D_

Maria made her first appearance in Chicago as a blonde. _;D_

The glamorous, chic blonde Callas rehearsing for La Traviata at the Chicago Lyric Opera in Nov 1954. _;D_


----------



## Green pasture

…Continued below ^^…


----------



## Green pasture

…Continued below ^^…


----------



## Green pasture

Maria's second appearance in Chicago in 1955 was to bring even greater glory and success, but unfortunately also a hugely unpleasant incident that would end up with a number of years' lawsuit and monetary wrangling with a real scoundrel whom she had the utter bad luck to encounter and know back in the few years after her return to America from Greece in 1945.

…To be continued with Part 2 ^^…


----------



## Green pasture

Part 2 of the "Maria in Chicago" series will be put up later this week. _;D_


----------



## DarkAngel

plumblossom said:


> Even Xena the Warrior Princess has to bow and genuflect humbly before Divina's Abigaille the Warrior Queen. _;D_


Marschallin love the "money shot" of Abigaille, it is soooooooooo fierce!

Great article with all those Nabucco details, what a bold move by young Maria to take on one of the most demanding soprano roles and come through with such devastating overwhelming results, despite the poor recording we are left with all others must yield to this performance......I picture that pose during the "salgo gia" cabaletta as Abigaille declares the "throne of blood" will soon be hers!

Xena and Gabby fight on.........


----------



## DarkAngel

plumblossom said:


> Part 2 of the "Maria in Chicago" series will be put up later this week. _;D_


Plum you and Marschallin are overwhelming us with great material...............

*That 54 Chicago Lyric opera season with our dazzling "blonde" Callas what a smashing success!* To read all those glowing comments what a feeling of success and elation Maria must have felt, to receive a standing ovation when you enter to watch another opera, brava brava

What a set of operas for Maria in 1954 to sing at peak vocal powers, Traviata, Lucia Lammermoor, Norma....no wonder the place went into hysterics, we can only imagine! 



> _"Brav-ISS-ima!"_- actually. ;D


Indeed!


----------



## Marschallin Blair

DarkAngel said:


> Plum you and Marschallin are overwhelming us with great material...............
> 
> *That 54 Chicago Lyric opera season with our dazzling "blonde" Callas what a smashing success!* To read all those glowing comments what a feeling of success and elation Maria must have felt, to receive a standing ovation when you enter to watch another opera, *brava brava *
> 
> What a set of operas for Maria in 1954 to sing at peak vocal powers, Traviata, Lucia Lammermoor, Norma....no wonder the place went into hysterics, we can only imagine!












_"Brav-ISS-ima!"_- actually._ ;D_


----------



## Green pasture

*Callas as Madama Butterfly at Chicago Lyric Opera, Nov 1955*

Maria in her only stage performance as Cio Cio San, taking place only a few months after she made the unforgettable and treasurable EMI studio recording with Karajan. _;D_

Putting on the authentic Japanese Geisha make-up and dress, down to the last detail:




























On the stage:



















…Continued below ^^…


----------



## Green pasture

With father George:










With co-star 'Pippo' Giuseppe de Stefano:










For a full report of Maria's second appearance in Chicago in Nov 1955, please wait for *"Maria in Chicago II"* from Issue 55 of the *Maria Callas International Club Magazine*. _;D_


----------



## Marschallin Blair

^ Callas 'is' a Geisha in this picture. I mean, this isn't even 'verisimilitude.' Wow.

Beautiful job, plummie.


----------



## Green pasture

*Callas' last stage performance of Elvira in I Puritani, Chicago Lyric Opera, Nov 1955*

Moving on to the other two roles that Maria sang at the Chicago Lyric Opera in Nov 1955……

Shots taken during what turned out to be her stage farewell to the role of Elvira in Bellini's I Puritani, the role that established her reputation as soprano assoluta when she first tackled it at Teatro La Fenice in Venice in Jan 1949. _;D_




























She wore this costume for her appearances as Elvira since 1949, but by late 1955, it is clearly one or two sizes too big for her. <embarrassed smile>


----------



## Green pasture

*Callas' last stage performance as Leonora in Il Trovatore, Chicago, Nov 1955*

Maria in what turned out to be her stage farewell to the role of Leonora in Verdi's Il Trovatore, taking place at the Chicago Lyric Opera in Nov 1955. This is also the one and only time she sang with the great Jussi Björling, who fell under the Callas spell. _;D_

Björling thought Maria's Leonora "perfection," saying that "I have heard the role sung often, but never was there a better one than hers."

Zinka Milanov, eat your heart out. _;D_


----------



## DarkAngel

Plum it is so hard to be at my business right now, I have customers asking me questions and I feel like saying don't interrupt me can't you see I have major important Callas matters to attend to......

I will comment on magnificent 55 Chicago Puritani and Trovatore material soon

Zinka definitely has been demoted from top Leonora, even before Jussi comments.........


----------



## DarkAngel

Someone must tell me why there are no live recordings of any 54 or 55 Chicago Lyric performances, from all accounts they were amazing performances with "A" list cast, a tragedy for the opera lovers........

If the 54 Chicago season of blonde Callas is impossible to top, the 55 looks like a close second with Trovatore and Puritani show casing the strongest features of the Callas vocal experience, mad scences for Puritani and Trovatore is the greatest collection of show stopping ovation producing arias ever assembled in one opera

You have no idea how much I love and treasure these great visual records of our beloved star, please continue with the "lords work" we salute you


----------



## Green pasture

DarkAngel said:


> You have no idea how much I love and treasure these great visual records of our beloved star, please continue with the "lords work" we salute you












Thank you, DarkAngie darling, for your sen-ti-men-tal intoxication. <Kiiiiisssssssssssss and hugggggs>. You're a REAL doll. _;DDD_

There will always be bountiful supplies of rare Divina images, all thanks to the Maria Callas International Club, and the devotion of countless aficionado around the world, including our Shopaholic cum Prom Queen Marschallin and ourselves. _;D_

Think about it, which other opera star has such a tremendous worldwide following even long after she was gone and such a well-organized international fan club to celebrate and promote her legacy? _;D_ All because La Divina's great art and musicianship have moved countless people's hearts and souls.


----------



## Green pasture

*Callas in Concert at Theater Champs Elysées, Paris, 5 June 1963*

This post marks the first in a series of collections featuring Maria in concerts. Later posts in the series will be curated by Co-Curator our Prom Queen Marschallin and myself. _;D_

Maria in queenly glamour at a concert in the Theater Champs Elysées, Paris, June 5, 1963, conducted by Georges Prêtre.

Her concert program includes:
Semiramide : Bel raggio lusinghier. . . Dolce pensiero
La cenerentola: Nacqui all'affanno. . . Non più mesta
Manon: Je ne suis que faiblesse. . . Adieu, notre petite table
Werther: Werther ! Qui m'aurait dit. . . Des cris joyeux (Air des lettres)
Nabucco: Ben io t'invenni. . . Anch'io dischiuso un giorno
La bohème: Quando m'en vo
Madama Butterfly: Tu ? tu ? Piccolo iddio!
encore: Gianni Schicchi: O mio babbino caro














































…Continued below ^^


----------



## Green pasture

…Continued below ^^…


----------



## Green pasture

…Completed ^^…


----------



## Marschallin Blair

DarkAngel said:


> Someone must tell me why there are no live recordings of any 54 or 55 Chicago Lyric performances, from all accounts they were amazing performances with "A" list cast, a tragedy for the opera lovers........
> 
> If the 54 Chicago season of blonde Callas is impossible to top, the 55 looks like a close second with Trovatore and Puritani show casing the strongest features of the Callas vocal experience, mad scences for Puritani and Trovatore is the greatest collection of show stopping ovation producing arias ever assembled in one opera
> 
> You have no idea how much I love and treasure these great visual records of our beloved star, please continue with the "lords work" we salute you












"The 'Lord's' work?"

The ' ' Goddesses' ' ' work.

_;D_


----------



## Marschallin Blair

Plummie, I 'LOOOOOOOVE' this entire set of pictures. <Kiss on the lips.>

I especially love the one above. That lady in white in the front with her hand over her heart with the involuntarily waxing smile looking at Maria is totally me.

I absolutely relate.


----------



## Marschallin Blair

"Maria Callas & Herbert von Karajan"


----------



## Marschallin Blair




----------



## Marschallin Blair




----------



## DarkAngel

^^^ How did you find that picture of the "magic emerald ring" that put Karajan under the Callas spell.....brilliant!

That is absolute money, yessssssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## Marschallin Blair

DarkAngel said:


> ^^^ *How did you find that picture of the "magic emerald ring" that put Karajan under the Callas spell.*....brilliant!
> 
> That is absolute money, yessssssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!


I believe I ordered mine from Tamino Autographs- but its also on the back cover of _Maria Callas Magazine_, Issue No. 52.


----------



## Tsaraslondon

Marschallin Blair said:


> "Maria Callas & Herbert von Karajan"


Oh how I wish they had done more together. Can you imagine a studio *La Traviata* with the cast as above (Callas, Kraus and Taddei)? Just too tantalising.


----------



## Green pasture

<Kiss and hugs!> Thanks so much for sharing the article about the complex relations between our Diva and Herbie the Divo among conductors of the era! _;D_

It's such a great pity that planned TRAVIATA at the Vienna State Opera in 1957 was aborted over the question of fee. But then our Diva had every right to demand higher fee for being the operatic Megastar of the era. _;D_


----------



## Green pasture

*Maria in Chicago II, Oct/Nov 1955*

From Issue 55 of the *Maria Callas International Club Magazine*.

Dear fellow Callasians, this second part of the "Maria in Chicago" series takes up a lot of pages, because so many things happened during her second visit to Chicago.

Among the pictures presented in this article, think the most special is the one with our Diva dining with two Divos of the era, Jussi and Pippo. _;DDD_














































….Continued below ^^…


----------



## Green pasture

So she finally clinched her deal with Rudolf Bing and secured her debut as well as the 1956-7 season opening night at the Met in NY. Her Met stint turned out to be less-than-happy and satisfying episodes in her stage career.

…Continued below ^^…


----------



## Green pasture

…Continued below…


----------



## Green pasture

…Continued below…


----------



## Green pasture

…Continued…


----------



## Green pasture

Despite even greater glory, triumph as well as adoration from the Chicago public and Jussi, Maria's second Chicago visit ended in tears, anger and anguish and our diva is determined to show how much the Chicago Lyric Opera would be losing in failing to protect her from that super-scoundrel Bagarozy.










...Completed...


----------



## Green pasture

One additional shot of the chic, glamorous blonde Callas rehearsing for TRAVIATA in Nov 1954, courtesy of Getty Images _;D_:


----------



## Green pasture

A clearer copy of Maria's final appearance as Elvira, Nov 1955 at the Chicago Lyric Opera _;D_:


----------



## Marschallin Blair

GregMitchell said:


> Oh how I wish they had done more together. Can you imagine a studio *La Traviata* with the cast as above (Callas, Kraus and Taddei)? Just too tantalising.












'Can I'?

Vividly.

I try to keep my head pensively and serenely high- but my jaw keeps hitting the floor.


----------



## Marschallin Blair

plumblossom said:


> <Kiss and hugs!> Thanks so much for sharing the article about the complex relations between our Diva and Herbie the Divo among conductors of the era! _;D_
> 
> It's such a great pity that planned TRAVIATA at the Vienna State Opera in 1957 was aborted over the question of fee. But then our Diva had every right to demand higher fee for being the operatic Megastar of the era. _;D_












Hugs and kisses, plum. _;D_. . .

Yeah, just the fact that people were willing to pay the fees speaks volumes.


----------



## Marschallin Blair

plummie, is a French kiss too forward?- _;D_

Thank you for all of the love and time you put into copying, transferring, and uploading the files to TC.

Believe me- I know how long it takes.

When I do it, I make sure I always have music on!!! . . .

I absolutely 'love' that picture of Divina above where she's touching her neck.

I can just 'FEEL' the incandescence coming off of her.

Look at that countenance!!!!- priceless.

In all seriousness though, that marshal-clown had the temerity to not even remove his hat when serving her (while pretending to be a fan of course).


----------



## Green pasture

<hugging and Kissing back> Thank you so much my dear for your very kind words. :kiss: _;DDD_

Meanwhile, our diva must have felt deeply vindicated when she heard that super-scoundrel Bagarozy died in a car crash in 1958. He had grossly underestimated the fierce spell and curse of Divina, therefore his gruesome end. :lol:


----------



## Marschallin Blair

plumblossom said:


> <hugging and Kissing back> Thank you so much my dear for your very kind words. :kiss: _;DDD_
> 
> Meanwhile, our diva must have felt deeply vindicated when she heard that super-scoundrel Bagarozy died in a car crash in 1958. He had grossly underestimated the fierce spell and curse of Divina, therefore his gruesome end. :lol:












Vindictiveness is beneath a lady of Callas' stamp- though of course 'I' relish the thought of the comeuppance.:angel:


----------



## Green pasture

Marschallin Blair said:


> Vindictiveness is beneath a lady of Callas' stamp- though of course 'I' relish the thought of the comeuppance.:angel:





















Taking and in full agreement with the words of darling, sweet, wonderful *Teresa Berganza*, another REAL doll just like Claudio Arrau _;D_:

"It is not true that she was rude to anybody; maybe she did to those who deserved it, those who treated her badly or take advantage of her, or envied her. I do believe that she treasured immense tenderness, and I, for this woman: on my knees."


----------



## Marschallin Blair

plumblossom said:


> Taking and in full agreement with the words of darling, sweet, wonderful Tereza Berganza, another REAL doll just like Claudio Arrau _;D_:
> 
> "It is not true that she was rude to anybody; maybe she did to those who deserved it, those who treated her badly or take advantage of her, or envied her. I do believe that she treasured immense tenderness, and I, for this woman: on my knees."


Teresa Berganza's a sweetheart.


----------



## Green pasture

Marschallin Blair said:


> Teresa Berganza's a sweetheart.


Yes, a true sweetheart and a real doll, among the few who truly understand and treasure Maria, like Jon, Claudio, Carlo Maria, Luchino. _;D_


----------



## Marschallin Blair

_^ Bellissima Bambina!_

When you smile, the whole wide world smiles with you, plummie.


----------



## Tsaraslondon

Regarding the Bagarozy affair, I'm not sure why Callas and Meneghini were worried about the letters she sent him. They prove nothing other than that she viewed him as a friend, and that he in fact betrayed that friendship. I don't know how American law works, but his claim on _any_ of her earnings would certainly not have stood up in court here. Bagarozy had absolutely nothing to do with her success. Why should he be allowed to claim part of her earnings, contract or not? Surely he would have had to prove he had been instrumental in securing her engagements in Italy and elsewhere, which clearly he had not. He was just a con artist, trying to cash in on her fame.


----------



## Marschallin Blair

GregMitchell said:


> Regarding the Bagarozy affair, I'm not sure why Callas and Meneghini were worried about the letters she sent him. They prove nothing other than that she viewed him as a friend, and that he in fact betrayed that friendship. I don't know how American law works, but his claim on _any_ of her earnings would certainly not have stood up in court here. Bagarozy had absolutely nothing to do with her success. Why should he be allowed to claim part of her earnings, contract or not? Surely he would have had to prove he had been instrumental in securing her engagements in Italy and elsewhere, which clearly he had not. He was just a con artist, trying to cash in on her fame.


Precisely.

How much of a ' ' right ' ' does one have to what someone else has earned?


----------



## Woodduck

GregMitchell said:


> Regarding the Bagarozy affair, I'm not sure why Callas and Meneghini were worried about the letters she sent him. They prove nothing other than that she viewed him as a friend, and that he in fact betrayed that friendship. *I don't know how American law works, but his claim on any of her earnings would certainly not have stood up in court here. Bagarozy had absolutely nothing to do with her success. Why should he be allowed to claim part of her earnings, contract or not? Surely he would have had to prove he had been instrumental in securing her engagements* in Italy and elsewhere, which clearly he had not. He was just a con artist, trying to cash in on her fame.


American law is essentially the same. For a contract to be valid, there has to be not merely an agreement, but something - called a "consideration" - offered from each side as a condition of that agreement: Person A must agree to do "x" in exchange for Person B agreeing to do "z." If person A extracts an agreement from Person B that Person B will do "z" but doesn't agree to do anything specific in exchange, there is no "consideration" and thus no contract, and Person A cannot legally bind Person B to her promise. Contracts may also be considered invalid if the considerations are disproportionate - e.g., A promises to pay B's mortgage for three months to prevent her and her children losing their family home, and extracts in exchange a promise of sexual servitude for as long as A desires it. Mere promises, or considerations given under duress or in ignorance (as in the case of minors), are not, for the most part, given legal standing.


----------



## Marschallin Blair

Woodduck said:


> American law is essentially the same. For a contract to be valid, there has to be not merely an agreement, but something - called a "consideration" - offered from each side as a condition of that agreement: Person A must agree to do "x" in exchange for Person B agreeing to do "z." If person A extracts an agreement from Person B that Person B will do "z" but doesn't agree to do anything specific in exchange, there is no "consideration" and thus no contract, and Person A cannot legally bind Person B to her promise. Contracts may also be considered invalid if the considerations are disproportionate - e.g., A promises to pay B's mortgage for three months to prevent her and her children losing their family home, and extracts in exchange a promise of sexual servitude for as long as A desires it. Mere promises, or considerations given under duress or in ignorance (as in the case of minors), are not, for the most part, given legal standing.


