# What is your first memory of Maria Callas' voice?



## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Maria Callas, being such as a wonderful legend, leaves a strong emotional impression on one as a human being. My first memory of listening to her was a live Tosca CD I heard many years ago during my early 20's I believe on the Opera d'Oro label.

And I have been a fan of hers since... really relish her unique voice and forceful drama in any role she did. Earlier I picked up her complete Warner studio albums on iTunes which I am excited to hear later on this year.

So fans of Callas, what are your first experiences or stories about hearing her, live or recordings or anywhere else?


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

A Pye Ember release of the Cetra recordings of the Mad Scene from *I Puritani* and Isolde's _Liebestod_. It also included excerpts from her Cetra recordings of *La Traviata* and *La Gioconda*. The above photo was on the cover, in the centre of a plum border. You see, I remember it very well.

The *Puritani* Mad Scene is one of the most spectacular pieces of singing ever committed to disc. I have an opera producer friend, who can hardly bear to listen to it, because, he says, he knows he will never hear such singing in his lifetime. Music that usually sounds merely pretty is proved to have a deep emotional core.

The *Puritani* Mad Scene was a favourite of mine too, but I found it almost impossible to comprehend that a voice that sang with such ease its high-lying filigree, topping it with a high Eb of stunning proportions could then sing _Suicidio_ from *La Gioconda* with such passion, employing chest notes that were so dark and so rich. That one voice could accomplish so much was almost beyond comprehension.

Back then, it was the _sound_ of the voice that got me, and the emotion within that sound; the way she made singing as natural a form of expression as speaking, the way she made music come alive like no other singer I had heard. It was only later that I realised the skill and profound musicality that went into her performances.

She was controversial when she was alive and she still is now nearly 40 years after her death, and 60 years since she last appeared on the operatic stage. As Tito Gobbi said, "I always thought she was immortal. And she is."


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

My first recollection: it is occurring as I write:






I don't want to listen to this stuff


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## silentio (Nov 10, 2014)

I fell in love with this performance before I could fully appreciate opera and the female voices. Back then, I got zero idea who was this woman, and didn't know that she was not even in her best voice here. But this was a big addiction for me. I turned to other singers (mostly mezzos) in vain to seek the same aural pleasure in this aria.

Now, I know much more about opera, and have become her die-hard fan. That is, I come to appreciate how miraculous her techinque and musicianship are. But this performance still remains a mystery to me: I can't just analyze what factors make it so unique.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

brotagonist said:


> My first recollection: it is occurring as I write:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Then don't. Nobody's holding a gun to your head!


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Around 1965. I was 15 or 16. My high school algebra teacher gave me an LP of excerpts from the old mono EMI _Norma_ with Callas, Stignani & Co. I thought her "Casta diva" was the most _musical_ piece of singing I'd ever heard, and now that I've heard everybody else I still think it is - along with her other work, of course. Years later, I played it for a pianist with whom I was singing at the time, and she just stared at me dumbfounded and said "This is amazing! She is controlling precisely every moment of the phrasing!" Yes, she is. Around the same time as I acquired the _Norma_ excerpts I got hold of a _Cav/Pag_ set with Callas singing Santuzza and Nedda, and a cheap record with the _Puritani_ and _Tristan_ selections from her 1949 Cetra recital. Blown away again. See Greg's comments above so I won't have to be redundant. After that it was anything of hers I could find - Tosca, Carmen, the French opera recitals, etc.


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> Around 1965. I was 15 or 16. My high school algebra teacher gave me an LP of excerpts from the old mono EMI _Norma_ with Callas, Stignani & Co. I thought her "Casta diva" was the most _musical_ piece of singing I'd ever heard, and now that I've heard everybody else I still think it is - along with her other work, of course. Years later, I played it for a pianist with whom I was singing at the time, and she just stared at me dumbfounded and said "This is amazing! She is controlling precisely every moment of the phrasing!" Yes, she is. Around the same time as I acquired the _Norma_ excerpts I got hold of a _Cav/Pag_ set with Callas singing Santuzza and Nedda, and a cheap record with the _Puritani_ and _Tristan_ selections from her 1949 Cetra recital. Blown away again. See Greg's comments above so I won't have to be redundant. After that it was anything of hers I could find - Tosca, Carmen, the French opera recitals, etc.


