# Callas in La Traviata



## science (Oct 14, 2010)

As far as I can tell, there are three famous recordings of her in this role:

- 1953, studio recording condcuted by Santini
- 1955, conducted by Giulini at La Scala
- 1958, conducted by Ghione at Lisbon
- 1958, conducted by rescigno at Covent Garden

Hopefully people will more knowlege can tell us more about these.

Somehow I got the idea that the 1955 recording was the most famous, but I'd never heard it until yesterday. It really is a fun recording; I have the one that looks like this:








.

The sound is obviously old - recording live in 1955 just wasn't very good by our standards. But Callas' voice shines anyway, and it is a moving performance. The audience obviously loved it too. All said, it is really a lovely, nostalgic experience.

I enjoy that kind of thing, imagining the people of the 1960s listening to that on their record players. A bit of communion with the listeners of the past.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Yep, the 1955 live recording of the legendary Visconti production at La Scalla is indeed considered to be the best one. This is not only considered to be her best Traviata, but also her best Verdi performance overall. 

The second best is supposed to be the 1953 Santini with the Turin RAI Orchestra with Francesco Albanese as Alfredo and Ugo Savarese as Germont. It's been remastered for CD from the 78s however the transfer is supposed to be poor.


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

I will have to listen to Gheorgiu again -










- because I was so impressed with Callas that I want to see how Gheorgiu stacks up.

Alas I arrived too late to vote for it in the project... I'll have to check out the versions the forum chose to represent it...


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

science said:


> I will have to listen to Gheorgiu again -
> 
> 
> 
> ...


This version is one of the many Traviatas that I own, and I don't like it. No, Draculette is no match for Callas in voice or acting... is no match for Anna in acting... is no match for Beverly Sills in voice...


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

I noticed you guys don't like Gheorgiu, but I do. Now I'm biased toward Romanians, so... 

Like I said, I'll have to compare her to the others.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

science said:


> I noticed you guys don't like Gheorgiu, but I do. Now I'm biased toward Romanians, so...
> 
> Like I said, I'll have to compare her to the others.


Angela is a very good singer, and has one of the best contemporary voices and techniques. She is also an attractive woman. It's not that I hate her. It's just that her mannerisms while acting/singing and her arrogance and troubled personality off-stage turn me off. It's a case of wasted talent, in my opinion. She could be pretty much perfect as an opera singer if she dropped her prima donna behavior. But her antics don't really help, and then, when you listen to her, you can't really keep the other stuff out of your mind.

But in my comment above I wasn't even thinking about all of this, I merely stated what I see as my objective evaluation of her performance as Violetta: while her voice can be considered as better than Anna's (in terms of technique, articulation, etc, although I do love that deep warm Anna voice) she definitely is no match for Anna in the acting department. I think this much is pretty crystal clear. Anna is a very accomplished actress, while Angela is always cold and distant. Anna is charismatic, Angela is not. Callas beats Angela both in voice and acting. And Beverly Sills is such a stupendous Violetta, voice-wise! So when you think of these standard-setting performances, Angela's own fades away.


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## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

science said:


> I noticed you guys don't like Gheorgiu, but I do. Now I'm biased toward Romanians, so...


I like her, Elgarian likes her and DarkAngel LOVES her (I think), so it's not as though all of us hate Angela.


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## DarkAngel (Aug 11, 2010)

jhar26 said:


> I like her, Elgarian likes her and* DarkAngel LOVES her* (I think), so it's not as though all of us hate Angela.


*I do worship at the altar of Callas*..............and I have all those Traviatas

I just listened to them all recently, and I can tell you without a doubt which I think is best.



> As far as I can tell, there are three famous recordings of her in this role:
> 
> - 1953, studio recording condcuted by Santini
> - 1955, conducted by Giulini at La Scala
> ...


The* live Giulini has very poor sound*, I would not really recommend it except to avid collectors.

The live Ghione and Rescigno are better sounding *especially the Myto label Ghione* which uses some private tapes that sound better than EMI releases (great picture of Maria)



The *only studio recording is the 1953 Santini* which is hard to find except in the complete studio EMI boxset (which every opera lovers needs anyway!) and this no surprise has better sound than any of the later live versions

But good news *even better sound than EMI version is the Santini Naxos release*, it really is the best sounding Callas Traviata and ther vocal performance will amaze you, unstoppable force of nature......you can see right into the heart of her character.......*this is the one to buy!*










Cannot buy new is USA, must get from UK vendor

After Bellini's Norma this was 2nd most performed opera by Callas, 63 times during her career so she really enjoyed the character Violetta


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## DarkAngel (Aug 11, 2010)

Regis label has the 1953 studio Santini avaiable at Amazon USA......

Not sure what source media was used for this release and how it might compare to EMI boxset or Naxos, I suspect Naxos will still be best sound version available


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

DarkAngel said:


> Regis label has the 1953 studio Santini avaiable at Amazon USA......
> 
> Not sure what source media was used for this release and how it might compare to EMI boxset or Naxos, I suspect Naxos will still be best sound version available


Apparently there are several versions and sound quality varies widely.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

DarkAngel said:


> But good news *even better sound than EMI version is the Santini Naxos release*, it really is the best sounding Callas Traviata and ther vocal performance will amaze you, unstoppable force of nature......you can see right into the heart of her character.......*this is the one to buy!*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


DA - is this a studio recording?