Breach makes a contract null, void, and of no binding authority whatsoever.

Contracts need to be signed, sealed, delivered, and acknowledged as well. . . although there are lawyers who try to get around this with the doctrine of 'implied covenant'. . .

- What was that great line in _Henry VI_?: "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers."

'All' lawyers. . . except my own of course.


----------



## Tsaraslondon

Marschallin Blair said:


> Breach makes a contract null, void, and of no binding authority whatsoever.
> 
> Contracts need to be signed, sealed, delivered, and acknowledged as well. . . although there are lawyers who try to get around this with the doctrine of 'implied covenant'. . .
> 
> - What was that great line in _Henry VI_?: "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers."
> 
> 'All' lawyers. . . except my own of course.




It certainly begs the question, what were the Meneghinis so afraid of? A good lawyer would surely have told them Bagarozy didn't have a leg to stand on, and to just let him sue. In an English court, he would even have to pay all costs if he lost the case. It certainly acts as a deterrent for people bringing bogus lawsuits.


----------



## Marschallin Blair

GregMitchell said:


> It certainly begs the question, what were the Meneghinis so afraid of? A good lawyer would surely have told them Bagarozy didn't have a leg to stand on, and to just let him sue. In an English court, he would even have to pay all costs if he lost the case. It certainly acts as a deterrent for people bringing bogus lawsuits.


I don't know the detailed facts of the case- or how the original contract that Callas signed was worded. . .

However, I do love that my cousins across the pond have the legal doctrine of 'loser pays' to ward off the tortious interference of frivolous lawsuits.

- Cheers to that!

<Clink.>


----------



## Marschallin Blair

Greg, I'm just curious. I don't think I've ever asked you this before- or anyone else for that matter:

What was the first live Callas performance that you've heard that literally just brought you to your knees with aesthetic and overwhelming emotional wonder?

I ask this question to you- but to everyone else out there as well.

It intrigues me. It really does.

Because the Dallas, Florence, and Bernstein _Medeas_ were the first live things I've ever heard by Callas that completely 'galvanized' me as pure entertainment value- but the first live Callas performance that emotionally 'destroyed' me was the '58 Covent Garden _Traviata_- which literally reduced me to incoherent sobs.

I just never knew such art was possible.

Again, I ask this question to Greg, but I'd really love to hear everyone's testimonial as well (if such are to be found)!!!!!


----------



## gardibolt

It seems like the salacious letters were what they were most concerned about. They do suggest a sexual relationship between Bergonzy and Maria. So it really amounts to blackmail.

Great articles re Buenos Aires and Chicago; I wish the magazine were still around. I love the quote about demanding the opera houses perform certain operas: "I do not tell and have never told any opera company what to do. The opera companies come to me and ask me to sing an opera for them --- any opera. They beg me. I do not ask for anything. Is that clear?" Now THAT is a prima donna.


----------



## Tsaraslondon

Marschallin Blair said:


> Greg, I'm just curious. I don't think I've ever asked you this before- or anyone else for that matter:
> 
> What was the first live Callas performance that you've heard that literally just brought you to your knees with aesthetic and overwhelming emotional wonder?
> 
> I ask this question to you- but to everyone else out there as well.
> 
> It intrigues me. It really does.
> 
> Because the Dallas, Florence, and Bernstein _Medeas_ were the first live things I've ever heard by Callas that completely 'galvanized' me as pure entertainment value- but the first live Callas performance that emotionally 'destroyed' me was the '58 Covent Garden _Traviata_- which literally reduced me to incoherent sobs.
> 
> I just never knew such art was possible.
> 
> Again, I ask this question to Greg, but I'd really love to hear everyone's testimonial as well (if such are to be found)!!!!!


The first live performance I got my hand on was *Anna Bolena*, which I found in a shop in Italy when I was working over there. I literally pounced on it, because these "pirate" performances were really difficult to get hold of in the UK at that time. I wasn't able to hear it till I got back to the UK, and, except for the Final Scene, I didn't know the opera at all. When I did, I was transfixed, but the moment that really "got" me was the intensity and force of her _Giudice ad Anna_ and the way she launched into the _stretta_. It was thrilling beyond belief and had me almost screaming with the audience when they exploded at the end.










I remember the booklet had some fabulous photos in it as well.

The next one I got hold of was the La Scala/Giulini *La Traviata*, when Cetra Opera Live series began to appear in shops over here. Others in the series included the La Scala/Bernstein *Medea* and *La Sonnambula*, the Karajan/Berlin *Lucia di Lammermoor* and the La Scala *Macbeth*.

The Callas/Visconti/La Scala *La Traviata* was legendary and my imagination was stirred by the fabulous photos in the Ardoin/Fitzgerald Callas coffee table book. Furthermore *Traviata* was my favourite opera at that time. There is a moment when Alfredo starts to sing his interjection into _Sempre libera_ that Callas lets out a little sigh, which went straight to my heart (she doesn't do it any of her other *Traviata* performances). The second act duet with Germont (despite Bastianini's leaden and monochromatic singing) had me in tears, and then the intensity with which she sings _Amami Alfredo_ slayed me, as it did the audience on the night, to judge by the spontaneous outburst of cheering from them. The Covent Garden performance I heard later, and of course that became my favourite of all her Violettas, infinitely touching and wonderfully subtle, but that La Scala performance was my touchstone at the time. No other Violetta of my experience had come within a mile of it.


----------



## Marschallin Blair

gardibolt said:


> It seems like the salacious letters were what they were most concerned about. They do suggest a sexual relationship between Bergonzy and Maria. So it really amounts to blackmail.
> 
> Great articles re Buenos Aires and Chicago; I wish the magazine were still around. I love the quote about demanding the opera houses perform certain operas: "I do not tell and have never told any opera company what to do. The opera companies come to me and ask me to sing an opera for them --- any opera. They beg me. I do not ask for anything. Is that clear?" Now THAT is a prima donna.












Well. . . . . . . . . . . . . 'Prima Donna_ Assoluta.'_

_;D_


----------



## Tsaraslondon

GregMitchell said:


> There is a moment when Alfredo starts to sing his interjection into _Sempre libera_ that Callas lets out a little sigh, which went straight to my heart (she doesn't do it any of her other *Traviata* performances).


Correction. The little sigh she lets out is at the end of the Act I duet with Alfredo, just before the chorus re-enters. I've just sung it over to myself in my head.


----------



## Marschallin Blair

GregMitchell said:


> The first live performance I got my hand on was *Anna Bolena*, which I found in a shop in Italy when I was working over there. I literally pounced on it, because these "pirate" performances were really difficult to get hold of in the UK at that time. I wasn't able to hear it till I got back to the UK, and, except for the Final Scene, I didn't know the opera at all. When I did, I was transfixed, but the moment that really "got" me was the intensity and force of her _Giudice ad Anna_ and the way she launched into the _stretta_. It was thrilling beyond belief and had me almost screaming with the audience when they exploded at the end.


*MY THOUGHTS EX-'ACT'-LY!!!!!!! *

"_Judges!_ _Who will champion_ _Anna?!_ "

I could not BELIEVE the sheer dramatic intensity of the stretta either- and then to have Callas launch it into the outer stratosphere with the sustained high note at the end is completely. . . . . 'MOL-TEN.'

I had 'so many' involuntary vocalizations of "YEAAAAAH!" when listening to that!



GregMitchell said:


> I remember the booklet had some fabulous photos in it as well.
> 
> The next one I got hold of was the La Scala/Giulini *La Traviata*, when Cetra Opera Live series began to appear in shops over here. Others in the series included the La Scala/Bernstein *Medea* and *La Sonnambula*, the Karajan/Berlin *Lucia di Lammermoor* and the La Scala *Macbeth*.
> 
> The Callas/Visconti/La Scala *La Traviata* was legendary and my imagination was stirred by the fabulous photos in the Ardoin/Fitzgerald Callas coffee table book. Furthermore *Traviata* was my favourite opera at that time. There is a moment when Alfredo starts to sing his interjection into _Sempre libera_ that Callas lets out a little sigh, which went straight to my heart (she doesn't do it any of her other *Traviata* performances). The second act duet with Germont (despite Bastianini's leaden and monochromatic singing) had me in tears, and then the intensity with which she sings _Amami Alfredo_ slayed me, as it did the audience on the night, to judge by the spontaneous outburst of cheering from them. The Covent Garden performance I heard later, and of course that became my favourite of all her Violettas, infinitely touching and wonderfully subtle, but that La Scala performance was my touchstone at the time. No other Violetta of my experience had come within a mile of it.


Wonderful!!!!!

I know the Covent Garden performance really well- but I need to revisit the Visconti for the reasons you mentioned. I just get addicted to hearing the CG to the detriment of the other performances. I love that you mentioned this!


----------



## Green pasture

*Callas as Princess Fedora Romazov in Giordano's Fedora, May/June 1956, La Scala*

Maria professed that at one time she was mad about Princess Fedora Romazov, the title role of Giordano's Fedora, but her interest in it turned out to be short-lived. She sang the role only six times in May/June 1956 at La Scala and never tackled the role again and never even sang again any music from it. Unfortunately RAI did not broadcast the performance, so posterity has to be content with only photos of the lavish production directed by Tatiana Pavlovna.

Again, photos are available courtesy of the *Maria Callas International Club*. _;D_














































…Continued below ^^…


----------



## Green pasture

…Continued below ^^…


----------



## Green pasture

Moments of relaxation during dress rehearsal, with co-star Franco Corelli the smashingly handsome Divo and husband Giovanni Battista Maneghini:



















...Completed ^^...


----------



## Green pasture

gardibolt said:


> Great articles re Buenos Aires and Chicago; I wish the magazine were still around.


Thank you Gardie dear for your compliments. _;D_ Yes, the MCIC publishes Issues 74-76 this year and is expecting to publish Issue 77-79 next year. _;D_


----------



## Marschallin Blair

"Sotheby's Auction of the Callas-Meneghini Jewels"


----------



## Marschallin Blair

From the Bel Canto Society Newsletter: "Cherubini's Medea"


----------



## Green pasture

*Callas as Leonora in Verdi's Il Trovatore, 1950-1956, MCIC Magazine Issue 63*

After finishing the 1955-6 season at La Scala with Fedora, LUCIA at the Vienna State Opera, a much-needed vacation at Lake Garda and a secret trip to NY to deal with the legal battle with Bagarozy, Maria returned to La Scala in Aug 1956 to record three operas for EMI, beginning with Il Trovatore. This marks the conclusion of her association with the role of Lady Leonora since 1950. It also turned out to be her last collaboration with Karajan.

Here is Peter Mul's article tracing Maria's association with the role of Leonora in Verdi's IL TROVATORE from 1950 in Mexico City to the EMI recording in 1956, from Issue 63 of the Maria Callas International Club Magazine. A major attraction, is, as always with the series, many rare and precious photos of her various performances as Lady Leonora on stage, as well as the EMI recording session _;D_ :














































…Continued ^^…


----------



## Green pasture

…Continued ^^…


----------



## Green pasture

…Continued ^^…


----------



## Green pasture

…Completed ^^…


----------



## Marschallin Blair

^ Tiaras all the way, plummie. Thumbs-up. <Kiss.>


----------



## Green pasture

'am taking a longer break due to more work commitments, as well as the need to think about and organize the pictures and collections to be posted here in future. Marschallin darling will take over the bulk of curator work from this point onwards and hope fellow Callasians will continue to support her ever queenly endeavour in bestowing sparkles, style, flair and ebullience to this and the other two Divina threads. _;D_


----------



## gardibolt

plumblossom said:


> Thank you Gardie dear for your compliments. _;D_ Yes, the MCIC publishes Issues 74-76 this year and is expecting to publish Issue 77-79 next year. _;D_


Oh really!! I was somehow under the impression that they went belly up a couple years ago. Very interesting!!


----------



## Tietjens Stolz

All applause with tiaras, flowers, and cheers for our two curators, our lovely and dedicated Plummie and our ever ebullient, stylish and sparkling Prom Queen Marschallin! :clap: :clap: :clap: :tiphat:

Big THANK YOU for all the wonderful work you both have done so far and looking forward to more Divina visual treasures. I will contribute on my part if I happen to find anything worth posting, though I have to admit that I have not yet found out and mastered the art and technique of pinning big images on TC.


----------



## Tietjens Stolz

gardibolt said:


> Wow she was indeed already quite thin by April 1954. The weight loss is startling.


Even though it has long been widely acknowledged that Callas' weight loss played a major role in the gradual downsizing and decay of her voice from 1955 onwards, frankly I can't help getting tired (and even sick) of all the fawning from many quarters over her weight loss.

What truly matter are her transcendent artistry and musicianship and (within the context of this truly marvellous thread) how beautifully fitting she looks in the different roles she portrayed on stage.


----------



## Marschallin Blair

Panorama said:


> View attachment 76477
> 
> 
> All applause with tiaras, flowers, and cheers for our two curators, our lovely and dedicated Plummie and our ever ebullient, stylish and sparkling Prom Queen Marschallin! :clap: :clap: :clap: :tiphat:
> 
> Big THANK YOU for all the wonderful work you both have done so far and looking forward to more Divina visual treasures. I will contribute on my part if I happen to find anything worth posting, though I have to admit that I have not yet found out and mastered the art and technique of pinning big images on TC.


Oh, really- its no art form. If I can do it, you can do it.

You can just upload full-size pictures to a site like Pinterest- and then from there, you link the URL of the picture to TC. . .

Quick, straighten your tiara. Her Eminence is about to make an entrance. _;D_


----------



## Tietjens Stolz

Announcing the arrival of Her Eminence in all sparkles and glamour 










(Many thanks for the tip, Marschallin dear, I finally got the hang of it; Now we should be prepared to see DA being wowed :lol


----------



## Marschallin Blair

Panorama said:


> Announcing the arrival of Her Eminence in all sparkles and glamour
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> (Many thanks for the tip, Marschallin dear, I finally got the hang of it; Now we should be prepared to see DA being wowed :lol


Beautiful photo, Pannie. <Kiss. Kiss.>. . .

Dark Angel's 'wowed' every time he shines my tiara for me with his Wagner table cloth- and thanks me for being allowed to do so. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha.

I'm just kidding, D.A.- I'd never allow a silken Wagner table cloth to touch my Callas headpiece.


----------



## DarkAngel

Panorama said:


> Announcing the arrival of Her Eminence in all sparkles and glamour
> 
> (Many thanks for the tip, Marschallin dear, I finally got the hang of it; Now we should be prepared to see DA being wowed :lol





> Dark Angel's 'wowed' every time he shines my tiara for me with his Wagner table cloth- and thanks me for being allowed to do so. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha.
> 
> I'm just kidding, D.A.- I'd never allow a silken Wagner table cloth to touch my Callas headpiece.


I am gladly Marschallin's servant.............as long as the great pix and articles keep flowing in massive quantities 

Very nice color portrait there Pan, Maria looks so young and fresh, never seen her hair like that before


----------



## Marschallin Blair

DarkAngel said:


> I am gladly Marschallin's servant.............as long as the great pix and articles keep flowing in massive quantities
> 
> Very nice color portrait there Pan, Maria looks so young and fresh, never seen her hair like that before


I've never seen that Callas 'picture' before.

Where'd you get it, Pan?


----------



## Tietjens Stolz

Marschallin Blair said:


> I've never seen that Callas 'picture' before.
> 
> Where'd you get it, Pan?


Pinterest.  And I got another one with our diva donning the same hairstyle :


----------



## Marschallin Blair

Panorama said:


> Pinterest.  And I got another one with our diva donning the same hairstyle :


I love Maria- of course- but I'm afraid to say that I don't like her hair short (for the most part) or coiffed like that.

Lovely photo all the same, SuperPanorama Darling. _;D_


----------



## Tietjens Stolz

Marschallin Blair said:


> I love Maria- of course- but I'm afraid to say that I don't like her hair short (for the most part) or coiffed like that.













She got a bit more adventurous than before with her hairstyle during the seemingly endless series of concert tours in 1959 as a prima donna without a house (borrowing a chapter title from Jurgen Kesting's biography).


----------



## Marschallin Blair

Panorama said:


> She got a bit more adventurous than before with her hairstyle during the seemingly endless series of concert tours in 1959 as a prima donna without a house (borrowing a chapter title from Jurgen Kesting's biography).


Love it, Pannie. . .

Maria has gloriously dark and thick hair- I always love it when she kept it longer and used it to her advantage.


----------



## DarkAngel

Marschallin Blair said:


> Love it, Pannie. . .
> 
> Maria has gloriously dark and thick hair- I always love it when she kept it longer and used it to her advantage.




Anything to please my devoted Marschallin.............


----------



## Marschallin Blair

DarkAngel said:


> Anything to please my devoted Marschallin.............


Awwwwwwwww. . . you're too sweet. I'm touched. <Kiss.> <Interlude of Wagner music from Wotan's farewell scene.>

(I'm not a straight-up b**ch or anything- at least not at the moment- but I 'hate' smoking though. _;D_ Divina's so fab though that I can even forget it for the sake of her smile.)


----------



## Tietjens Stolz

Maria: "This way, camera crew, zoom in on my long silky black hair!" 