Sounds very much like me ... Also in 1965 I bought a copy of the same Norma excerpts LP (which I still have!)


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

silentio said:


> I fell in love with this performance before I could fully appreciate opera and the female voices. Back then, I got zero idea who was this woman, and didn't know that she was not even in her best voice here. But this was a big addiction for me. I turned to other singers (mostly mezzos) in vain to seek the same aural pleasure in this aria.
> 
> Now, I know much more about opera, and have become her die-hard fan. That is, I come to appreciate how miraculous her techinque and musicianship are. But this performance still remains a mystery to me: *I can't just analyze what factors make it so unique.*


What strikes me most about this performance is its classical purity. This is partly a matter of vocal type - Callas is not the fruity mezzo that we usually hear as Dalila - and partly, mainly in fact, a refusal to wallow. The tempo is quick, the dynamics controlled, the expression subtle. Compare this with Olga Borodina or, at an extreme, Jessye Norman, great singers both, who "milk" the aria with big tone and distended phrasing. Callas is typically striking in how self-effacing she is as a singer, focusing on precise musical values rather than trying to make a broad vocal effect. Of course this doesn't really "explain" the magic of her art. She always said that expression was to be found _in_ the music. But not everyone can find it!


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## realdealblues (Mar 3, 2010)

I first heard Maria Callas while watching the movie Philadelphia with Tom Hanks back in 1993. I wasn't a big Opera fan back then, not that I consider myself a huge one now, but hearing her sing "La Mama Morta" from Andrea Chénier started my interest in her.


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## DarkAngel (Aug 11, 2010)

In the early 1990s one of my very first opera "sample" CDs was the famous Sutherland "art of the prima donna" as recommended in Penguin CD guide as I recall, everything was beautiful and technically pure, a masterful set of arias......then by chance I got a similar older Callas 3 CD collection called "la divina" and started to compare common tracks and the style of Maria immediately won me over.......bold, tremendous swagger and passion, many were just electrifying renditions and I could not go back

GM mentions Callas in Gioconda and her "suicidio" is a great example, the very first word is like lightning tearing across a midnight skye, and her dark lower voice in the tenebre line like a spector of death can never be forgotten once heard, no once can sing this great aria like Maria, she owns it.......


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Woodduck said:


> What strikes me most about this performance is its classical purity. This is partly a matter of vocal type - Callas is not the fruity mezzo that we usually hear as Dalila - and partly, mainly in fact, a refusal to wallow. The tempo is quick, the dynamics controlled, the expression subtle. Compare this with Olga Borodina or, at an extreme, Jessye Norman, great singers both, who "milk" the aria with big tone and distended phrasing. Callas is typically striking in how self-effacing she is as a singer, focusing on precise musical values rather than trying to make a broad vocal effect. Of course this doesn't really "explain" the magic of her art. She always said that expression was to be found _in_ the music. But not everyone can find it!


Of course these other singers with their big, rich voices, have to alter what Saint-Saens wrote when they slow it down too much. He indicates for the line _Ah reponds a mon tendresse_ to be sung in one long breath, which Callas does indeed do. Most other singers, add an extra _Reponds_ so they can take a breath in the middle of the phrase, It has become so common that pretty much everyone does it. How typical of Callas that she sticks to what the composer wrote.


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

brotagonist said:


> My first recollection: it is occurring as I write:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Brave man to admit that here! :lol:

I heard her first on volume 4 (I think it was) of The Record of Singing, when I was about 19. I couldn't see what the fuss was about then, but those were heady days of discovering the greatest opera singers of the past century, so not all of them stood out with equal brilliance. I've since avoided her, as she's one of the singers you're not supposed to criticise, and it's easier to pretend you don't know who she was than admit that you don't get it. I have heard her sing very well: someone posted a video clip on here of her singing 'Ah, non credea mirarti' which was pretty, but nowhere near as expressive as Patti, not even remotely comparable. Perhaps the early singers have spoiled the later ones for me, and I must admit that I'm not really a soprano fancier anyway: only Patti and Calvé are heroines of mine. I still occasionally check out Callas on YouTube, but always the same result: sometimes singing well, sometimes less well, but never anything that remotely justifies the legend, as far as I'm able to judge. I do wonder if her personal beauty and tragic life story have more to do with her cult status than any preeminence as a singer or actress. Let the flaming begin...