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

sospiro said:


> DA - is this a studio recording?


FYI I have the regis version.


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## DarkAngel (Aug 11, 2010)

sospiro said:


> DA - is this a studio recording?


Yes 1953 Santini is a studio recording........the only studio Callas Traviata available, mono sound of course in 1953

Many UK vendors like Presto, MDT etc sell Naxos label........some Naxos historical releases not available for new sales in USA because of copyright issues

To bad there is no video document of Callas performance of La Traviata, we do have numerous photos that 
look incredible to my unbiased eye, quite a necklace there.......










There is a short clip of Callas Lisbon series of Traviatas, not sure where this came from, very dark bedroom scence tells little visually but even a distant shot of party scence showing Maria's glittering black gown is something special


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Wow, such a picture, and before the Photoshop era. She was really pretty in some of her pictures and should have placed higher in our lovely sopranos builder.


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## Bill H. (Dec 23, 2010)

If anyone wants the '53 Santini version, but isn't interested in all the liner notes, individual tracks or even the highest sound quality, it is available for download, and costing just 1 Euro:

http://www.classicalmusicmobile.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=64&products_id=192

My presumption is that this is the EMI mastering (no source is given). There are three mp3 files, one for each act. The mp3 bitrate is 192kbps, which isn't great but probably adequate for this early 50s mono recording [I find it perfectly acceptable].

I'm in the process of taking the mp3 files and inserting track points, and even re-equalizing it to see if I can get the sound quality a little fuller.

BTW this site has some pretty remarkable stuff for download--all out of original copyright so that's why they can sell them as they do. Most all the operas are 1 Euro for the complete work, same for symphonies, quartets etc. as long as you don't mind the long file lengths. Imagine getting the Krauss 1953 Ring cycle for 4 Euros! Just be prepared to give up all the packaging benefits, etc.


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## Admiral (Dec 27, 2014)

Let's resurrect this thread: any new developments in Callas Traviatas - especially regarding sound quality?

[I have the 1953 from the big box and the 1958 London]. The 1953 is good but congested in even moderate passages. I have the Virtuoso 1958 and find the sound pretty good in spots and bad in other spots.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Just found this thread, which I somehow missed and never got round to contributing to.

Of all the roles in Callas's repertoire, Violetta was the one that went throught the greatest development. These are the performance known to exist in sound.

Mexico City 1951 - Valletti, Taddei; de Fabritiis
Mexico City 1952 - Di Stefano, Campolonghi; Mugnai
Cetra Studio 1953 - Albanese, Savarese; Santini
La Scala 1955 - Di Stefano, Bastianini; Giulini
La Scala 1956 - Raimondi, Bastianini; Giulini
Lisbon 1958 - Kraus, Sereni; Ghione
London 1958 - Valletti, Zanasi; Rescigno

Of these, the Mexico performances find her in fabulous voice, but the character is still in embryo. She probably never again achieved such spectacular ease in _Sempre libera_, and they are worth hearing for that alone, but sound is a stumbliing block, particularly in 1951, which, unfortunately, is the one I prefer for being the more cohesive performance, supported, as she is by a fine Alfredo in Valletti, and a superb Germont in Taddei.

She is again in fine voice for the studio version from Cetra, but her surroundings are provincial. I sometimes wish this studio set had never been made, for if it hadn't been, we would have had a studio version from EMI, with Di Stefano and Gobbi conducted by Serafin, a huge hole in EMI's Callas discography.

The 1956 Giulini is of secondary importance, being just a revival of 1955, though Bastianini is a bit more communicative here than in 1955, which nevertheless is one of the performances I would not want to be without. The performance has a historical signifance as one which changed the course of operatic history, and was very controversial at the time. Callas would continue to refine her interpretation further, but it is this Visconti production which acted as the catylist. The sound has been remarkably freshened up in Ars Vocalis's transfer.

The last two both have their merits, chief among which is the young Kraus's Alfredo in Lisbon and the further refinement of Callas's Violetta in both. However, if forced to choose but one of these performances, I would go for London, which is one of those miraculous performances, which transcends its medium, bringing you face to face with real life. For all that Callas was not in her best voice and reportedly was suffering from a cold, she achieves miracles of nuance and her performance is full of interpretive insights, the likes of which you will never hear from any other singer. Fortunately she is supported by an excellent cast in Valletti (at least as good as Kraus) and Zanasi, conducted with wonderful empathy by Rescgno. This is my desert island *La Traviata*.

I should mention that the Warner transfer of the Lisbon performance is not a patch on the transfer EMI originally made for CD in 1987, and that the ICA Classics transfer of the London performance should be avoided at all costs. Ars Vocalis has the best transfer, but, if you can't get hold of it, go for Myto.


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## Admiral (Dec 27, 2014)

Much appreciated, even 3 years later! 

I did purchase the London set


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