(La Traviata in Dallas, Oct/Nov 1958)


----------



## Tietjens Stolz

This is becoming addictive......once you got the hang of pinning up big images, you feel like pinning more and more. :lol:

Two photos of Maria as *Violetta in Mexico City, 1951*:


----------



## Tietjens Stolz

Panorama said:


>


A few years later, a much slimmer Maria recycled this black-lace crinoline gown for the Red Cross Ball in Milan in Feb 1956 :


----------



## gardibolt

Lol not the most flattering glasses, Maria.


----------



## Tietjens Stolz

gardibolt said:


> Lol not the most flattering glasses, Maria.


A prom gives plenty of allowance for bold and adventurous fashion statement, including the whacky, the bizarre and the exotic.


----------



## Marschallin Blair

gardibolt said:


> *Lol not the most flattering glasses, Maria.*


'Glasses'?

Its an 'optical illusion.'

She was 'framed.'


----------



## Marschallin Blair

Panorama said:


> *A prom gives plenty of allowance for bold and adventurous fashion statement, including the whacky, the bizarre and the exotic. *


I agree.

. . . . . but Maria needs bigger hair to go with that headpiece.










Then again, this would make her the Queen of Castro Street and not the Queen of Sheeba.


----------



## Marschallin Blair

_Callas in Mexico Part I: May-June 1950_


----------



## Marschallin Blair




----------



## Marschallin Blair




----------



## Tietjens Stolz

Marschallin Blair said:


>


Fabulous! Thank you for keeping the Callas bullions coming in. :tiphat:

This picture reminds one so much of a Da Vinci creation, with Maria looking so much like a Da Vinci donna.


----------



## Marschallin Blair

*


Panorama said:



Fabulous! Thank you for keeping the Callas bullions coming in. :tiphat:

This picture reminds one so much of a Da Vinci creation, with Maria looking so much like a Da Vinci donna. 

Click to expand...

*She's a Diva, Pannie. _;DDD_










- and since you mention 'Callas' and 'Renaissance art'- I've always wondered how awesome she would have done La Musica from Monteverdi's _L'Orfeo_. Natalie Desssay's great- but Callas would be the Sexy Sultry Birth of Venus Itself.










(Pann, if you don't have this- get it. I think you'll like it.)


----------



## DarkAngel

Panorama said:


> A prom gives plenty of allowance for bold and adventurous fashion statement, including the whacky, the bizarre and the exotic.


Lets not forget the matching maxi cape, and the must have accessory..........a couple boy toys to help move about


----------



## DarkAngel

Marschallin the backstory to those Mexico performances with clashing of personalities is just so rich......I am glad we have many Mexico operas recorded so I can hear all those "mistakes" and exaggerations by Maria I love so much, even if she herself later termed them the "wildcat" days they are priceless bold artistic statements we will never hear today............

I like when Kurt Baum told Maria she would never sing in USA for that upstaging in Aida, yeah right buddy....Kurt who?

Bow before your goddess fool.......


----------



## Tietjens Stolz

DarkAngel said:


> Lets not forget the matching maxi cape, and the must have accessory..........a couple boy toys to help move about


Yessss! That's the picture I have been looking desperately for, but in vain. Thanks DA for finding and posting it. :tiphat:

Here is something even better, lasting only 34 seconds but with enough film footages to wow you and Marschallin dear :






The disgusting Elsa Maxwell tries to masquerade as Mary Queen of Scots, but ending up playing her ever frumpy, old hag self.


----------



## Tietjens Stolz

DarkAngel said:


> Marschallin the backstory to those Mexico performances with clashing of personalities to just so rich......I am so glad we have many recorded so I can hear all those "mistakes" and exaggerations by Maria I love so much, even if she herself later termed them the "wildcat" days they are priceless bold artistic statements we will never hear today............


Maria under-described herself. She was no mere "wildcat" at all, but a vocal Godzilla in those vocally halcyon years of hers. 

This photo put up by our priceless Plummie is simply priceless :










Yes, Kurt who? Even among the very few who know him today, he is remembered virtually only as the arrogant, self-important tenor to whom Maria taught a lesson in humility by singing that audience-flooring E flat. :lol:


----------



## Marschallin Blair

DarkAngel said:


> Marschallin the backstory to those Mexico performances with clashing of personalities is just so rich......I am glad we have many Mexico operas recorded so I can hear all those "mistakes" and exaggerations by Maria I love so much, even if she herself later termed them the "wildcat" days they are priceless bold artistic statements we will never hear today............
> 
> *I like when Kurt Baum told Maria she would never sing in USA for that upstaging in Aida, yeah right buddy....Kurt who?*
> 
> Bow before your goddess fool.......


^ Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. - I've always loved that quote of his. Who's he fooling?

- Kurt 'who'?

- Kurt 'what'?

- Kurt 'who cares'?

Most fifties singing is but a footnote (or actually in Baum's case: a "foot stool,") to Callas.


----------



## Tietjens Stolz

*Callas as Tosca, Teatro Carlo Felice, Genova, March 1954*

...... about half-a-year after she made that classic EMI recording with Pippo, Tito and Victor. 

(Re-post of images posted by Annie on "New Callas Box" thread months ago)





































~More below~


----------



## Tietjens Stolz

~More below~


----------



## Tietjens Stolz

There's the dagger......










Surrounded by husband and admirers:


----------



## Marschallin Blair

^ _Brava_, Pannie.


----------



## Tietjens Stolz

Marschallin Blair said:


> ^ _Brava_, Pannie.


----------



## Marschallin Blair

Panorama said:


>


^Pannie, TC isn't working right for ""some"" reason.

I can't 'like' this with a click- as my 'like function' has been disabled.

But I of course I 'like' your Callas picture.

- So all I can do is to kiss your cheek.


----------



## Viardots

All I can say is wow, and countless thanks (with hugs and kisses) for all that plumblossom, Marschallin and Panorama dears have been doing. This is wonderful. 'Like' is not enough. I LOVE everything you all have done. :tiphat: :kiss:


----------



## Viardots

*Callas debut in Paris 1958 to be reissued on blueray disc by Warner*

Also posted on "New Callas Box" thread.










Warner is set to reissue the film of Callas' debut in Paris in December 1958 on blue ray disc on November 13.

The news has just been revealed by HMV Japan. Believe major retail outlets like amazon and Presto Classical will follow up sooner or later.


----------



## Viardots

*Callas at CG (1962&1964) and Hamburg (1959&1962) also to be reissued on blue-ray*

Also posted on "New Callas Box" thread.



















Missed them out earlier. So it's confirmed that Warner is reissuing all filmed Callas in the EMI backcatalogue on blue-ray discs.

All set to be released on November 13, as revealed by HMV Japan. Other major retail outlets would most certainly confirm the release date sooner or later.


----------



## DarkAngel

anniefischerfan said:


> All I can say is wow, and countless thanks (with hugs and kisses) for all that plumblossom, Marschallin and Panorama dears have been doing.* This is wonderful. 'Like' is not enough. I LOVE everything you all have done*. :tiphat: :kiss:


Annie these guys are providing priceless media of our beloved Maria, I am amazed everyday what they come up with - most images I have never seen before, I love it............
*
They have also provided me an elusive icon to adore, the rare "blonde Callas" of 1954.......*


----------



## Viardots

DarkAngel said:


> * They have also provided me an elusive icon to adore, the rare "blonde Callas" of 1954.......*


DA dear, I do have a larger-sized image of that blonde Norma you adore :


----------



## DarkAngel

Panorama said:


> ~More below~


Pan I can only imagine what that magnificent outfit with floral print would look like in full blown vibrant color, now that is how a diva makes an entrance - *Mario, Mario, Mario........

*I love the dramatic bonnet and the fancy "dandy" cane with silk ribbon, what a facial expression......*let the diva sing!!!!

*


> DA dear, I do have a larger-sized image of that blonde Norma you adore
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> :


Yes, yes, yessssssssssssssssssss...........


----------



## Tsaraslondon

DarkAngel said:


> Pan I can only imagine what that magnificent outfit with floral print would look like in full blown vibrant color, now that is how a diva makes an entrance - *Mario, Mario, Mario........
> 
> *I love the dramatic bonnet and the fancy "dandy" cane with silk ribbon, what a facial expression......*let the diva sing!!!!
> 
> *
> 
> Yes, yes, yessssssssssssssssssss...........


Actually, though, this is not the Tosca I treasure. By the time of the Covent Garden production she and Zeffirelli have got rid of the cane and the hat, and we have a much more womanly and feminine Tosca.










To quote Zeffirelli,

_For my conception of Tosca - and how quickly Maria grasped the idea and brought it to life - I wanted her played as an exuberant, warm-hearted, rather sloppy, casual woman, a kind of Magnani of her time. She was not to be sophisticated and elegant. How I hate the posey-lady, grand-diva Tosca who arrives with four dozen roses, a walking stick, wearing a large hat with feathers, gloves - impeccably dressed as if she were going to visit the Queen or the Pope. Tosca was never like that!_

This is one of the reasons Callas's Covent Garden Tosca was such a revelation. Nobody had done it like that before.


----------



## DarkAngel

GregMitchell said:


> Actually, though, this is not the Tosca I treasure. By the time of the Covent Garden sessions she and Zeffirelli have got rid of the cane and the hat, and we have a much more womanly and feminine Tosca.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> To quote Zeffirelli,
> 
> _For my conception of Tosca - and how quickly Maria grasped the idea and brought it to life - I wanted her played as an exuberant, warm-hearted, rather sloppy, casual woman, a kind of Magnani of her time. She was not to be sophisticated and elegant. How I hate the posey-lady, grand-diva Tosca who arrives with four dozen roses, a walking stick, wearing a large hat with feathers, gloves - impeccably dressed as if she were going to visit the Queen or the Pope. Tosca was never like that!_
> 
> This is one of the reasons Callas's Covent Garden Tosca was such a revelation. Nobody had done it like that before.


Good observation Greg

Very interesting contrasts in production style for how Tosca dresses for Zeffirelli, I am thinking when she first enters the church as the prima donna of the opera that will sing that night she can be more dramatically attired, she is proud confident full of life everything is going her way, but as opera progresses and her situation becomes more dire her costume can also reflect that emotional transition and be scaled back.....

Regardless of how she appears during her entrance I just want to see a color pix of that outfit Pan gave us........


----------



## Marschallin Blair

anniefischerfan said:


> All I can say is wow, and countless thanks (with hugs and kisses) for all that plumblossom, Marschallin and Panorama dears have been doing. This is wonderful. 'Like' is not enough. I LOVE everything you all have done. :tiphat: :kiss:


. . . and I love the anniefischerfan posts- and our visits.

Come back <_caesura_> 'often.' <Kiss on the cheek.>


----------



## Tsaraslondon

DarkAngel said:


> Good observation Greg
> 
> Very interesting contrasts in production style for how Tosca dresses for Zeffirelli, I am thinking when she first enters the church as the prima donna of the opera that will sing that night she can be more dramatically attired, she is proud confident full of life everything is going her way, but as opera progresses and her situation becomes more dire her costume can also reflect that emotional transition and be scaled back.....
> 
> Regardless of how she appears during her entrance I just want to see a color pix of that outfit........


I don't see that Zeffirelli's conception makes her any less proud, confident and full of life. On the contrary it shows a woman completely at ease with herself and her sexuality. Zeffirelli also said that his Tosca would have risen late, dressed quickly and grabbed whatever flowers she could find, thinking only of rushing to meet her lover. It makes perfect sense to me.

The hat and cane thing was the way Tosca had always been portrayed, prior to Covent Garden 1964 and one should remember that, prior to Covent Garden, Callas had never appeared in a new production, tailored around her gifts. I much prefer the way she is dressed in Zeffirelli's production.


----------



## Marschallin Blair

GregMitchell said:


> I don't see that Zeffirelli's conception makes her any less proud, confident and full of life. On the contrary it shows a woman completely at ease with herself and her sexuality. Zeffirelli also said that his Tosca would have risen late, dressed quickly and grabbed whatever flowers she could find, thinking only of rushing to meet her lover. It makes perfect sense to me.
> 
> The hat and cane thing was the way Tosca had always been portrayed, prior to Covent Garden 1964 and one should remember that, prior to Covent Garden, Callas had never appeared in a new production, tailored around her gifts. I much prefer the way she is dressed in Zeffirelli's production.


That's why it has much more (visual) allure for me as well.


----------



## Azol

*The Diva Standard. Still.*



> She was the most influential singer of the twentieth century, and her influence is still felt today. MARIA CALLAS changed the way we listen to opera-and charged the ambition of the singers who followed her.


http://www.operanews.com/Opera_News_Magazine/2015/11/Features/The_Diva_Standard__Still_.html


----------



## Viardots

Azol said:


> *The Diva Standard. Still.*
> 
> http://www.operanews.com/Opera_News_Magazine/2015/11/Features/The_Diva_Standard__Still_.html


Many thanks for sharing Azol. :tiphat:

For easier reading, I am reproducing the entire article together with the pictures in the "New Callas Box" thread.


----------



## Antony

Thank you very much for such treasures, especially Marschallin and Plumblossom 
Whenever you travel to Montreal, Canada, I'll happily be your local guide. 

My most favourite quote of Callas
Rules? Don't tell me about rules, dear. Wherever I stay, I set the goddamn rules!


----------



## Green pasture

Annie, Pannie and Antony darlings, I thank you with hugs and kisses for your sen-ti-men-tal intoxication as well as for Annie and Pannie's wonderful contribution to this gallery. :kiss: :kiss:


----------



## Green pasture

*Callas as La Gioconda through the years 1947-1953*

Coming back briefly to post this. _;D_

Maria and La Gioconda are closely associated with each other. It was the role of her debut in Italy (she also met her hubby-to-be Giovanni Battista Meneghini at that point in time). She made her first complete opera recording singing this role. Her second recording, made for EMI in 1959, served for her as a symbol of the break-up of her marriage with Meneghini and the beginning of her relationship with that gangster Onassis. Strangely, La Gioconda didn't really play a major role in her entire career. She stopped singing it on stage after her last stage performance in this role, taking place at La Scala in Dec 1952-Jan 1953.

Her debut in Italy, August 1947, Arena Verona:

With fellow cast members, including Carlo Tagliabue, Elena Nicolai and Richard Tucker:










On stage:



















With Queen Elizabeth II's cousin Lord Harewood, who was to become her long-time faithful friend and admirer and a tireless champion of her legacy after her death, as well as Aldo Fedeli, the Mayor of Verona:










~Continued below ^^~


----------



## Green pasture

Reprising her portrayal at the Arena Verona in Jul 1952, not long before she went to the studio to record the entire opera for Cetra (her first complete opera recording):

With fellow cast members and conductor Antonino Votto:










On stage:










Curtain call:










~Continued below~


----------



## Green pasture

~Continued below~


----------



## Green pasture

Her last stage performance of the role at La Scala, Dec 1952-Jan 1953, with a stellar cast that included "Pippo" Giuseppe di Stefano as Enzo. But it was overshadowed by her sensational Lady Macbeth which opened the season. Moreover, it was not broadcast.














































~Continued below^^~


----------



## Green pasture

Curtain calls:




























~Finished ^^~


----------



## Green pasture

Marschallin Blair said:


>


Absolutely LOooooooVE the posting on Maria's first Mexico City season Marschallin darling <hugs and kisses> :kiss: _;D_.

That house de-ci-ma-ting E flat at the close of Act 2 in Aida continues to be a thing of wonder much talked about. But for me what truly stands out from this Mexico season is her Lady Leonora in Il Trovatore (her very first). What a vibrant, passionate, heart-rending portrayal! In both voice and looks she IS the aristocratic noble lady in King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella's court.


----------



## Marschallin Blair

plumblossom said:


> Absolutely LOooooooVE the posting on Maria's first Mexico City season Marschallin darling <hugs and kisses> :kiss: _;D_.
> 
> That house de-ci-ma-ting E flat at the close of Act 2 in Aida continues to be a thing of wonder much talked about. But for me what truly stands out from this Mexico season is her Lady Leonora in Il Trovatore (her very first). What a vibrant, passionate, heart-rending portrayal! In both voice and looks she IS the aristocratic noble lady in King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella's court.


Good morning, Plummie Queen!!!! May I kiss you on the mouth for your infectious enthusiasm and superb taste?- my weakness is vivacity and beauty, afterall.


----------



## Marschallin Blair

Thanks for sharing that beautiful breakdown of Callas' _Gioconda_, plummie.

Have you ever come across Lord Harewood's memoirs-_ The Tongs and the Bones_?

He talks about when he first saw Callas' _Gioconda_- they were both twenty-three at the time.

He said that the power and flexibility of her voice was revelatory- and that she was singing to a sold out audience of twenty-five THOUSAND people.

Ponder that.

The gigantic Tokyo Dome- where they have those gigantic MMA Pride events- holds, I believe twenty-seven thousand- and anyone who address the audience from the center of the ring of course does so with a microphone.

No microphone was needed for Callas' 'Megaphone-of-Mars' _Gioconda_ though.


----------



## Green pasture

Marschallin Blair said:


> Good morning, Plummie Queen!!!! May I kiss you on the mouth for your infectious enthusiasm and superb taste?- my weakness is vivacity and beauty, afterall.