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

As a little kid I was watching the 3 Stooges on tv. Still love them.
One of the episodes featured the sextet from Lucia.
It made an impression on me.
Later, in my late teens as I was getting into classical and opera
I wanted to buy it.
Went to the store, looked thru the cds and chose the stereo Callas, Tagliavinni set.

I initially thought her voice was kind of ugly, but as I listened was so moved by the
emotion in her singing, I became a fan.
Bought some recital discs and knew immediately she was the best.


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Thanks for sharing folks.  Too bad I missed seeing her live. It would have been an awesome treat.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Figleaf said:


> Brave man to admit that here! :lol:
> 
> I heard her first on volume 4 (I think it was) of The Record of Singing, when I was about 19. I couldn't see what the fuss was about then, but those were heady days of discovering the greatest opera singers of the past century, so not all of them stood out with equal brilliance. I've since avoided her, as she's one of the singers you're not supposed to criticise, and it's easier to pretend you don't know who she was than admit that you don't get it. I have heard her sing very well: someone posted a video clip on here of her singing 'Ah, non credea mirarti' which was pretty, but nowhere near as expressive as Patti, not even remotely comparable. Perhaps the early singers have spoiled the later ones for me, and I must admit that I'm not really a soprano fancier anyway: only Patti and Calvé are heroines of mine. I still occasionally check out Callas on YouTube, but always the same result: sometimes singing well, sometimes less well, but never anything that remotely justifies the legend, as far as I'm able to judge. I do wonder if her personal beauty and tragic life story have more to do with her cult status than any preeminence as a singer or actress. Let the flaming begin...


Not in the least as far as I'm concerned, and I've heard that comment from the anti-Callas brigade so many times now, that it's hardly worth even responding to.

Presumably Victor de Sabata didn't know what he was talking about when he said, "if the public could understand, as we do, how deeply and utterly musical she is, it would be amazed."
Claudio Arrau must have been a complete numbskull to suggest that his pupils listen to Callas singing Bellini, to better understand how to phrase Chopin.
Victoria Mullova presumably had never heard anyone else when she said that her greatest discovery on coming to the West was the voice of Callas, who taught her so much about phrasing. 
She was admired by conductors like Karajan, Giulini, De Sabata, Gavazzeni, Erich Kleiber, Barbirolli, Serafin and even Klemperer and Beecham. Not so much by Solti, but then I don't find him very musical. Toscanini was all set to conduct her in *Macbeth* had he not fallen ill.
She was, and is, admired by a plethora of other singers, amongst them Caballe, Vickers, Sutherland, Schwarzkopf, Ricciarelli, Cotrubas,Fleming, Bumbry, Gobbi.

60 years after she made her last appearance on stage, her records still outsell all other sopranos.

So no, though some of her legendary status may have something to do with her beauty and her tragic life, her reputation rests very firmly on her musical greatness, whatever the detractors like to say.

In life and death she will remain controversial. The greats always are.

What strikes me, and many others, over and over again, is her profound _musicality_ and innate understanding of just what the composer intended. "Pretty" is the last word usually used to describe Callas's singing, Sutherland's yes. Normally the words used to describe her singing would be along the lines of searingly expressive, emotionally true, blindingly intense. Merely pretty? Never.


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

I have to be completely candid- I was _not_ a Callas fan until fairly recent. My ""experience"" (please note the double quotation marks) with Callas was limited to an early sixties EMI recital disc and a very perfunctory listen to her early-fifties _Macbeth_. I found her voice alternately 'steely,' 'shrill,' and even slightly 'ugly.'










For 'B.C.'-Blair (that is to say, "Before Callas"), early Joan Sutherland was my Girl- to me she had the most beautiful legato, the fiercest and most silvery-stratospheric high end, and of course the fastest and most accurate scales. The 1959 Zefirelli Covent Garden _Lucia_, the _Art of Prima Donna_, the early sixties Decca _Sonnambula_, and all of the live operas and recitals from roughly 1958-1962 were my battle standards for 'Ultimate Soprano.' Joannie was my Girl.

Then a TC friend told me about his experience with the EMI Callas _Puccini Heroines_ cd- and how Callas (_unlike_ Sutherland at her best on her _Art of Prima Donna_ recital discs) had a completely different character for each of the heroines portrayed in terms of vocal color, shading , and nuanced expressivity- unlike any singer he's ever heard (and he's heard all of them) so I decided to give the cd a whirl.

Callas' _Puccini Heroines_ recital cd piqued my curiosity- I wasn't won over- but I was starting to understand what my friend was talking about. "Here," I thought, "is a voice that is beautiful _at times _in timbre- but certainly not _always_. However, what was _consistently_ beautiful to me though was _the way _in which this singer_ expressed _herself. She wasn't trying to be 'beautiful for beauty's sake'- but rather tailored her voice to the requirements of the psychology of the character at any one moment in the score." This was a type of intellectually and emotionally penetrating singing I've never heard before. I was absolutely intrigued. I needed to hear more.

So I ordered the 1958 Covent Garden _Traviata_, the 1953 Florence _Medea_, the 1958 Dallas _Medea_, the 1952 _Armida_, the 1955 Votto _Norma_, and the 1955 Karajan _Lucia_- based on my friend's further recommendations- since I told him that I had an abiding interest in vintage Callas at her absolute dramatic and vocal _best_. I wanted to hear the_ best _possible case that could be made for 'La Divina.' "Why did so many informed musicologists rank her as perhaps the greatest singer of all time? What was I missing by not intuitively and immediately hearing what they heard?"

Then I had my Pauline moment.










I was _absolutely_ blown away. I've never heard such beautifully-profound, emotionally-devastating singing in my life as with Callas' '58 Covent Garden _Traviata_. She _perfectly conveyed_ a beautiful courtesan who's wasting away with consumption, who's completely in love, and who is the very definition of 'love' itself by sacrificing herself to her beloved's happiness. I was an absolutely, sobbing and incoherent wreck when I heard this. I had trouble following Act III _AND_ Act II's libretto so overwhelming was her expression- I had tears streaming down my cheeks, snot coming out of my nose, sudden, unpredictable involuntary inhalations that just floored me.

"Now I get it. I completely understand what people are talking about when they say that Callas may not have had the most _beautiful_ voice at times- but it is certainly the most psychologically acute, brilliantly colored and shaded, and most powerfully_ expressed _voice that one is likely to hear. . . ever."

So where I originally had a naïve and stinted understanding of Maria Callas and her art, I now realized that she was a master_ singer_, a master _musician_, and a master _psychologist_. She's the ultimate distillation of 'music drama.' Consequently, I've never been so emotionally moved by a single performing artist in my life.

I mentioned earlier that I found Callas' Lady Macbeth 'ugly.' Well, I had a superficial understanding of Verdi's vision for Lady Macbeth. Verdi revealed in his epistolary correspondence that he wanted Lady Macbeth to have an evil sounding voice- well, Callas 'deliberately' delivers this- in spades. It's not dulcet-toned bel canto- and Joan Sutherland as much as I love her at her young and glorious best, would never be able to perform this role the way Verdi envisioned it in a million years.

I want to keep going, but can't. I have matters to attend to at work. But I can go on for days on this topic. I started this post with the purpose of expressing how Callas' _Armida_ and _Medea_ (Florence and Dallas) just galvanized me beyond belief-and I derailed myself by first talking about my earliest experiences with Callas.

The best way I can explain my first real experience with Callas is like when one goes to a mall and looks at one of those paintings that has a million little dots to it- where the picture doesn't look like anything in particular at first- but one tries and tries to make out a form or shape- and then one sees that its a schooner. . . or perhaps a Goddess, looking right back at you.


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

GregMitchell said:


> Not in the least as far as I'm concerned, and I've heard that comment from the anti-Callas brigade so many times now, that it's hardly worth even responding to.
> 
> Presumably Victor de Sabata didn't know what he was talking about when he said, "if the public could understand, as we do, how deeply and utterly musical she is, it would be amazed."
> Claudio Arrau must have been a complete numbskull to suggest that his pupils listen to Callas singing Bellini, to better understand how to phrase Chopin.
> ...