Thank you with hugs and kisses again Marschallin darling :kiss: A truly lovely way to begin a beautiful morning your time. _;DDD_


----------



## Tsaraslondon

Marschallin Blair said:


> Thanks for sharing that beautiful breakdown of Callas' _Gioconda_, plummie.
> 
> Have you ever come across Lord Harewood's memoirs-_ The Tongs and the Bones_?
> 
> He talks about when he first saw Callas' _Gioconda_- they were both twenty-three at the time.
> 
> He said that the power and flexibility of her voice was revelatory- and that she was singing to a sold out audience of twenty-five THOUSAND people.
> 
> Ponder that.
> 
> The gigantic Tokyo Dome- where they have those gigantic MMA Pride events- holds, I believe twenty-seven thousand- and anyone who address the audience from the center of the ring of course does so with a microphone.
> 
> No microphone was needed for Callas' 'Megaphone-of-Mars' _Gioconda_ though.


I have that Lord Harewood book, and it makes very interesting reading.


----------



## Marschallin Blair

Antony said:


> Thank you very much for such treasures, especially Marschallin and Plumblossom
> Whenever you travel to Montreal, Canada, I'll happily be your local guide.
> 
> My most favourite quote of Callas
> Rules? Don't tell me about rules, dear. Wherever I stay, I set the goddamn rules!


Anthony, you're a Dear. _;D_

- But if you ever want to stand on giant's shoulders though in learning All Things Callas- you owe it to yourself to consult all of the Callasiana TC backlog by Greg Mitchell.

Speaking for myself, I never learned so much so quick about Divina's _oeuvre _as I did by reading his posts.

_*Everyone *_at the Callas Peerage brings Beauty to the table with their postings- and I kiss each and every one of you. Repeatedly. <Mwwwwwwwah!> <Moue.>

But Greg really does deserve the crown.


----------



## Green pasture

Marschallin Blair said:


> Thanks for sharing that beautiful breakdown of Callas' _Gioconda_, plummie.
> 
> Have you ever come across Lord Harewood's memoirs-_ The Tongs and the Bones_?
> 
> He talks about when he first saw Callas' _Gioconda_- they were both twenty-three at the time.
> 
> He said that the power and flexibility of her voice was revelatory- and that she was singing to a sold out audience of twenty-five THOUSAND people.
> 
> Ponder that.
> 
> The gigantic Tokyo Dome- where they have those gigantic MMA Pride events- holds, I believe twenty-seven thousand- and anyone who address the audience from the center of the ring of course does so with a microphone.
> 
> No microphone was needed for Callas' 'Megaphone-of-Mars' _Gioconda_ though.












The late Earl of Harewood (here with his cousin Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II) is a true royalty in birth (his mother being the only sister of King George VI - Queen Elizabeth's father - and the Duke of Windsor, Mary the Princess Royal and only daughter of King George V and Queen Mary), artistic leanings and taste. _;D_

I will dig out and post that article from MCIC magazine on extracts from his memoir. _;D_


----------



## Marschallin Blair

GregMitchell said:


> I have that Lord Harewood book, and it makes very interesting reading.


I confess that I've only read the chapter on Callas so far!!!!!!

Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha.

- You talk about, 'time,' Greg Mitchell- well, I have precious little of it too.


----------



## Marschallin Blair

plumblossom said:


> Thank you with hugs and kisses again Marschallin darling :kiss: A truly lovely way to begin a beautiful morning your time. _;DDD_


What time is it where you're at?

I'm PST in Southern California- so its 6:45 AM where I am.


----------



## Green pasture

Marschallin Blair said:


> What time is it where you're at?
> 
> I'm PST in Southern California- so its 6:45 AM where I am.


Late Saturday night in Callasovia _;DDD _


----------



## Green pasture

*Quotations on Callas from the late Earl of Harewood's memoir*

The Maria Callas International Club Magazine reproduced extensive quotations devoted to the late Earl of Harewood's encounter and long-time friendship with La Divina from his memoir _The Tongs and the Bones _(Issue 64, nicely complementing Peter Mul's feature article on Callas and La Gioconda in the same issue). _;D_














































…Continued below ^^…


----------



## Green pasture

…Completed ^^…

Also posting the article to the "New Callas Box" thread. I know that RES has been lurking around the thread from time to time even if he does not log in. Posting the article there would entice him to leave a comment or two. _;DDD_


----------



## Marschallin Blair

> plumblossom: Also posting the article to the "New Callas Box" thread. I know that RES has been lurking around the thread from time to time even if he does not log in. Posting the article there would entice him to leave a comment or two.


_I MISS RES!!! _He's the Lord of all things archival and technical. I wish he would come back.

(Do you hear that, RES?- I'm not going to beg. . . . . . . . . . only table dance _;D_)










. . .and sugar-plum kisses to plummie for the excellent post, OF COURSE.


----------



## DarkAngel

Thanks again to Plum for those Gioconda pix, amazing stuff as usual

I do wish that Maria was given some better costumes for the production, look at the outfit Tebaldi got for her Gioconda...........yeah I know the singing is what counts, but you want to look fabulous also right?


----------



## Green pasture

DarkAngel said:


> Thanks again to Plum for those Gioconda pix, amazing stuff as usual
> 
> I do wish that Maria was given some better costumes for the production, look at the outfit Tebaldi got for her Gioconda...........yeah I know the singing is what counts, but you want to look fabulous also right?


Perhaps Maria wanted to look more realistic as the poor, anguished, jilted street singer in 17th century Venice. _;D_

Whereas Renata looks more like a dazzling and sparkling Prom Queen. _;DDD_


----------



## DarkAngel

plumblossom said:


> Perhaps Maria wanted to look more realistic as the poor, anguished, jilted street singer in 17th century Venice. _;D_
> 
> Whereas Renata looks more like a dazzling and sparkling Prom Queen. _;DDD_


Yes you have a point, but I wonder what the time lapse is between the glitzy party at the palace and when Gioconda finally meets barnaba and kills herself, I believe there is some notation about Gioconda wearing a lot of jewels in final scence so perhaps she is dressed in her best clothing.........Rosa Ponselle also looks like very fancy dressed gioconda


----------



## Green pasture

DarkAngel said:


> Yes you have a point, but I wonder what the time lapse is between the glitzy party at the palace and when Gioconda finally meets barnaba and kills herself, I believe there is some notation about Gioconda wearing a lot of jewels in final scence so perhaps she is dressed in her best clothing.........Rosa Ponselle also looks like very fancy dressed gioconda


















Zinka Milanov in Act 3 (left) and Act 4 (right) of La Gioconda at the Met.

Yes, I virtually forgot that Gioconda has to dress like a prom queen in the party at the doge's palace in Act 3. Thanks for reminding me DarkAngie. _;D_

It could be possible, in terms of production and direction, that Gioconda puts on her Act 3 make-up, jewels and dress at the very end of Act 4 (the point where she kills herself in front of Barnaba).


----------



## Green pasture

*Callas as Maddalena di Coigny in Andrea Chénier, La Scala, Jan-Feb 1955*

The second last time Maria sang on stage with her hair dyed blonde ;D.

She was originally due to sing in Il Trovatore. But a whimsical and jealous Mario del Monaco tried to upstage her by asking Ghiringhelli to change the opera to Andrea Chénier, claiming that he was "not well enough to sing the demanding role of Manrico." Del Monaco calculated that Maria would not touch the role of Maddalena di Coigny, a well-known vehicle for Tebaldi. Undaunted, Maria learnt the role in five days. Still, it is an oddity in her career, and the role is rather unrewarding for her enormous talent.










The program:










With Aldo Protti's Gerard:










The party at the Countess of Coigny's palace:










With Silvana Zanolli (Bersi) and Maria Amadini (Countess of Coigny)










…Continued below ^^…


----------



## Green pasture

Act 3:










With Aldo Protti:










Curtain call with Mario del Monaco:










Receiving hugs and congratulations from the composer's widow, Sara Giordano:










With conductor Antonino Votto and Mario del Monaco:


----------



## Green pasture

More image from Act 1, the beautiful, rich, spoilt Mademoiselle di Coigny _;D_:










With Mario del Monaco in Act 1:


----------



## Marschallin Blair

> plumblossom: ". . . the beautiful, rich, spoilt Mademoiselle di Coigny. . ."


"Beautiful, rich, and spoiled". . . I'll take it.

Put a grosgrain Chanel ribbon on it- 'to go'. . .

Great posts, plum.

<KIIIIiiiiiiiiiissssssssss.>


----------



## Antony

Please allow me to open a parenthesis in the middle of this wonderful thread. Because I have a ...funny story related to Callas to share with you 

This morning I participated to the strike ordered by my Union. I did not want to and I let it know in the meeting. But majority always rules. So I had to do it for the sake of solidarity with esteemed colleagues. 

I went to the strike with my iPod. Plug the earphones on and selected La Traviata with Callas ..and here I went, happily on strike. After awhile, so focus in the opera, I forgot about the strike while waving the banner. As you know at the end, Violetta drops dead at the pounding dramatic accords, I shouted - no, no, Maria, don't die ,please !!!... Gosh, people suddenly stopped and called in the ambulance !!!

In the afternoon, I put on Tosca , with Callas too. Coming to the scene when Tosca stabs Baron Scarpia, I suddenly shouted, again - Stab him, Maria, stab the f.... pervert - Guess what? It happened when I shouted, the union representative , a woman btw, was speaking with the company...

You imagine the effect !!!!


----------



## Marschallin Blair

Antony said:


> Please allow me to open a parenthesis in the middle of this wonderful thread. Because I have a ...funny story related to Callas to share with you
> 
> This morning I participated to the strike ordered by my Union. I did not want to and I let it know in the meeting. But majority always rules. So I had to do it for the sake of solidarity with esteemed colleagues.
> 
> I went to the strike with my iPod. Plug the earphones on and selected La Traviata with Callas ..and here I went, happily on strike. After awhile, so focus in the opera, I forgot about the strike while waving the banner. As you know at the end, Violetta drops dead at the pounding dramatic accords, I shouted - no, no, Maria, don't die ,please !!!... Gosh, people suddenly stopped and called in the ambulance !!!
> 
> In the afternoon, I put on Tosca , with Callas too. Coming to the scene when Tosca stabs Baron Scarpia, I suddenly shouted, again - Stab him, Maria, stab the f.... pervert - Guess what? It happened when I shouted, the union representative , a woman btw, was speaking with the company...
> 
> You imagine the effect !!!!


You just 'had to' get that little extra bit of attention, didn't you?

I salute you. _;D_


----------



## Antony

Dear Marschallin,

You bet  the union asked me to stay at home at the next strike or go to strike WITHOUT opera. 
Hey, that's what I wanted. Go on with your strike if you want to but Leave me alone with my opera and everybody is happy 
See, Callas helped me to release the stress and saved me the ridicule to shout in the middle of the strike 



Marschallin Blair said:


> You just 'had to' get that little extra bit of attention, didn't you?
> 
> I salute you. _;D_


----------



## Antony

Note duly taken. Thank you very much, dear Marschallin 



Marschallin Blair said:


> Anthony, you're a Dear. _;D_
> 
> - But if you ever want to stand on giant's shoulders though in learning All Things Callas- you owe it to yourself to consult all of the Callasiana TC backlog by Greg Mitchell.
> 
> Speaking for myself, I never learned so much so quick about Divina's _oeuvre _as I did by reading his posts.
> 
> _*Everyone *_at the Callas Peerage brings Beauty to the table with their postings- and I kiss each and every one of you. Repeatedly. <Mwwwwwwwah!> <Moue.>
> 
> But Greg really does deserve the crown.


----------



## DarkAngel

plumblossom said:


> The *second last time Maria sang on stage with her hair dyed blonde *;D.
> 
> She was originally due to sing in Il Trovatore. But a *whimsical and jealous Mario del Monaco tried to upstage her *by asking Ghiringhelli to change the opera to Andrea Chénier, claiming that he was "not well enough to sing the demanding role of Manrico." Del Monaco calculated that Maria would not touch the role of Maddelena di Coigny, a well-known vehicle for Tebaldi. Undaunted, Maria learnt the role in five days. Still, it is an oddity in her career, and the role is rather unrewarding for her enormous talent.


Many thanks madame Plum, yet more rare blonde Callas to treasure................

What can you tell us about Del Monaco jealousy? I assumed they worked well together, was he jealous of Di Stephano getting all the prime roles with Maria? Did he want all the attention and jealous of Maria's audience mania?

Notice how Maria needs no phony blonde aristocratic wig, such rare platinum beauty shines brightly (Marschallin so jealous ha ha)


----------



## Marschallin Blair

*


Antony said:



Dear Marschallin,

You bet  the union asked me to stay at home at the next strike or go to strike WITHOUT opera. 
Hey, that's what I wanted. Go on with your strike if you want to but Leave me alone with my opera and everybody is happy 
See, Callas helped me to release the stress and saved me the ridicule to shout in the middle of the strike 

Click to expand...

*
I'm so glad to hear it.

It's all about being an individual.

I think Kierkegaard nailed it when he said that "the crowd is untruth."


----------



## Marschallin Blair

DarkAngel said:


> Many thanks madame Plum, yet more rare blonde Callas to treasure................
> 
> What can you tell us about Del Monaco jealousy? I assumed they worked well together, was he jealous of Di Stephano getting all the prime roles with Maria? Did he want all the attention and jealous of Maria's audience mania?
> 
> Notice how Maria needs phony blonde aristocratic wig, *such platinum beauty shines brightly (Marschallin so jealous ha ha)
> *





















But Dark Angel, I positively 'welcome' her to the Peerage.


----------



## Tietjens Stolz

> I positively 'welcome' her to the Peerage.


Thus says Queen Marie Antoinette:


----------



## Marschallin Blair

*


Panorama said:



Thus says Queen Marie Antoinette: 

Click to expand...

*










You didn't think my distant cousin was me, did you?- my hair is _way_ huger.


----------



## Green pasture

Panorama said:


> Thus says Queen Marie Antoinette.


Pannie darling, it's actually Marschallin darling 'masquerading' as her distant cousin Marie Antoinette. _;DDD_

Shall we go back to Maria? My storage of blonde Callas pix are running low after the Andrea Chenier gallery. I will need to look for new sources to replenish the storage. _;D_


----------



## Marschallin Blair

*


plumblossom said:



Pannie darling, it's actually Marschallin darling 'masquerading' as her distant cousin Marie Antoinette. ;DDD

Shall we go back to Maria?

Click to expand...

*You're right.

When I'm all dolled-up, I sometimes forget, myself.

Thank God there's smart Queens like yourself to remind me. . .

But you're right, we're all _dames d'honneur_ before _La Divina_.


----------



## The Conte

Antony said:


> Please allow me to open a parenthesis in the middle of this wonderful thread. Because I have a ...funny story related to Callas to share with you
> 
> This morning I participated to the strike ordered by my Union. I did not want to and I let it know in the meeting. But majority always rules. So I had to do it for the sake of solidarity with esteemed colleagues.
> 
> I went to the strike with my iPod. Plug the earphones on and selected La Traviata with Callas ..and here I went, happily on strike. After awhile, so focus in the opera, I forgot about the strike while waving the banner. As you know at the end, Violetta drops dead at the pounding dramatic accords, I shouted - no, no, Maria, don't die ,please !!!... Gosh, people suddenly stopped and called in the ambulance !!!
> 
> In the afternoon, I put on Tosca , with Callas too. Coming to the scene when Tosca stabs Baron Scarpia, I suddenly shouted, again - Stab him, Maria, stab the f.... pervert - Guess what? It happened when I shouted, the union representative , a woman btw, was speaking with the company...
> 
> You imagine the effect !!!!


So your colleagues have all now left the Union and have invested in the latest Callas remastered box set to see what all the fuss is about?

N.


----------



## Green pasture

*EMI Recording session for I Pagliacci, June 1954*

For DarkAngie darling's insatiable appetite for the blonde Callas, here are pictures from the recording session for I Pagliacci in June 1954. _;DDD_

With Giuseppe di Stefano, Rolando Panerai, Tito Gobbi, Nicola Monti, Tullio Serafin: 









With Giuseppe di Stefano:


















With Nicola Monti, Tito Gobbi and Giuseppe di Stefano:









With Antonio Tonini and Giuseppe di Stefano:


----------



## Green pasture

*EMI recording session for La Forza del Destino, August 1954*

More blonde Callas from the summer of 1954. _;DDD_










With Carlo Tagliabue, Plinio Clabassi, Elena Nicolai and Gino del Signore:









With Gino del Signore:









With Tullio Serafin, Walter Legge, Richard Tucker and Nicola Rossi-Lemeni:









With Walter Legge:


----------



## Green pasture

Ok my storage of blonde Callas pix is really running low now. Hopefully Marschallin darling could supply more from your larger MCIC collection in order to keep our blonde connoisseur DarkAngie darling happy and satisfied. _;D_


----------



## Marschallin Blair

plumblossom said:


> Ok my storage of blonde Callas pix is really running low now. Hopefully Marschallin darling could supply more from your larger MCIC collection in order to keep our blonde connoisseur DarkAngie darling happy and satisfied. _;D_


I'll look, plum.

I do have all of the MCIC back issues- but I think you pretty much canvassed and posted all of the blonde Callas pictures- I'll double check though.

I like blonde too- for obvious reasons.


----------



## DarkAngel

> For DarkAngie darling's insatiable appetite for the blonde Callas, here are pictures from the recording session for I Pagliacci in June 1954. _;DDD_


^^^^^ Some absolutely adorable rare "blondies" Plum, I am forever in your debt 

Are those pictures of Callas in the kitchen real? I have seen them before but wondered if they are fakes made just for fun, what is the story behind them?