I would agree that she phrased well, but _searingly_ expressive? _Blindingly _ intense? Not for me, anyway- from a purely subjective viewpoint, that just sounds like hyperbole, though her emotional impact on many listeners is not in doubt. I only replied to this thread to show support for Brotagonist, who was quite reasonably saying that _he_ doesn't want to listen to Callas, not that _nobody_ should, and because I think it's important that people should not feel cowed into paying lip service to a singer who may well leave them cold, merely because they are afraid to speak their minds. How many people erroneously believe that they don't 'get' opera, simply because they don't respond to a particularly overhyped singer? When I say that Callas is overhyped, I don't mean overrated: she has her detractors, and her fans rarely claim she was perfect. I mean 'overhyped' in the sense that I was once in a record store which had a life sized cardboard cutout of of Callas displayed prominently, and the opera section consisted largely of Callas compilations as well as those of Pavarotti and his two sidekicks, alongside crossover albums by the popera stars of the day- and this kind of selection, dismal in its lack of variety, was the norm in bricks and mortar shops with a 'Classical' section. Regrettably this overrepresentation of a handful of heavily promoted stars obscures the true diversity of recorded singing and puts off those who for whatever reason don't respond to the voices of those particular singers. Although her fans may very well have excellent grounds for their devotion, I absolutely refuse to believe that Callas' record sales have anything to do with her merits as an artist: it's an unfortunate fact that most people (as opposed to the diehard fans) simply buy whatever is most aggressively marketed at them, and if there's a pretty face on the cover that doesn't hurt either.

I make these points not because I'm part of some 'anti Callas brigade', as fans of rival divas during her lifetime might have been, but because unfortunately it's sometimes necessary to take aim at opera's sacred cows in order to restore some balance to the debate, and to reassure anyone on this forum who may think there is something wrong with their ears because they don't like the voice of one particular singer who for some unfathomable reason is supposed to be immune from criticism. The day any singer is beyond criticism on a public forum not purely set up to celebrate that singer is the day it's no longer worthwhile posting on that forum.


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

Marschallin Blair said:


> I have to be completely candid- I was _not_ a Callas fan until fairly recent. My ""experience"" (please note the double quotation marks) with Callas was limited to an early sixties EMI recital disc and a very perfunctory listen to her early-fifties _Macbeth_. I found her voice alternately 'steely,' 'shrill,' and even slightly 'ugly.'
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Brilliant post, MB. I was about to ask you who Pauline is, when I realised that you were talking about a Damascene conversion! I guess there's hope for those of us not yet smitten by Callas- or if not, we can at least continue to be entertained by your writing. :tiphat:


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

I am a relatively middle-aged guy (38 years) so I never got caught up that pro-Callas/anti-Callas camp... I love Joan Sutherland. I love Maria Callas. I don't understand the fuss because each artist is trying to be unique and relevatory (sp?) to their pieces that she is singing.

Maybe it is good that I did not live in that era because then I can judge her vocals alone for its magnificent beauty. For me, celebrating the voice is very important and not to get caught up in pre-judged motifs.

What floors me is that how little Callas is known by 20-something year olds!?! Seriously, I am saddened by not much have heard her in that age group... either that or they rarely talk about her.

Oh, and emulating her voice isn't necessarily the best model. Callas is herself and new vocal students should be themselves rather than their heroes.  That's why we will get new heroes and heroines.


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

GregMitchell said:


> Not in the least as far as I'm concerned, and I've heard that comment from the anti-Callas brigade so many times now, that it's hardly worth even responding to.
> 
> Presumably Victor de Sabata didn't know what he was talking about when he said, "if the public could understand, as we do, how deeply and utterly musical she is, it would be amazed."
> Claudio Arrau must have been a complete numbskull to suggest that his pupils listen to Callas singing Bellini, to better understand how to phrase Chopin.
> ...


Absolutely without cavil or qualification is Callas the most searingly-expressive, and vividly-alive singer of all time.

All that I can say of those who would seek to diminish her with frivolous, canting, and captious criticism is that its merely the rebellion of everything that crawls on the ground against that which has height.


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

Figleaf said:


> Brilliant post, MB. I was about to ask you who Pauline is, when I realised that you were talking about a Damascene conversion! I guess there's hope for those of us not yet smitten by Callas- or if not, we can at least continue to be entertained by your writing. :tiphat:


I was of course using religious language for hyperbolic effect- as I'm not religious myself- but still all the same I do have a religious reverence for Maria Callas' art in the highest and most exalted_ secular_ sense of the term.

_;D_


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

Albert7 said:


> I am a relatively middle-aged guy (38 years) so I never got caught up that pro-Callas/anti-Callas camp... I love Joan Sutherland. I love Maria Callas. I don't understand the fuss because each artist is trying to be unique and relevatory (sp?) to their pieces that she is singing.
> 
> Maybe it is good that I did not live in that era because then I can judge her vocals alone for its magnificent beauty. For me, celebrating the voice is very important and not to get caught up in pre-judged motifs.
> 
> ...


We'll see.

Geniuses are born, not made.
_
;D_


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

GregMitchell said:


> What strikes me, and many others, over and over again, is her profound _musicality_ and innate understanding of just what the composer intended. "Pretty" is the last word usually used to describe Callas's singing, Sutherland's yes. Normally the words used to describe her singing would be along the lines of searingly expressive, emotionally true, blindingly intense. Merely pretty? Never.


I didn't say _merely_ pretty, you added the 'merely'! 'Pretty' shouldn't be a dirty word in the world of _bel canto_, though perhaps I should have used an adjective which sounded less like insultingly faint praise. I _could_ point to a clip of her sounding ugly if you prefer, except I doubt you would actually prefer it, and anyway I wouldn't do that because it misses the point to carp at a great singer because her top notes were no longer what they had been.


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## Wood (Feb 21, 2013)

brotagonist said:


> My first recollection: it is occurring as I write:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


She doesn't look very well in this clip. Pinched and gaunt.

My first memory is listening to Macbeth (Sabata) way back in 2014. Her vileness was shocking.

I have the new box set of studio recordings, but I don't expect anything will surpass her Lady Macbeth.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

The great Tosca recording with Tito Gobbi.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

hpowders said:


> The great Tosca recording with Tito Gobbi.


I assume you mean the one with de Sabata. There was an ill fated remake under Pretre when Callas and Gobbi were past their best. The Sabata recording is one of the great classics of the gramophone. I think it was also my first experience of Callas - I heard it on the radio as a lad. Records were so expensive (relatively) in those days it seemed impossible to get a set. 
The other experience was her Carmen. It came out in a luxury box 'The Callas Carmen' with various additives. Her Carmen is one I have admired rather than liked as I feel by that time her voice was largely past it althoigh she shows astonishing intelligence in coping with the vocal problems.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Figleaf said:


> I only replied to this thread to show support for Brotagonist, who was quite reasonably saying that _he_ doesn't want to listen to Callas,


But why say it on a Callas thread anyway? It's rather like a child throwing a firecracker into a room and running for it. Nor can you deny the combative nature of your own post . "Let the flaming begin," you said. Clearly you were hoping for a response, which is what you got.

Incidentally, I would just point out that I have never suggested in any of my posts that Callas is beyond criticism. After the weight loss, I'd be the first to admit that the voice started to let her down, though at least there were musical compensations. I do however get very tired of those people who suggest that her success was due to external sources and had nothing to do with her singing. People were raving about Callas long before the marketing people got going, and while she was still very fat! She was famous in musical circles long before she lost weight and met Aristotle Onassis! Unlike most of today's singers she never employed a PR person. Maybe if she had done, the press would have been kinder to her.

I understand that some people don't like her voice. I understand and accept it. But to somehow suggest that her success was manufactured is to totally misunderstand one of the greatest _musicians_ of the twentieth century.


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

GregMitchell said:


> *But why say it on a Callas thread anyway? It's rather like a child throwing a firecracker into a room and running for it. * Nor can you deny the combative nature of your own post . "Let the flaming begin," you said. Clearly you were hoping for a response, which is what you got.
> 
> Incidentally, I would just point out that I have never suggested in any of my posts that Callas is beyond criticism. After the weight loss, I'd be the first to admit that the voice started to let her down, though at least there were musical compensations. I do however get very tired of those people who suggest that her success was due to external sources and had nothing to do with her singing. People were raving about Callas long before the marketing people got going, and while she was still very fat! She was famous in musical circles long before she lost weight and met Aristotle Onassis! Unlike most of today's singers she never employed a PR person. Maybe if she had done, the press would have been kinder to her.
> 
> I understand that some people don't like her voice. I understand and accept it. But to somehow suggest that her success was manufactured is to totally misunderstand one of the greatest _musicians_ of the twentieth century.