----------



## Green pasture

DarkAngel said:


> ^^^^^ Some absolutely adorable rare "blondies" Plum, I am forever in your debt
> 
> Are those pictures of Callas in the kitchen real? I have seen them before but wondered if they are fakes made just for fun, what is the story behind them?


The blonde-in-the-Kitchen pic was taken at her home with hubby Meneghini in 1954, while the one you have attached to your post was taken in 1957 in the Meneghinis' home in Milan, the Via Buonarroti 40, which they purchased and furnished in 1955. According to Michael Scott, there were tales of Maria's culinary disasters, so it's highly likely that these kitchen pix were made just for the fun of them, while the actual cooking was done by the cooks hired by the Meneghinis. _;DDD_


----------



## Green pasture

plumblossom said:


> Ok my storage of blonde Callas pix is really running low now. Hopefully Marschallin darling could supply more from your larger MCIC collection in order to keep our blonde connoisseur DarkAngie darling happy and satisfied. _;D_


This color pix seems to be suffering from a very peculiar kind of fungus, making it look as though Maria is having another culinary disaster again, with sphaghetti sauce splashed all over herself and the kitchen. ;DDD


----------



## Green pasture

OK, here are two more blondies from Verona 1954, one of them showing Maria's big black poodle. _;D_ With these, I think I have exhausted my blondie storage.


----------



## Marschallin Blair

^ 'Absolutely fabulous,' plummie.

I always loved that top picture of Callas with the plant.

I bet Madonna does too. Ha. Ha. Ha.


----------



## DarkAngel

Marschallin Blair said:


> ^ 'Absolutely fabulous,' plummie.
> 
> I always loved that top picture of Callas with the plant.
> 
> I bet Madonna does too. Ha. Ha. Ha.


Marschallin read my mind, I was thinking that looks like the young "material girl" 1980s

What a snappy polka dot outfit to lounge about the villa in, love the matching b/w pump heels


----------



## Marschallin Blair

DarkAngel said:


> Marschallin read my mind, I was thinking that looks like the young "material girl" 1980s
> 
> What a snappy polka dot outfit to lounge about the villa in, love the matching b/w pump heels


I couldn't agree more, D.A.

Madame Biki's outfits are cute and polished as hell.

_"Madonna Louise Ciccone, ecco la più grande diva di tutti: 'La Divina.'"_


----------



## Viardots

Thanks so much Plumblossom dear again for sharing more Callas visual gems with us. :tiphat::kiss:

Really love your new profile picture of the glamorous Maria with a very interesting hat. What occasion was that? Would you like to share more?


----------



## Balthazar

Marschallin Blair said:


> I couldn't agree more, D.A.
> 
> Madame Biki's outfits are cute and polished as hell.
> 
> _"Madonna Louise Ciccone, ecco la più grande diva di tutti: 'La Divina.'"_


Are you kidding me?

Madonna is way hotter.

She has a sense of humor too...

As do her fans.


----------



## Viardots

Balthazar said:


> Are you kidding me?
> 
> Madonna is way hotter.
> 
> She has a sense of humor too...
> 
> As do her fans.


Maria seemed to have aspired to be a blonde, so she had her hair dyed from mid-1954 to early 1955. But after only about less than a year, she decided that she would fare better as a brunette and being a blonde probably didn't really work well for the roles in her repertoire.

You might be able to enjoy reading the analytical biography _Maria Meneghini Callas_ by Michael Scott, who is possibly the person most disappointed by Maria's weight loss, feeling that her new svelte figure and image from 1954 onwards brought about greater losses than gains for her in the years that followed (and that's the main argument of the book). Scott by the way is actually a quite well-respected and highly knowledgeable writer on history of operatic performances, having authored books no less as _The Record of Singing _and _The Great Caruso_. While I have some reservations about the main argument in his book on Callas, it is at least quite well-supported when seen on its own terms and quite thought-provoking. In general I still regard it as a well-researched work quite worthwhile reading.


----------



## Balthazar

anniefischerfan said:


> Maria seemed to have aspired to be a blonde, so she had her hair dyed from mid-1954 to early 1955. But after only about less than a year, she decided that she would fare better as a brunette and being a blonde probably didn't really work well for the roles in her repertoire.
> 
> You might be able to enjoy reading the analytical biography _Maria Meneghini Callas_ by Michael Scott, who is possibly the person most disappointed by Maria's weight loss, feeling that her new svelte figure and image from 1954 onwards brought about greater losses than gains for her in the years that followed (and that's the main argument of the book). Scott by the way is actually a quite well-respected and highly knowledgeable writer on history of operatic performances, having authored books no less as _The Record of Singing _and _The Great Caruso_. While I have some reservations about the main argument in his book on Callas, it is at least quite well-supported when seen on its own terms and quite thought-provoking. In general I still regard it as a well-researched work quite worthwhile reading.


I appreciate the _non sequitur_, anniefischerfan, but your post does not address Blair's claim that Callas was the greater diva.

As I see it, Callas's version of the diva is more than a bit past its "best by" date - ashen, flabby, and embittered. Madonna brings the diva into the 21st century -- a powerful, independent woman both "on stage and offstage."

I am willing to be convinced otherwise.


----------



## Viardots

Balthazar said:


> I appreciate the _non sequitur_, anniefischerfan, but your post does not address Blair's claim that Callas was the greater diva.
> 
> As I see it, Callas's version of the diva is more than a bit past its "best by" date - ashen, flabby, and embittered. Madonna brings the diva into the 21st century -- a powerful, independent woman both "on stage and offstage."
> 
> I am willing to be convinced otherwise.


All I can say is Callas and Madonna are divas in their respective, chosen fields, genres and careers. In the case of Madonna she is certainly not the only diva in her field (but pls do pardon me, my knowledge of the rock pop genre is meager), and the same applies to Callas (in the Italian repertoire there are also Muzio, Ponselle, Cobelli (relatively much less known because she made only two studio recordings, but a megastar at La Scala in the 1920s and 1930s), Tebaldi, Zeani, Sutherland, Caballe, who are at least of equal stature and wonderful in their own right).

As for Marschallin dear's view, she is an individual and a free spirit and I can never speak on her behalf. Best to leave it to her.


----------



## Balthazar

anniefischerfan said:


> All I can say is Callas and Madonna are divas in their respective, chosen fields, genres and careers. In the case of Madonna she is certainly not the only diva in her field (but pls do pardon me, my knowledge of the rock pop genre is meager), and the same applies to Callas (in the Italian repertoire there are also Muzio, Ponselle, Cobelli (relatively much less known because she made only two studio recordings, but a megastar at La Scala in the 1920s and 1930s), Tebaldi, Zeani, Sutherland, Caballe are at least of equal stature and wonderful in their own right).


A beautiful sentiment, beautifully expressed.

And one with which I wholeheartedly concur.

Thank you for that, anniefischerfan!



> As for Marschallin dear's view, she is an individual and a free spirit and I can never speak on her behalf. Best to leave it to her.


It's anyone's guess how Blair will respond once he gets "in character."


----------



## Viardots

Balthazar said:


> A beautiful sentiment, beautifully expressed.
> 
> And one with which I wholeheartedly concur.
> 
> Thank you for that, anniefischerfan!


You're most welcome. :tiphat:

In the same vein, while I style myself as Annie Fischer fan on TC, I am also fan of other pianistic divas like Clara Haskil, Monique de la Bruchollerie, Maria Yudina, Martha Argerich, and lately Yuja Wang. ;D


----------



## Balthazar

anniefischerfan said:


> You're most welcome. :tiphat:
> 
> In the same vein, while I style myself as Annie Fischer fan on TC, I am also fan of other pianistic divas like Clara Haskil, Monique de la Bruchollerie, Maria Yudina, Martha Argerich, and lately Yuja Wang. ;D


Monique is a new one to me -- I will have to look her up. (thanks again)

I find that the more I know about music the broader and more diverse my tastes become.


----------



## Green pasture

Balthazar said:


> It's anyone's guess how Blair will respond once he gets "in character."


The Feldmarschallin Blair Princess von Werdenberg, with a high reputation in the Austro-Hungarian Empire as a Prom _cum_ Shopaholic Queen, and with a blonde wig much bigger than that of the Honourable Frau Lotte Lehmann's impersonation. 

Like what Annie darling and other visitors to this gallery, let's leave it to the Princess, who has been spending some of her pastime very productively here as co-curator of this gallery when she is not attending to the daily businesses in her palace.


----------



## Green pasture

*Callas in recital at Circolo della Stampa, Napoli, 25 March 1956*

As Annie darling has requested. _;D_

Maria, clad in a fabulous Biki creation with a gorgeous floral hair ornament, sang a recital at the Circolo della Stampa in Naples, after giving a couple of performances as Lucia in the Teatro San Carlo. _;D_


----------



## Tsaraslondon

Balthazar said:


> Are you kidding me?
> 
> Madonna is way hotter.
> 
> She has a sense of humor too...
> 
> As do her fans.


Are you kidding me? Madonna has always struck me as someone who takes herself far too seriously.


----------



## Green pasture

Awful news! The co-curator of this gallery and our ever stylish, ebullient and sparkling Der Feldmarschallin Blair Princess von Werdenberg, not sure whether it has been because her over-ebullience and flair have touched the nerves of the rank and file within the Austro-Hungarian Empire, has been banished yet again by Empress Maria Theresa and her coterie of Ministers and advisers to Outer Mongolia. Really not sure how long the exile is going to last this time.

With the Princess gone yet again, the gallery will lose some sparkle, flair and liveliness. Despite the setback, as curator, I will try as much as possible to keep this gallery alive with more Divina visual gems (as Annie darling puts it) and materials that would invite lively tea-time discussions.


----------



## Green pasture

*EMI recording session for La bohème, Aug-Sep 1956*

The pictures show this to be a pretty happy occasion for all, with Pippo obviously having lots of fun _;D_. It was during this session that Maria became friends with Anna Moffo, whom sang Musetta in the recording. _;D_










With Giuseppe di Stefano, Anna Moffo and Walter Legge:









With Giuseppe di Stefano and Carlo Badioli:









With Nicola Zaccaria:


----------



## Green pasture

*EMI recording session for Manon Lescaut, July 1957*

Taking place after the Cologne performance of La Sonnambula and the EMI recording session for Turandot, almost without break in between. Her return to Greece followed soon after this session. Such unrelentingly punishing schedule can cause fatigue to anyone. One can imagine why she was not in good voice for this session.

With fellow cast members:









With Giuseppe di Stefano and Tullio Serafin in the background:









With Giuseppe di Stefano and two fellow cast members:


----------



## Green pasture

*Studio photos posing as Manon Lescaut*

Maria never sang Manon Lescaut on stage. But for the purpose of adorning the LP set recorded for EMI (delayed, as it turned out, and released only in 1960), she took a series of studio photos dressed-up and posing as Manon. Here're two:


----------



## Tietjens Stolz

plumblossom said:


> Awful news! The co-curator of this gallery and our ever stylish, ebullient and sparkling Der Feldmarschallin Blair Princess von Werdenberg, not sure whether it has been because her over-ebullience and flair have touched the nerves of the rank and file within the Austro-Hungarian Empire, has been banished yet again by Empress Maria Theresa and her coterie of Ministers and advisers to Outer Mongolia.


Oh NOOOOOOO!










Plummie dear, please do carry on with your wonderful work. If you need any help or support, just let us know.


----------



## DarkAngel

plumblossom said:


> The pictures show this to be a pretty happy occasion for all, with Pippo obviously having lots of fun _;D_. It was during this session that Maria became friends with Anna Moffo, whom sang Musetta in the recording. _;D_
> 
> With Giuseppe di Stefano, Anna Moffo and Walter Legge:


I saw that picture and I thought *no way that could be Anna Moffo*........I have never seen her look like that before, but quickie search of internet turned up more "evidence"

How could I ever doubt our masterful curator madame Plummie........


----------



## Green pasture

Here is the picture itself with Anna and Maria chatting over the score. _;D_










Also managed to dig out Anna's recollections on Maria, posted months ago by Annie darling on the "New Callas Box" thread, citing from the _Annual Diva issue_ (Oct 2005) of *Opera News* _;D_:

"The Boheme [recording I made] at La Scala with Callas was a really wonderful experience. She was a fine musician, and she never wanted anything to be the least bit incorrect. [When] we did the third act, I remember she didn't like her "addio", so she did it twenty-four times! One after another - not the whole aria, but most of it. She confirmed what I thought was an ideal approach to music: she was always right on the tone, [and] she was meticulous about agility. As a result of the recording, we became good friends. She was never friends with another soprano [NOTE: Moffo probably meant prominent sopranos in the Italian repertoire whose career overlapped largely with that of Callas], and I attribute that to the fact that I was absolutely no threat to her [laughs]."

"When she was at Covent Garden for that famous run of Toscas, I was there singing Gilda with Solti. I was visiting her in the dressing room on my night off when she grabbed my wrist and squeezed it so hard that I thought she'd stop my circulation. She said, "You don't know yet - you don't understand. I can't do anymore than I'm doing, but they always want more from me. I can't - I can't give anymore."

"When you're a singer, you think you're always competing with the person who hasn't come around the corner yet. That's not true. You're only competing with yourself. I know because it happened to me. Every time you have a successful record, you say, "I don't know if I can do it that perfectly tonight." I think it was very difficult for her at the end of her career, because she was always so perfect, and I really think she suffered, because she knew - she knew everything that was out of place."


----------



## Viardots

plumblossom said:


> Awful news! The co-curator of this gallery and our ever stylish, ebullient and sparkling Der Feldmarschallin Blair Princess von Werdenberg, not sure whether it has been because her over-ebullience and flair have touched the nerves of the rank and file within the Austro-Hungarian Empire, has been banished yet again by Empress Maria Theresa and her coterie of Ministers and advisers to Outer Mongolia. Really not sure how long the exile is going to last this time.
> 
> With the Princess gone yet again, the gallery will lose some sparkle, flair and liveliness. Despite the setback, as curator, I will try as much as possible to keep this gallery alive with more Divina visual gems (as Annie darling puts it) and materials that would invite lively tea-time discussions.


Oh dear!  I don't visit this forum often these days, so I have little idea what happened. Marschallin dear must be feeling terrible being not able to interact with friends on TC for some time to come.

Plumblossom dear, I have my own collection of Callas pictures and if you need anything just let me know. I will be glad to contribute whatever I have to the gallery.


----------



## Green pasture

Pannie and Annie, you two sweeties, warmest Thank YOU for your unwavering enthusiasm. _;D_

Marschallin darling will still be able to see the pictures, but it would be some time before we hear from her again. May her ebullience, style and flair be still with us even if our Prom Queen is far away exiled to Outer Mongolia.


----------



## Antony

plumblossom said:


> Awful news! The co-curator of this gallery and our ever stylish, ebullient and sparkling Der Feldmarschallin Blair Princess von Werdenberg, not sure whether it has been because her over-ebullience and flair have touched the nerves of the rank and file within the Austro-Hungarian Empire, has been banished yet again by *Empress Maria Theresa and her coterie of Ministers and advisers to Outer Mongolia*. Really not sure how long the exile is going to last this time.
> 
> With the Princess gone yet again, the gallery will lose some sparkle, flair and liveliness. Despite the setback, as curator, I will try as much as possible to keep this gallery alive with more Divina visual gems (as Annie darling puts it) and materials that would invite lively tea-time discussions.


Jail the FeldMarschallin !

What an infantile idea
What a heartless, wicked, brainless thing to do
She'll regret it, She'll regret it
It's doomed before they even take the ..stand 

Please her friends, Plummy, send words to the FeldMarschallin that - They can jail a person, never an idea, let alone a person with an ebulient, flair and sparkling spirit like the FeldMarchallin 

May her Royal Highness FeldMarschallin, with her lively spirit, find ..better than Countess Adele


----------



## Green pasture

More blondies for DarkAngie _;D_

A doll on YT named dancedarlingdance (what a cuute name _;DDD_) has painstakingly gathered all pictures depicting the blonde Callas during rehearsal, late Nov - early Dec 1954, for Spontini's *La Vestale*, which opened the 1954-55 season at La Scala. During the rehearsal, two distinguished visitors turned up - Arturo Toscanini and Victor de Sabata. The pictures are shown over Maria's deeply moving rendition of "O nume tutela" from the opening night performance on Dec 7 1954.






But I still think that being a brunette works better for Maria. _;DDD_


----------



## DarkAngel

^^^^ Nice youtube slide show with sound of our "blonde" beauty at work, for full effect you can push the icon in lower right corner for full screen view plus sound, hard to get any work done today........

Such intensity of facial expression for just a rehearsal, imagine the actual performance!

The 54 Chicago Lyric Opera blondies are the most amazing ones for me.......


----------



## Green pasture

*Callas in Chicago III, 1957-8 (from MCIC Magazine Issue 56)*

DarkAngie darling, think it's best if you leave all these after your work. _;DDD_

Here is the third part of (President of the Maria Callas International Club) the Honourable Mr Karl van Zoggel's survey of Maria's sojourns to Chicago, from Issue 56 of the *Maria Callas International Club Magazine*. _;D_ Maria had vowed never to return to Chicago again after the highly traumatic Bagarozy affair during her second visit to the city in Oct-Nov 1955. But in early 1957 and early 1958, she came back for two consecutive benefit concerts for Alliance Française. What enticed her to come back despite the unhappy recent memories of the Bagarozy affair? To find out, just read on. _;D _














































…Continued below ^^…


----------



## Green pasture

…Continued below ^^…


----------



## Green pasture

…Continued below ^^…


----------



## Green pasture

…Finished ^^…


----------



## DarkAngel

*^^^ Ton of great stuff there, many thanks as always Plum* 

What solace for the artistic soul to return to Chicago soon after the disaster of Rome "walk off" Norma to her adoring fans, and again such a tragedy we have no recordings of those 58 Chicago performances.

This is one of my favorite photos of Maria and now fortunately I know the complete backstory of its 58 Chicago origins, elegant designer Biki gown naturally.....yes Maria they still love you!


----------



## Green pasture

Here is a short newsreel documenting Maria's arrival in Chicago on January 17 1958. We should thank all those YT dolls who painstakingly uploaded and shared the Divina audio-visual gems. _;DDD_






For more audio-visual gems, please visit CineteCallas' YT channel _;DDD_:

https://www.youtube.com/user/CineteCallas/videos


----------



## Green pasture

*Callas in Chicago IV, MCIC Magazine Issue 57*

The 4th part of the Honourable Mr Karl van Zoggel's series on Maria's association with the city of Chicago, in Issue 57 of the *Maria Callas International Club Magazine*.

Chicago came into Maria's life two more times: (1) one of the stops in her ill-advised and artistically disastrous farewell concert tour with Giuseppe di Stefano, March 1974; (2) the 4th International Congress of Verdi Studies in Sep 1974, her final appearance in Chicago, but only to talk, not to sing.














































…Continued below…


----------



## Green pasture

…Finished…


----------



## Green pasture

*Callas in Chicago: Postscript, MCIC Magazine Issue 57*

Chicago remembered Maria with love after her death in Sep 1977.


----------



## DarkAngel

^^^^ Some pretty radical thinking there by Maria at the 74 Verdi conference, *poor Tito Gobbi would be shocked *by the comments about "eliminating" some baritone arias, I suppose those were serious comments or was she "crazy like a fox" getting the media hyped up

Sounds like she would also be horrified by the absurd regie theater productions that are forced upon the public today by the uber elite opera intellectuals 








Tito does not approve......


----------



## Tietjens Stolz

DarkAngel said:


> ^^^^ Some pretty radical thinking there by Maria at the 74 Verdi conference, *poor Tito Gobbi would be shocked *by the comments about "eliminating" some baritone arias, I suppose those were serious comments or was she "crazy like a fox" getting the media hyped up.
> 
> .........
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Tito does not approve......


......and Mattia Battistini is rolling in his grave.


----------



## Green pasture

DarkAngel said:


> Sounds like she would also be horrified by the absurd regie theater productions that are forced upon the public today by the uber elite opera intellectuals


I have a feeling that if she lives the prime of her life in the present times, she would probably seriously consider switching her career path to become a pianist instead of an opera singer (given the fact that she was also an accomplished pianist). _;DDD_


----------



## Green pasture

*Anna Moffo on Maria Callas, MCIC Issue 41*

Anna Moffo is a real doll. _;DDD_ Yes, she just nailed it. There is simply no better single word to sum up Maria's artistry and musicianship - intensity (THUMB'S UP). _;D_










A big THANK YOU too to the Honourable Mr Karl van Zoggel, President of the Maria Callas International Club, another real doll, for all the MCIC Magazine bullions. Simply wonderful to have all the back issues. Though I can never replace our sorely missed Der Feldmarschallin Blair as Shopaholic Queen._;DDD_


----------



## Green pasture

*Dinner party after the recital in Dallas, Nov 21, 1957*

Originally belonging to the collection of Robert Clark, published in Issue 27 of the Maria Callas International Club Magazine. What a party! _;DDD_



















...Continued ^^...


----------



## Green pasture

...Finished ^^...


----------



## DarkAngel

^^^ I always wondered why of all places Maria would have live recordings in Dallas (medea etc) then in an earlier article here about 54 Chicago Lyric performances it was mentioned that Nicola Rescigno co-founder/artistic director of Lyric 1954-56 was leaving Chicago after dispute with management to accept director position in Dallas 1957, *obviously his friendship with Maria was able to convince her* to perform with him at the big "D" Dallas Opera

Interesting Rescigno was born in New York city, so Maria also has that in common with Nicola


----------



## Viardots

plumblossom said:


> ...Finished ^^...


Wow, this is a much better-quality copy of the picture than the one I have (scanned from the booklet of EMI's 2002 edition of the rehearsal for the Dallas recital). Thanks Plumblossom dear for sharing. :tiphat:

Maria wore the same black-laced gown for the Covent Garden centenary Gala in June 1958 (the following year) and she met Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in this gown. Must be another creation by Madame Biki.


----------



## Green pasture

<With hugs and kisses> THANK yoouuu Annie darling! :tiphat: :kiss: You're a real doll. _;DDD _


----------



## Green pasture

DarkAngie darling, you just gave me an idea. Not long after Maestro Rescigno passed away in August 2008, MCIC Magazine issued an obituary in Issue 55. Here it is:


----------



## DarkAngel

^^^ A huge blunder by Chicago Lyric to part ways with Rescigno after the great 54-56 Callas years, what an American opera mecca it could have been in the 1950s......the Civic Opera house is a beautiful classic design, who would not die to see Maria here!


----------



## Green pasture

Wonderful pictures of the magnificent Chicago Lyric Opera building. THANK you DarkAngie darling for sharing <hugs and kisses> :kiss: :kiss: :kiss:

Here is more 1954 blondie for you to treasure _;DDD_:










Meanwhile, in order to ensure that there will be enough goodies to post in future, and also not to distract too much our ever enthusiastic and sentimentally in-tox-i-cated DarkAngie darling from work, I will have to limit my postings of the visual gems to at most two times per week from now onwards. _;D_


----------



## gardibolt

I find it hard to read the Maria Callas materials knowing our Marschallin has been booted once again by the overzealous moderation that tolerates the trolls.


----------



## Tietjens Stolz

gardibolt said:


> I find it hard to read the Maria Callas materials knowing our Marschallin has been booted once again by the overzealous moderation that tolerates the trolls.


While your (and others') disappointment with the banning of our dear Prom Queen is understandable, I do hope that you can spare at least some thought for Plummie, who has in fact been doing a larger share of the hard work of gathering, organizing and posting all these precious Callas materials. Now with Marschallin dear gone, Plummie will have to bear virtually the entire burden of keeping this thread alive. Marschallin has undoubtedly added lots of sparkles, style and flair to this and other Callas threads and we still miss her dearly, but please do also acknowledge Plummie's hard work and dedication, for without her initiative, this thread would not have even existed in the first place!!!

Moreover, are you able to contribute anything to this thread to help out Plummie???


----------



## Green pasture

Pannie darling, I appreciate deeply your unwavering enthusiasm, encouragement, support, and candour.  But please do calm down. There is really no need to descend into Medea-like fury and direct it to other fellow TC members. This is something both Marschallin darling and myself absolutely do not wish to see. As for Gardie, he is free to come in for a visit whenever he wishes and we should not place any burden on him.


----------



## Tietjens Stolz

plumblossom said:


> Pannie darling, I appreciate deeply your unwavering enthusiasm, encouragement, support, and candour.  But please do calm down. There is really no need to descend into Medea-like fury and direct it to other fellow TC members. This is something both Marschallin darling and myself absolutely do not wish to see. As for Gardie, he is free to come in for a visit whenever he wishes and we should not place any burden on him.


Your composure and magnanimity are really admirable Plummie dear. But I really feel I ought to speak out for you. Gardibolt's remark is very unfair to you. Everyone, including Marschallin dear, is able to see that this thread started on your initiative and you have been doing most of the work here.


----------



## Green pasture

Panorama said:


> Your composure and magnanimity are really admirable Plummie dear. But I really feel I ought to speak out for you. Gardibolt's remark is very unfair to you. Everyone, including Marschallin dear, is able to see that this thread started on your initiative and you have been doing most of the work here.


Pannie darling, once again thanks so much for your candour and support.  But I do think we all need to move on rather than getting stuck unnecessarily over a remark or two, ok?


----------



## Green pasture

Beginning to wonder whether there has been too much frivolities on this thread (and not enough substance). _;DDD_ Anyway, here is more blondie for DarkAngie - the 1954 Chicago Lyric Opera blondie Lucy that you adore. _;DDD_ You might wish to consider setting this up as your PC desktop picture. _;DDD_










(Cover picture of Issue 43 of the Maria Callas International Club Magazine)


----------



## Antony

I can only imagine it had to be magnificent for someone like Maria Callas. But those pictures ! They opened a whole new world to m: A world of splendour, greatness. Are there any stage set with such splendour nowadays ? and with such artists like La Divina. She was the one who inflamed the passion, the imagination, and who brought drama operas to a new height and who set the standard - it must be so - 

Caballe said so true - Maria Callas reopened the door of an Art which disappeared 200 years ago. ...it's not right to compare me with Maria Callas. I am much smaller than her.

Is there any chance, dear friends, to put any clips of those great operas, with Maria Callas, in each opera? That will render great and live the heydays of Maria Callas?


----------



## Green pasture

Antony said:


> I can only imagine it had to be magnificent for someone like Maria Callas. But those pictures ! They opened a whole new world to m: A world of splendour, greatness. Are there any stage set with such splendour nowadays ? and with such artists like La Divina. She was the one who inflamed the passion, the imagination, and who brought drama operas to a new height and who set the standard - it must be so -
> 
> Caballe said so true - Maria Callas reopened the door of an Art which disappeared 200 years ago. ...it's not right to compare me with Maria Callas. I am much smaller than her.
> 
> Is there any chance, dear friends, to put any clips of those great operas, with Maria Callas, in each opera? That will render great and live the heydays of Maria Callas?


Antony darling, I THANK YOOOUUU for your sen-ti-men-tal in-toxi-ca-tion. _;DDD_ <hugggs and kisses> :kiss:

Yes I have been thinking of putting some filmed Maria YT clips. Think Annie darling had posted some 1953 Trieste Norma stuff on another Callas thread months ago. I will have to look them up and re-post them here. _;D_


----------



## DarkAngel

plumblossom said:


> Beginning to wonder whether there has been too much frivolities on this thread (and not enough substance). _;DDD_ Anyway, here is more blondie for DarkAngie - the 1954 Chicago Lyric Opera blondie Lucy that you adore. _;DDD_ You might wish to *consider setting this up as your PC desktop picture*. _;DDD_
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> (Cover picture of Issue 43 of the Maria Callas International Club Magazine)


Why think small Plummie, I am still planning how to get life size poster of the dazzling 54 blondie Callas Norma to mount on wall behind my stereo system, I have some small Callas stuff now......but time to think bigger, much bigger 

Do you notice I have a small 8 x 10 pix already of blondie Norma


----------



## gardibolt

Panorama said:


> While your (and others') disappointment with the banning of our dear Prom Queen is understandable, I do hope that you can spare at least some thought for Plummie, who has in fact been doing a larger share of the hard work of gathering, organizing and posting all these precious Callas materials. Now with Marschallin dear gone, Plummie will have to bear virtually the entire burden of keeping this thread alive. Marschallin has undoubtedly added lots of sparkles, style and flair to this and other Callas threads and we still miss her dearly, but please do also acknowledge Plummie's hard work and dedication, for without her initiative, this thread would not have even existed in the first place!!!
> 
> Moreover, are you able to contribute anything to this thread to help out Plummie???


Oh good lord, no, I by no means meant to disparage Plummie's efforts or to minimize the wonderful posts. I just can't enjoy them as much, for reasons totally unrelated to the Plumster or the beautiful content. It makes me sad.


----------



## Green pasture

gardibolt said:


> Oh good lord, no, I by no means meant to disparage Plummie's efforts or to minimize the wonderful posts. I just can't enjoy them as much, for reasons totally unrelated to the Plumster or the beautiful content. It makes me sad.


Oh, Gardie dear <kiss on the forehead>, I don't mind at all.  Of course we hope Marschallin darling could be back soon to bring back sparkles, style and flair to this thread. But things here have to move on. While she is unable to login during her period of "exile", Marschallin darling is still following the thread faithfully and 'religiously' _;D_. She will be deeply disappointed if postings here stop.


----------



## Green pasture

DarkAngel said:


> Why think small Plummie, I am still planning how to get life size poster of the dazzling 54 blondie Callas Norma to mount on wall behind my stereo system, I have some small Callas stuff now......but time to think bigger, much bigger
> 
> Do you notice I have a small 8 x 10 pix already of blondie Norma


DarkAngie darling, your TOTAL devotion to the visual beauties of Divina simply A-S-T-O-U-N-D-S!

Annie darling posted this larger-sized version of the diva-scale-breaking 1954 Chicago Lyric Opera blondie Norma some time ago. Why not add it to your poster collection? _;DDD_










By the way, there are some more 1952 Florence Armida blondies. But as you would understand, the scheduling of exhibits has to be well-paced and you can't display too much goodies too soon, otherwise you will end up having no more to post in the end. _;D_


----------



## Green pasture

*Callas as Norma at the Teatro Giuseppe Verdi, Trieste, Nov 1953*

In November 1953, Maria sang 4 performances of Norma at the Teatro Giuseppe Verdi, Trieste, just before she returned to La Scala for the incandescent run of Medeas conducted by Leonard Bernstein the following month. This was also the first time she was partnered by Franco Corelli. The performance has been preserved in extracts and is available on Divina Records DVN3. There are also very tantalizing filmed Snippets, making one wish that the whole performance could have been filmed. (The following is a re-post of Annie darling's post months ago in the "New Callas Box" thread. Thank you Annie darling for sharing. _;D_)










With co-principals Franco Corelli and Elena Nicolai
(Oh..what a HOT CUUUTie the young Franco is _;DDD_. That MOVIE STAR look...it surely can make all men jealousss..._;DDD_)









Divina Records release:









Filmed snippets of the Trieste performance:





...Continued below ^^...


----------



## Green pasture

With Elena Nicolai (Adalgisa)









With Elena Nicolai (Adalgisa), Franco Corelli (Pollione) and conductor Antonino Votto 









With Elena Nicolai and Antonino Votto









With superintendant of the Teatro Giuseppe Verdi, Trieste


----------



## Tietjens Stolz

DarkAngel said:


> Why think small Plummie, I am still planning how to get life size poster of the dazzling 54 blondie Callas Norma to mount on wall behind my stereo system, I have some small Callas stuff now......but time to think bigger, much bigger
> 
> Do you notice I have a small 8 x 10 pix already of blondie Norma


DA, here is a latest addition to my Callas picture collection and you will certainly want to add it to your poster icons - an enlarged picture of the blonde Norma at Chicago Lyric Opera, 1954.


----------



## Tietjens Stolz

Marschallin Blair said:


> "Sotheby's Auction of the Callas-Meneghini Jewels"


This is a color photo of that magnificent big emerald ring, photo taken by Sotheby:


----------



## Tietjens Stolz

Plummie our priceless curator, our gratitude and appreciations know no bounds. Please keep up your beautiful work. :kiss:

Here is a beauty to add to your ever growing collection :


----------



## DarkAngel

^^^^ Pan that is a great blondie of our favorite druid priestess, I can almost hear those ethereal notes of "casta diva" I love it!

Also Maria so elegant in pink haute couture above


----------



## Green pasture

<Kisses and hugs> Pannie darling thank you so much for sharing these gems...you always manage to return with wonderful surprises! :kiss: Can't help wondering what's coming up from you next. _;DDD_

We have managed to distract DarkAngie darling so much that he probably is now finding it difficult to get to work. _;DDD_

Here is another major distraction for DarkAngie, the 1954 blondie Callas at home in Verona, with that big emerald ring, as well as a prized item in her collection - a musical autograph by a certain great composer of operas yet to be ascertained. _;DDD_


----------



## Woodduck

plumblossom said:


> In November 1953, Maria sang 4 performances of Norma at the Teatro Giuseppe Verdi, Trieste, just before she returned to La Scala for the incandescent run of Medeas conducted by Leonard Bernstein the following month. This was also the first time she was partnered by Franco Corelli. The performance has been preserved in extracts and is available on Divina Records DVN3. There are also very tantalizing filmed Snippets, making one wish that the whole performance could have been filmed. (The following is a re-post of Annie darling's post months ago in the "New Callas Box" thread. Thank you Annie darling for sharing. _;D_)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> With co-principals Franco Corelli and Elena Nicolai
> (Oh..what a HOT CUUUTie the young Franco is _;DDD_. That MOVIE STAR look...it surely can make all men jealousss..._;DDD_)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Divina Records release:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Filmed snippets of the Trieste performance:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ...Continued below ^^...


What impresses me in these glimpses of Callas at work on stage is that she was not a bit less compelling with a few more pounds on her. She didn't need to be a singing Audrey Hepburn. What if...?

I don't like to think about it.


----------



## Tsaraslondon

Woodduck said:


> What impresses me in these glimpses of Callas at work on stage is that she was not a bit less compelling with a few more pounds on her. She didn't need to be a singing Audrey Hepburn. What if...?
> 
> I don't like to think about it.


True, though by this time, she had already lost quite a bit of weight.