You mean, like attacking Mado Robin on a Mado Robin thread? :lol: This won't do: either _every_ singer is fair game for adverse criticism, or none of them are- and the fact that Callas was probably a greater artist than Robin is beside the point. I mentioned flaming because I've seen that happen here before whenever somebody ventures to criticise Callas. And I didn't mean to imply that her success in her lifetime was manufactured: while I'm sure plenty goes on behind the scenes that the public doesn't know about, any singer whose reputation is based on live appearances stands or falls according to their own abilities, at least once the first 'lucky break' has occurred. No, I meant that her posthumous record sales are due to marketing: the record companies seem to like to have a tiny handful of relentlessly hyped stars whose records are in every store and crowd out the 'competition' of whatever kind. That doesn't mean she wasn't an artist or that she didn't deserve her own hard-won success.


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## silentio (Nov 10, 2014)

Albert7 said:


> What floors me is that how little Callas is known by 20-something year olds!?! Seriously, I am saddened by not much have heard her in that age group... either that or they rarely talk about her.


22-year-old student here . I am in a large circle of students who love classical music, and _none_ of us are music majors. Maria Callas is indeed widely known. Some of the responses when I mentioned her name:

_"The one who sings the opera soundtracks in Philadelphia _?"

_"Meryl Streep is going to play her, right?"_

_"The singer appears frequently on EMI label?"._

_"Oh.. Callas. I heard that her Un bel di and O mio babbino caro are good!"_


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## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

I first came upon Callas some time after I had begun to seriously explore opera. For some years I had been well versed in lieder and choral music... yet I had but a passing familiarity with only a small number of opera from the core repertoire: La Traviata, La Boheme, Die Zauberflöte, Aida, Carmen, Tristan und Isolde, Parsifal, Le Nozze di Figaro, and a few others. Among these "few others" was _Madama Butterfly_. I actually owned a copy of the original book and was aware that it was something akin to today's cheap pulp fiction.

Even so, I found the work to be achingly beautiful. I owned the LP version of Karajan with Freni...










... and had even seen the work IRL. Beautiful. Beautiful. Beautiful. And nothing wrong with Beautiful, says this adherent of Oscar Wilde, Walter Pater, and _art pour l'art_.

But then I stumbled upon an article on Callas. It was pointed out just how Callas had brought an unheard or intensity and emotion to an operatic oeuvre that was not necessarily considered to be the most worthy example of dramatic musical theater. The result was that the listener could not help but believe that perhaps they were wrong about these works all along.

I picked up a used CD of Callas' _Madama Butterfly_ with Karajan:










Upon my first hearing I was floored. Callas' Cio-Cio San was the pretty, young teenager, rather she was a character infused with the most intense passion. The climax and death scene had my hair standing up on the back of my neck, and I was sold on Callas from there on.






My hair still stands on end from 1:09.


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

silentio said:


> 22-year-old student here . I am in a large circle of students who love classical music, and _none_ of us are music majors. Maria Callas is indeed widely known. Some of the responses when I mentioned her name:
> 
> _"The one who sings the opera soundtracks in Philadelphia _?"
> 
> ...


Facepalm... evidently proving that the generation Y'ers didn't bother to research her life but filtered through a very reductive lens.

Callas' legacy is fierce but needs to be looked at further.


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## silentio (Nov 10, 2014)

Albert7 said:


> Facepalm... evidently proving that the generation Y'ers didn't bother to research her life but filtered through a very reductive lens.
> 
> Callas' legacy is fierce but needs to be looked at further.


What do you mean here? Why the facepalm?

I am her diehard fan but I disagree. Nobody is obliged to "research about her life" or her "fierce career". Just like right now I am not a fan of Marcel Proust and have not read him seriously, then some random guy asks me "Do you know Proust?". So should I be accursed if my reply is "Is that the French guy that wrote that l_engthy_ novel?" instead of giving a eulogy for _The Search_????

I mentioned these just to prove that her fame indeed lives on.


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

silentio said:


> What do you mean here? Why the facepalm?
> 
> I am her diehard fan but I disagree. Nobody is obliged to "research about her life" or her "fierce career". Just like right now I am not a fan of Marcel Proust and have not read him seriously, then some random guy asks me "Do you know Proust?". So should I be accursed if my reply is "Is that the French guy that wrote that l_engthy_ novel?" instead of giving a eulogy for _The Search_????
> 
> I mentioned these just to prove that her fame indeed lives on.