Looking at the photos that have been posted of her early career, one gets the impression that when she arrived in Italy she was statuesque rather than fat, that she put on quite a lot of weight, and in the photos of her in *Norma* at Covent Garden in 1952, she is a very large lady indeed. Ditto those photos of her rehearsing *I Vespri Siciliani*at La Scala a few months before. No doubt this increase in weight was behind her decision to diet, until she was a lot slimmer (and elegant) than she had ever been. Is it possible that, once the weight started coming off, she became a bit obsessive?


----------



## Woodduck

GregMitchell said:


> True, though by this time, she had already lost quite a bit of weight.
> 
> Looking at the photos that have been posted of her early career, one gets the impression that when she arrived in Italy she was statuesque rather than fat, that she put on quite a lot of weight, and in the photos of her in *Norma* at Covent Garden in 1952, she is a very large lady indeed. Ditto those photos of her rehearsing *I Vespri Siciliani*at La Scala a few months before. No doubt this increase in weight was behind her decision to diet, until she was a lot slimmer (and elegant) than she had ever been. Is it possible that, once the weight started coming off, she became a bit obsessive?


Yes, I've noticed that she gained a lot and then began the slimming process in earnest. I do think she became obsessive. Isn't her admiration for the chic glamor of Hepburn well-known? For a chubby New York girl with pimples and goggles who had never felt beautiful, the possibility of looking like that was apparently irresistible. Beneath the love of her art and the discipline it engendered, Callas was driven by insecurities and unfulfilled personal desires. If she could have believed that she was beautiful and looked fine on stage - and in society, and perhaps to men - at 15 pounds heavier than she became (does anyone have statistics on her weight at various stages?) she might have gotten a bit more mileage out of her voice. (I do suspect there was more to the decline than weight loss, however.)


----------



## Green pasture

*Callas in Mexico, Part 2: July 1951, MCIC Magazine Issue 30*

From Issue 30 of the Maria Callas International Club Magazine, the second of a three-part series of articles on Maria in Mexico.

The first part had been posted by Marschallin darling. _;D_ The second part, posted here, details Maria's second season in Mexico City (July 1951) through the perspective of her Mexican friend Carlos Diaz Du-Pond.

During her second visit to Mexico City, Maria presented to the Mexican audience for the second time her Aida, with an even more spectacular and house-decimating E-flat at the end of Act 2 than the one she gave the year before. _;DDD _

But the real highlight was her Violetta, over which the Mexican audience went even more crazy. Fortunately for posterity her portrayal was preserved in a live recording, as well as many simply magnificent photos! (Pannie darling had already posted two splendid shots in this thread)









Maria and her friend Carlos Diaz Du-Pond during dress rehearsal for La Traviata





































…More below ^^…


----------



## Green pasture

…More below ^^…


----------



## Green pasture

…Completed ^^…


----------



## Green pasture

*Callas in Mexico, Part 3: May - July 1952, MCIC Magazine Issue 31*

In the summer of 1952, Maria returned to Mexico City for her third season at the Palacio de bellas Artes. This turned out to be her last. Yet it also boasts three firsts: Her first surviving recorded complete performance as Elvira in I Puritani, her very first Lucia di Lammermoor on stage, and her first (and only) stage performance of the role of Gilda in Rigoletto. _;D _














































…More below ^^…


----------



## Green pasture

…More below ^^…


----------



## Green pasture

In 1953, the Mexican government reduced its financial support to the National Opera and Palacio de Bellas Artes could no longer afford to hire Maria at the fee of US$3,600 per performance she demanded for. So the Mexican audience saw no more of her. But fortunately for posterity, many amazing live recordings survived from her three Mexico seasons, including the first Trovatore Leonora, the first Lucia and her only Gilda on stage, and those house-decimating and audience-flooring E-flats at the close of Act 2 of the 1950 and 1951 Mexico City Aidas, once heard, can never be forgotten. _;DDD _

…Completed ^^…


----------



## DarkAngel

Plum I have found the perfect Christmas gift for our deposed wild child, do you think Marschallin will like this euro Callas Barbie doll, perhaps we are pushing the fantasies too far, perfect for the coffee table......

I want a blondie edition.....


----------



## Green pasture

DarkAngel said:


> Plum I have found the perfect Christmas gift for our deposed wild child, do you think Marschallin will like this euro Callas Barbie doll, perhaps we are pushing the fantasies too far, perfect for the coffee table......
> 
> I want a blondie edition.....


DarkAngie, our ever ebullient, stylish and sparkling blonde saw the doll. She simply loves it and can't wait to send you her warm kisses and hugs. ;D

Maria is dressing her doll as Lucia. I have a strong feeling that if our ebullient blonde has the doll, she will want to put on 'fierce' make-up for it and dress it as the fire-eating and spitting Medea. ;DDD

And there's no need to guess......you will certainly want to dye the doll's hair blonde and dress her as blondie Norma or Violetta. ;DDD


----------



## PlaySalieri

amazing thread - thrilling to see these pictures of the great lady

I have quite a few opera sets of live performances and some have inserts with photos of Maria - I will scan some in shortly and post.


----------



## Green pasture

stomanek said:


> amazing thread - thrilling to see these pictures of the great lady
> 
> I have quite a few opera sets of live performances and some have inserts with photos of Maria - I will scan some in shortly and post.


Dearest Stomanek, Thank you soooooo much for your heart-warming enthusiasm and contribution! <with hug and kisses> :kiss:

Meanwhile, if you use the "insert picture" function on TC, your pictures will end up as smaller thumbnails. Here are tips for putting up bigger images that will stay on even after logging off TC:

1. Create an account in tinypic.com.

2. Upload your images to your tinypic.com account.

3. Once an image is uploaded to tinypic.com, tinypic.com will generate a number of codes for the image. Look for the code for forum and message boards (it appears as







), copy the code and then paste it at exactly the position where you want the image to appear in your post.

4. Click "post" and it's done! _;D_

Happy posting and looking forward to your contributions! _;DDD_


----------



## PlaySalieri

This is Callas and Serafin from a 1955 perf of Norma.


----------



## PlaySalieri

Sorry still trying to get the hang of posting images full size!


----------



## Green pasture

No problem at all. Let me enlarge it for you. _;D_

The photo was actually taken during the EMI recording session for Norma in September 1960 at La Scala, Milan. _;D_










I have more photos from the recording session. These will be posted in future. _;D_


----------



## PlaySalieri

ah - I thought Callas looked older than her 1955 self in this picture. there's one of her singing norma in the same set - probably a later photo.

I uploaded the pic to my own private url and used the <img> tag but it didnt seemed to work


----------



## PlaySalieri

As for the rest of what I have - not sure if has been posted already

- many interesting pics from Maria's companion/secretary Nadia Stancioff - including a shot of maria on the beach in 1942 in her swimming costume plus many more
- many pics from the 1952 perf of macbeth at la scala including a great one of her and sabata after the perf and many from the stage plus backstage of that particular perf - the sleepwalking scene for example/drinking song etc

have any of these been posted already?


----------



## Green pasture

stomanek said:


> As for the rest of what I have - not sure if has been posted already
> 
> - many interesting pics from Maria's companion/secretary Nadia Stancioff - including a shot of maria on the beach in 1942 in her swimming costume plus many more
> - many pics from the 1952 perf of macbeth at la scala including a great one of her and sabata after the perf and many from the stage plus backstage of that particular perf - the sleepwalking scene for example/drinking song etc
> 
> have any of these been posted already?


The pix that you mentioned haven't been posted here in this thread yet, so they are most welcome. _;DDD_

Here is tinypic.com website. Please do try it as given in the tips that have been provided for you. _;D_:

http://tinypic.com/index.php


----------



## PlaySalieri




----------



## PlaySalieri




----------



## PlaySalieri

Wish these were better quality - they look better in the originals. My scanner seems to make a poor job of black and white scanning so I use colour. Increasing res seems to make little difference.
anyway these are from the 1952 macbeth - more soon when I have time.
I personally think Callas looks stunning here and I cant understand why she slimmed down.
I read in Gobbi's biography she went off dieting after a light hearted jibe he made about her weight.


----------



## Green pasture

stomanek said:


> Wish these were better quality - they look better in the originals. My scanner seems to make a poor job of black and white scanning so I use colour. Increasing res seems to make little difference.
> anyway these are from the 1952 macbeth - more soon when I have time.
> I personally think Callas looks stunning here and I cant understand why she slimmed down.
> I read in Gobbi's biography she went off dieting after a light hearted jibe he made about her weight.


Remember our dear RES had mentioned earlier that Tullio Serafin also played a role in driving Callas towards dieting. During the recording session for Lucia in 1953 in Florence, Serafin criticized Callas for eating too much, saying (if I remember correctly) that her legs were like those of elephants. He even fetched a scale for her to see how heavy she was. Callas always held Serafin in high esteem. His insensitive remarks hurt the pathologically insecure Callas badly and became a key factor leadiing to her growing obsession in overcoming her weight and becoming svelte.


----------



## Tsaraslondon

plumblossom said:


> Remember our dear RES had mentioned earlier that Tullio Serafin also played a role in driving Callas towards dieting. During the recording session for Lucia in 1953 in Florence, Serafin criticized Callas for eating too much, saying (if I remember correctly) that her legs were like those of elephants. He even fetched a scale for her to see how heavy she was. Callas always held Serafin in high esteem. His insensitive remarks hurt the pathologically insecure Callas badly and became a key factor leadiing to her growing obsession in overcoming her weight and becoming svelte.


And, as has already been pointed out, she wasn't so very fat when she arrived in Italy. It is no doubt because she put so much weight on that Serafin and Gobbi felt impelled to point it out.


----------



## Green pasture

GregMitchell said:


> And, as has already been pointed out, she wasn't so very fat when she arrived in Italy. It is no doubt because she put so much weight on that Serafin and Gobbi felt impelled to point it out.





















Callas was probably at her stoutest in 1952-3, but as these photos from the January 1952 production of I Puritani at the Teatro Comunale, Florence show, she still looks beautiful in a grand, imposing, statuesque way. ;D


----------



## Tsaraslondon

She looks pretty large here, rehearsing for her La Scala debit as Elena in *I Vespri Siciliani* in 1951.


----------



## Woodduck

^^^ Love that photo. Makes me think of a Salvation Army sergeant, Bible under arm, lecturing a bunch of indigents on the dangers of that demon alcohol and calling them to Christ. They appear chastened but skeptical.


----------



## Green pasture

Because of various considerations, my curatorship work here comes to an end from now onwards and I am moving all my work on visual Callas to.........Callasovia. ;D To many dear TC friends thank you so much for your support and looking forward to at least some of you joining Marschallin darling, DarkAngie darling and myself in........Callasovia. ;D

To seal this thread with a beautiful memory of our diva, here are two beauties featuring a glamorous Maria in Chicago in 1955 ;DDD:



















Please PM me if you wish to find out the direction to......Callasovia. ;DDD


----------



## DarkAngel

Plum this forum has suffered a great loss but we are eternally grateful for the media posted to date in this thread much to treasure, and many spectacular items I have never seen before, the blondie Callas items especially are priceless to me......

I will of course follow/comment on your new gallery over at Callasiana, and read your informative posts here at the forum on other opera thread topics

Please take your bow at the glorious final curtain call, and in memory of the fierce blonde wild child


----------



## Green pasture

DarkAngel said:


> Plum this forum has suffered a great loss but we are eternally grateful for the media posted to date in this thread much to treasure, and many spectacular items I have never seen before, the blondie Callas items especially are priceless to me......
> 
> I will of course follow/comment on your new gallery over at Callasiana, and read your informative posts here at the forum on other opera thread topics
> 
> Please take your bow at the glorious final curtain call, and in memory of the fierce blonde wild child


;D


----------



## Tietjens Stolz

Have been so busy with work towards end of the year that I hardly had time to visit TC over the past weeks. It's so sad to learn that our priceless Plummie dear is leaving this thread. Really can't thank you enough for all the visual gems of Maria that you and the sadly missed Marschallin dear have been sharing with us. It's on to Callasiana now and I look forward to joining the party there.


----------



## Jorge Hereth

For anybody interested in Maria Callas' complete studio recordings: Maria Callas: Gravações em Estúdio Completas (it's 70 CDs in mp3 format)

For those who don't read Portuguese, here the direct links; just scroll down the pages and click on _BAIXE AQUI - DOWNLOAD HERE_:

CDs 01-11 de 70: Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848), Vincenzo Bellini (1801-1835), Richard Wagner (1813-1883), Amilcare Ponchielli (1834-1886), Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) e Pietro Mascagni (1863-1945)

CDs 12-20 de 70: Vincenzo Bellini (1801-1835), Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) e Ruggero Leoncavallo (1857-1919)

CDs 21-31 de 70: Luigi Cherubini (1760-1842), Gasparo Spontini (1774-1851), Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791-1864), Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868), Vincenzo Bellini (1801-1835), Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901), Léo Delibes (1836-1891), Arrigo Boito (1842-1918), Alfredo Catalani (1854-1893), Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924), Francesco Cilea (1866-1950) e Umberto Giordano (1867-1948)

CDs 32-41 de 70: Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868), Vincenzo Bellini (1801-1835), Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) e Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924)

CDs 42-51 de 70: Luigi Cherubini (1760-1842), Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848), Vincenzo Bellini (1801-1835), Ambroise Thomas (1811-1896), Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) e Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924)

CDs 52-60 de 70: Marc Antoine Charpentier (1643-1704), Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714-1787), Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770-1827), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), Carl Maria Von Weber (1786-1826), Vincenzo Bellini (1801-1835), Hector Berlioz (1803-1869), Ambroise Thomas (1811-1896), Charles Gounod (1818-1893), Amilcare Ponchielli (1834-1886), Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921), Georges Bizet (1838-1875), Jules Massenet (1842-1912)

CDs 61-64 de 70: Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868), Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848), Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) e Georges Bizet (1838-1875)

CDs 65-70 de 70: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), Carl Maria Von Weber (1786-1826), Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868), Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848), Vincenzo Bellini (1801-1835), Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) e Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924)


----------



## Tsaraslondon

Jorge Hereth said:


> For anybody interested in Maria Callas' complete studio recordings: Maria Callas: Gravações em Estúdio Completas (it's 70 CDs in mp3 format)
> 
> For those who don't read Portuguese, here the direct links; just scroll down the pages and click on _BAIXE AQUI - DOWNLOAD HERE_:
> 
> CDs 01-11 de 70: Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848), Vincenzo Bellini (1801-1835), Richard Wagner (1813-1883), Amilcare Ponchielli (1834-1886), Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) e Pietro Mascagni (1863-1945)
> 
> CDs 12-20 de 70: Vincenzo Bellini (1801-1835), Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) e Ruggero Leoncavallo (1857-1919)
> 
> CDs 21-31 de 70: Luigi Cherubini (1760-1842), Gasparo Spontini (1774-1851), Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791-1864), Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868), Vincenzo Bellini (1801-1835), Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901), Léo Delibes (1836-1891), Arrigo Boito (1842-1918), Alfredo Catalani (1854-1893), Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924), Francesco Cilea (1866-1950) e Umberto Giordano (1867-1948)
> 
> CDs 32-41 de 70: Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868), Vincenzo Bellini (1801-1835), Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) e Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924)
> 
> CDs 42-51 de 70: Luigi Cherubini (1760-1842), Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848), Vincenzo Bellini (1801-1835), Ambroise Thomas (1811-1896), Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) e Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924)
> 
> CDs 52-60 de 70: Marc Antoine Charpentier (1643-1704), Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714-1787), Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770-1827), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), Carl Maria Von Weber (1786-1826), Vincenzo Bellini (1801-1835), Hector Berlioz (1803-1869), Ambroise Thomas (1811-1896), Charles Gounod (1818-1893), Amilcare Ponchielli (1834-1886), Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921), Georges Bizet (1838-1875), Jules Massenet (1842-1912)
> 
> CDs 61-64 de 70: Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868), Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848), Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) e Georges Bizet (1838-1875)
> 
> CDs 65-70 de 70: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), Carl Maria Von Weber (1786-1826), Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868), Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848), Vincenzo Bellini (1801-1835), Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) e Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924)


This appears to be the last EMI release, largely made redundant now by the Warner set that came out last year, which went back to the original master tapes and recording notes for their re-masters.


----------



## Tsaraslondon

Just turned on the TV and there was Robert Sutherland (Callas's accompanist on her final tour with Di Stefano) on _Antiques Road Show_ with some of his Callas memorabilia, wondering about their value. A single signed photo was worth around £1500, some of the items even more. What was on display was just a small part of his collection, "the tip of the iceberg" according to the expert valuing them, and he put a value on that tip of £4500. Sutherland wasn't selling, but was gratified to hear he was sitting on such a goldmine.


----------



## The Conte

I wonder how much the complete collection would sell for in a dedicated 'Callas' auction like the ones in Paris and Milan. I wouldn't be surprised if the prices wouldn't be tripled if sold as part of a highly visible sale.

N.


----------



## gardibolt

This isn't stage, but screen. I took a few screen captures of Callas in Pasolini's film of Medea:


----------



## gardibolt




----------



## gardibolt




----------



## gardibolt

And my personal favorite:


----------



## gardibolt

Last batch:


----------



## Diminuendo

I have only watched some parts of the film. I didn't like the film, but Callas was fantastic. If only she had done some other more "traditional" film instead.


----------



## Tsaraslondon

It was more a "succes d'estime" than a real commercial success. It's very static and emerges more as a series of tableaux. Callas looks stunning in it though.


----------



## The Conte

I'm quite a fan of Pasolini films and I think, along with Il vangelo seccondo Matteo, Oedipus Rex and Theorem, Medea is one of his best films. I find the monumental 'static' nature of his style captivating.

N.


----------



## Op.123

This thread is really nice, I've not looked through all of it yet, and have no idea if this was shown or if it belongs here, but -


----------



## Tsaraslondon

Burroughs said:


> This thread is really nice, I've not looked through all of it yet, and have no idea if this was shown or if it belongs here, but -


Tantalising snippet.


----------



## Diminuendo

Like the Paris Norma or the Traviata clips one wishes there were more.






Who wouldn't want more Norma like this. I couldn't care less about a few high notes if acting was at this level. But then Callas would never do Norma if she couldn't sing all the notes.


----------



## Martius88

I have a little pix Callas as Norma 12 VII 1955


----------



## Martius88

And Rehearsals :


----------



## Martius88

Rehearsals 2


----------



## Tsaraslondon

I wonder if the exhibition will go on tour.


----------



## The Conte

GregMitchell said:


> View attachment 82363
> 
> 
> I wonder if the exhibition will go on tour.


After Verona it is going to Athens, New York, Paris and Mexico City.

N.


----------



## Tsaraslondon

The Conte said:


> After Verona it is going to Athens, New York, Paris and Mexico City.
> 
> N.


But not London


----------



## Marschallin Blair

GregMitchell said:


> But not London


"Here today, gone to Maui," I can understand.

But to 'Mexico City'?

At least come to Mexi-fornia.


----------



## Diminuendo

Well Callas was big in Mexico and so was Di Stefano. Only reason she didn't perform there more was because the opera houses budget got cut by the government and they couldn't afford to pay her fees anymore. You shouldn't feel sad if it doesn't come near you, since almost nothing comes to Finland. So most of you are better of than me. Don't you feel better already?


----------



## Marschallin Blair

*


Diminuendo said:



Well Callas was big in Mexico and so was Di Stefano. Only reason she didn't perform there more was because the opera houses budget got cut by the government and they couldn't afford to pay her fees anymore. You shouldn't feel sad if it doesn't come near you, since almost nothing comes to Finland. So most of you are better of than me. Don't you feel better already?

Click to expand...

*You're sweet, but 'no I don't feel better'- since you live in the land of Sibelius and of Nightwish- and I don't. _;D_

(As beautiful as it is, it would be too cold for me though.)


----------



## Antony

Almost nothing comes to Findland? Tell me about it, Dim ( please allow me to use that nickname) . Here's in Quebec , the last time first rate singer still in his/her prime came here to sing was ES in the 70's. A few years ago, Renee came and she sang something weird... last year, Natalie Dessay and she sang pop. This week, we had Anne Sophie Von Otter, and she sang nothing but a piece of song composed recently!!! Damrau came here and she gave a recital of lieder ....1st rate singers only come here when they past their primes and I can attend only the shadow of their glorious days.

imagine Callas! Now knowing a bit of Opera and watching those artifacts, posters, photos.... Of those great, grandiose stages with Callas The Great posted by you guys...big SIGH. 
Tell you what, there are always long lines of shoppers at boxing days, Black Friday sale days, some sleeps in front of the store since the night before ..and I always say they are crazy to do that... But for Callas, I will not hesitate a second to do that knowing too well online ticket will not be available. 

In my mind one thing is clear: Divas come and go, but Callas is forever.


----------



## Green pasture

GregMitchell said:


> But not London


London should have been included in the itinerary. By all accounts, London played the most important role in Maria's career after Milan and she loved the city with all her heart and felt that the audience in London was truly kind and understanding to her. As for Milan, it was a kind of bull-fight atmosphere and scenario for her. Even though she managed to conquer a large majority of the audience there, she couldn't help feeling a bitter taste in her mouth.


----------



## Green pasture

Martius88 said:


> I have a little pix Callas as Norma 12 VII 1955
> View attachment 82311
> 
> View attachment 82312
> 
> View attachment 82313
> 
> View attachment 82314


My warmest gratitude and appreciation to you for sharing these pictorial gems and keeping this thread alive. :kiss:


----------



## Tsaraslondon

plumblossom said:


> London should have been included in the itinerary. By all accounts, London played the most important role in Maria's career after Milan and she loved the city with all her heart and felt that the audience in London was truly kind and understanding to her. As for Milan, it was a kind of bull-fight atmosphere and scenario for her. Even though she managed to conquer a large majority of the audience there, she couldn't help feeling a bitter taste in her mouth.


This is very true. She had a very happy relationship with Covent Garden. The press being the press they sometimes tried to stirr up bad feeling, but without much success. London loved her.

Lord Harewood recalled that at one of the Royal Galas, with so many star singers and dancers performing, dressing room allocation became a nightmare. As London's very own prima ballerina, Fonteyn was given dressing room no 1. In some trepidation, Lord Harweood had to explain to Callas and offered her his office instead. Apparently Callas said she totally understood and graciously accepted his offer. The press tried to put a different spin on it, saying that the prima Donna had imperiously turfed Lord Harewood out of his office, but it simply wasn't true. He said Callas was even quite pragmatic about the press story.


----------



## Green pasture

Marschallin Blair said:


> "Here today, gone to Maui," I can understand.
> 
> But to 'Mexico City'?
> 
> At least come to Mexi-fornia.


Mexico City at least featured prominently in our diva's performance annals for three years in 1950-52 and was a major source of some of her early recorded live performances. And not to forget, she sang her very first Lucia there (1952) and her one and only stage performance as Gilda in Rigoletto (1952 as well). So the place does carry at least some La Divina historical significance ;DDD


----------



## Marschallin Blair

*


plumblossom said:



My warmest gratitude and appreciation to you for sharing these pictorial gems and keeping this thread alive. :kiss:

Click to expand...

*


plumblossom said:


>


That little adulatory ballerina picture is so 'you,' Principessa.


----------



## Marschallin Blair

*



plumblossom: Mexico City at least featured prominently in our diva's performance annals for three years in 1950-52 and was a major source of some of her early recorded live performances. And not to forget, she sang her very first Lucia there (1952) and her one and only stage performance as Gilda in Rigoletto (1952 as well). So the place does carry at least some La Divina historical significance ;DDD

Click to expand...

*









_Viva _Mexico City all the_ way_.

Its just that its a Dish 'Too Far' for me- living in Southern California _;D_


----------



## Marschallin Blair

GregMitchell said:


> This is very true. She had a very happy relationship with Covent Garden. The press being the press they sometimes tried to stirr up bad feeling, but without much success. London loved her.
> 
> Lord Harewood recalled that at one of the Royal Galas, with so many star singers and dancers performing, dressing room allocation became a nightmare. As London's very own prima ballerina, Fonteyn was given dressing room no 1. In some trepidation, Lord Harweood had to explain to Callas and offered her his office instead. Apparently Callas said she totally understood and graciously accepted his offer. *The press tried to put a different spin on it*, saying that the prima Donna had imperiously turfed Lord Harewood out of his office, but it simply wasn't true. He said Callas was even quite pragmatic about the press story.












I found out that when I started to research Maria Callas in earnest that just about everything that I've read about her by the sewer-stream media was grossly untrue.

She wasn't an aloof Prima Donna who was difficult to get along with and who made imperiously impossible demands on people.

She was, however, a consummate professional through and through and expected the same enterprising mindset from her colleagues.


----------



## Martius88

plumblossom said:


> My warmest gratitude and appreciation to you for sharing these pictorial gems and keeping this thread alive. :kiss:


Thanks! I have moore pisc but I dont know how I can add them to be oryginal size...


----------



## Marschallin Blair

*


Martius88 said:



Thanks! I have moore pisc but I dont know how I can add them to be oryginal size...

Click to expand...

*









Have you tried uploading them to a free Pinterest account?- and then uploading the Pinterest link of a picture to TC?


----------



## Martius88

Marschallin Blair said:


> Have you tried uploading them to a free Pinterest account?- and then uploading the Pinterest link of a picture to TC?


hmm now?


----------



## Taggart

This has come up before - see http://www.talkclassical.com/39928-why-cant-my-images.html - which includes a range of references. I formatted the previous post so that the image would show up properly.


----------



## Becca

And now for something completely different...

View attachment 82813


----------



## Diminuendo

Becca said:


> And now for something completely different...
> 
> View attachment 82813


Or maybe none. Since the soprano doesn't have to bother with thing like this. Someone else changes it for her.


----------



## Martius88

Hi people!!
I was in Verona and visit CALLAS THE EXHIBITION!!

























All Verona is in full with Callas poster!!!!!!
I was in the exhibition and "Restaurant MARIA-CALLAS Verona!
Next day I will post new pix


----------



## Martius88

so somothing first













Callas as Madame Butterfly in a shot taken in her house in Milan in which she is wearing the famous Foujita Kimono, granted to her on this occasion by the Teatro alla Scala in Milan.


----------



## DarkAngel

Martius88 said:


> Hi people!!
> I was in Verona and visit CALLAS THE EXHIBITION!!
> View attachment 83073
> View attachment 83074
> View attachment 83075
> View attachment 83076
> 
> All Verona is in full with Callas poster!!!!!!
> I was in the exhibition and "Restaurant MARIA-CALLAS Verona!
> Next day I will post new pix


Our own live reporter direct from Verona, you are the man! Keep those pix coming........


----------



## Martius88




----------



## Belowpar

Martius88 said:


> Hi people!!
> I was in Verona and visit CALLAS THE EXHIBITION!!
> View attachment 83073
> View attachment 83074
> View attachment 83075
> View attachment 83076
> 
> All Verona is in full with Callas poster!!!!!!
> I was in the exhibition and "Restaurant MARIA-CALLAS Verona!
> Next day I will post new pix


Looking at the waistlines on the dresses behind you, the black one in particular looks tiny. However she was 5'8" tall.
I have seen many dresses worn by stars of the past or historical figures and they were nearly all what we would describe today as petite.
It would be fascinating to get a 'feel' for her stature.

Looking forward to seeing more.


----------



## Martius88

So I have Maria Callas The Exhibition and I can share a litle part from this publication.


__ https://www.pinterest.com/pin/224546731399721903/
Portrait of Callas, Verona,1947. 


__ https://www.pinterest.com/pin/224546731399721675/
At the Teatro Donizetti in Bergamo, 6 October1954. G. Cignaroli, Holy Family,18th Century. In her bedroom in her Milanese home, in Grazia, "Callas's Jewelry,"1 December 1957.


__ https://www.pinterest.com/pin/224546731399721613/
La Traviata, Parma, January 1952 and press.


__ https://www.pinterest.com/pin/224546731399721709/
Norma, Venice, January 1950. 
The samall painting by Cignaroli still its wooden frame.


----------



## Jeffrey Smith

Stumbled over this on Amazon.
Can be yours for only $1820 ncluding shipping


----------



## Green pasture

Recollection by former General Administrator of Maria Callas International Club and author of the book _Maria Callas: A Record Obsession_, John Pettitt, who as a young man managed to get a standing ticket to see the legendary Covent Garden performance of LA TRAVIATA on 20 June 1958:

"That morning we were up before dawn to make sure of an orange-box. In those days, oranges meant Covent Garden and Covent Garden meant Maria Callas. After only a few hours, a numbered token secured our place in the queue and by mid-afternoon I had a 12/6d (62p, in 1958) ticket to stand at the back of the Stalls Circle. I'd taken along my grandfather's field-glasses, and watching our beloved Maria let loose her final first act E flat, I felt as if I'd been swallowed whole. When Callas' soft, wounded voice stabbed the hushed auditorium, 'Alfredo, Alfredo, di questo core,' I hardly dared breathe and as curtain fell I was pushing my way out into Bow Street for air. That was 42 years ago and it could have been yesterday."

What a lucky fellow! ;D


----------



## Marschallin Blair

*


plumblossom said:



Recollection by former General Administrator of Maria Callas International Club and author of the book Maria Callas: A Record Obsession, John Pettitt, who as a young man managed to get a standing ticket to see the legendary Covent Garden performance of LA TRAVIATA on 20 June 1958:

"That morning we were up before dawn to make sure of an orange-box. In those days, oranges meant Covent Garden and Covent Garden meant Maria Callas. After only a few hours, a numbered token secured our place in the queue and by mid-afternoon I had a 12/6d (62p, in 1958) ticket to stand at the back of the Stalls Circle. I'd taken along my grandfather's field-glasses, and watching our beloved Maria let loose her final first act E flat, I felt as if I'd been swallowed whole. When Callas' soft, wounded voice stabbed the hushed auditorium, 'Alfredo, Alfredo, di questo core,' I hardly dared breathe and as curtain fell I was pushing my way out into Bow Street for air. That was 42 years ago and it could have been yesterday."

What a lucky fellow! ;D


















Click to expand...

*_Beautiful_ Callas Violetta picture, Plummie!

Where 'do you' find these infinite and endless treasures,_ Princi-Serendipita_? _;D_. . .

An incidental on the Pettitt book: I was on a flight to Florida once and I was reading that book. A man sitting next to me asked me about- _no, I kid you 'not'!_- what Callas recordings I liked the most. Well, to make a long story short, the flight from San Diego to Dallas (that's where he got off) passed by in what seemed like fifty minutes (when in fact, I think its at least a couple of hours long). He actually did most the talking with the Q&A. Fascinating man. Semi-opera fan, but a brilliant conversationalist who was interested in everything.

Anyway, I love Pettitt's 'Pilgrim's Progress' Callas Confidential too. Totally fun book.

Hey, guess where I got this picture?:










* ;DD*


----------



## Tietjens Stolz

Here is Gramilano's report on the Maria Callas exhibition at Verona, with photos of some exhibits:
http://www.gramilano.com/2016/04/ma...n-the-life-of-la-divina-on-display-in-verona/


----------



## MAS

Deleted post deleted post


----------



## Marschallin Blair

"Callas Onstage and Offstage," huh?

How about, "Callas on the 'Runway'- Marc Jacobs Style"?

Alexander McQueen eat your heart out:


----------



## MAS

Or Dolce Gabbana?


----------



## Op.123

http://static2.politico.com/dims4/d...litico.com/capny/files/a-lobenthal-callas.png

Anyone know when this photo was taken?


----------



## MAS

Burroughs said:


> http://static2.politico.com/dims4/d...litico.com/capny/files/a-lobenthal-callas.png
> 
> Anyone know when this photo was taken?


The photo was taken by Cecil Beaton in 1956. A photo from that same session was used by Apple Computers for their ad campaign Think Different.


----------



## Op.123

Lots of wonderful clips I hadn't seen here


----------



## Op.123

Just had a look and found a load of rare clips - hopefully everyone can find something new here -

Rome Walkout - 1958 - 



Poliuto - 1960 - 



Paris debut party - 1958 - 



Receiving award in New York - 1959 - 



Cruise with Onassis - 1959 - 



Antonio Ruiz Studio - 1959 - 



London - 1957 - 



Vestale interview - 1954 - 



Small collection of clips, most interestingly one from Un ballo in maschera - 1957 - 



Epidauros - 1961 - 



Curtain calls - 1965 - 



Tosca London & New York - 1965 -


----------



## Boomer

Burroughs said:


> Just had a look and found a load of rare clips - hopefully everyone can find something new here -
> 
> Rome Walkout - 1958 -
> 
> 
> 
> Poliuto - 1960 -
> 
> 
> 
> Paris debut party - 1958 -
> 
> 
> 
> Receiving award in New York - 1959 -
> 
> 
> 
> Cruise with Onassis - 1959 -
> 
> 
> 
> Antonio Ruiz Studio - 1959 -
> 
> 
> 
> London - 1957 -
> 
> 
> 
> Vestale interview - 1954 -
> 
> 
> 
> Small collection of clips, most interestingly one from Un ballo in maschera - 1957 -
> 
> 
> 
> Epidauros - 1961 -
> 
> 
> 
> Curtain calls - 1965 -
> 
> 
> 
> Tosca London & New York - 1965 -


Thank you so much- many new things! Would anyone have access to the Kennedy Center video with John Glover for "The Lisbon Traviata"? I know there are copies out there but have had a terrible time trying to find one... :-(


----------



## Azol

So has anyone got their copy of this new book yet?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1909399698









I see that the reviews are mixed so far, so I am in doubt if should order it right away or not.


----------



## DarkAngel

Azol said:


> So has anyone got their copy of this new book yet?
> 
> https://www.amazon.com/dp/1909399698
> 
> View attachment 89906
> 
> 
> I see that the reviews are mixed so far, so I am in doubt if should order it right away or not.


Surely not "definitive" Callas book as title claims...........not many new photos you have never seen and many are dark underexposed prints compared to other better versions I have seen online. Also the book uses matte finish on photos/pages making them less dramatic and softer detail, I was expecting more...........

Still if you are avid collector there are some benefits like many personal letters by Callas in her own handwriting and opposite page has text print, a feature which I have not seen elsewhere


----------



## Roycha

That's Madame Biki her dress designer and it's her atelier.


----------



## Scopitone

I am only on page 8-of-37 as I type this comment. But this thread already may be classified as the greatest one on the entire forum. :tiphat:


----------



## Marx7811

Someone know where I can find the recording of the Concert (Academy of Music 102 Anniversary Concert): Philadelphia, Academy of Music January 24th 1959, because I read it was recorded and Callas sing there Hamlet, Barbiere, and Mefistofeles


----------