I apologize in that case. I missed your point then.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

I got an album by her from my high school library ( try that today) and she had blond hair on the cover. She sang Senza Mama and I can remember that last note 44 years later like it was yesterday. High School would have been one long misery event were it not for opera and Barbra.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Seattleoperafan said:


> I got an album by her from my high school library ( try that today) and she had blond hair on the cover. She sang Senza Mama and I can remember that last note 44 years later like it was yesterday. High School would have been one long misery event were it not for opera and Barbra.


I'm interested why that note in particular. It's not one of her best. Indeed one of the first occasions we hear the dreaded wobble.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

GregMitchell said:


> I'm interested why that note in particular. It's not one of her best. Indeed one of the first occasions we hear the dreaded wobble.


I agree, it was a bad wobble. I was 15, had bad taste in music at the time most likely, and could sing up to a G6 and I found it easy to imitate Callas' voice back then. That wobble was so unusual sounding and while not necessarily beautiful, was dramatically haunting in quality. I could nail that note. I could sing Je Suis Titania from Mignon with ease at that point. I wish I had an audio recording from that period.


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

The first time I heard Callas was in 1998 when a local classical radio station played her complete recording of I PURITANI. I didn't care for her then because I thought it sounded as though she was singing sharp, and I didn't exactly love the sound of her voice. However, later that same year I listened to her album that includes the mad scenes from ANNA BOLENA, HAMLET, and IL PIRATA and I could definitely hear the musico-dramatic genius that GregMitchell refers to. Today I'm not exactly a Callas _fan_, but I do appreciate her.

It's worth saying, though, that the primary reason I responded so well to the Mad Scenes album was because I felt her timbre sounded much more attractive than it had on the PURITANI. I suspect this was due to "Mad Scenes" being recorded in stereo, while PURITANI was monaural; it seems the stereo acoustic was more flattering to her voice. I say this to make the point that what I've always responded to most in singers is _timbre_. A singer could be the greatest musician and interpreter in the world, but if I don't like the sheer sound of the voice then that singer won't be a favorite of mine. So it was because I finally came to like the sound of Callas' voice that I was able to hear her genius as a musician.


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

Bellinilover said:


> The first time I heard Callas was in 1998 when a local classical radio station played her complete recording of I PURITANI. I didn't care for her then because I thought it sounded as though she was singing sharp, and I didn't exactly love the sound of her voice. However, later that same year I listened to her album that includes the mad scenes from ANNA BOLENA, HAMLET, and IL PIRATA and I could definitely hear the musico-dramatic genius that GregMitchell refers to. Today I'm not exactly a Callas _fan_, but I do appreciate her.
> 
> It's worth saying, though, that the primary reason I responded so well to the Mad Scenes album was because I felt her timbre sounded much more attractive than it had on the PURITANI. I suspect this was due to "Mad Scenes" being recorded in stereo, while PURITANI was monaural; it seems the stereo acoustic was more flattering to her voice. I say this to make the point that what I've always responded to most in singers is _timbre_. A singer could be the greatest musician and interpreter in the world, but if I don't like the sheer sound of the voice then that singer won't be a favorite of mine. So it was because I finally came to like the sound of Callas' voice that I was able to hear her genius as a musician.


Speaking of 'timbre,' I always thought it was a shame that EMI didn't have the sound engineers that Decca did- especially when Divina was making her late forties-to-mid-fifties recordings where that timbral spectra of hers was absolutely _glorious_. The timbre of her color, shading, volume, and control on her _Nabucco, Macbeth_, Florence _Medea_, and_ Armida _are off the charts. I'd love to hear her voice captured with the same engineering fidelity that Sutherland's was on her _Art of Prima Donna_ or Suliotis' was on her Decca _Nabucco_.

Callas' timbre(s) at her vintage best is the most variegated rainbow of hues, tints, and colors that I've ever heard in a singer.


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

StlukesguildOhio said:


> But then I stumbled upon an article on Callas. It was pointed out just how Callas had brought an unheard or intensity and emotion to an operatic oeuvre that was not necessarily considered to be the most worthy example of dramatic musical theater. The result was that the listener could not help but believe that perhaps they were wrong about these works all along.
> 
> I picked up a used CD of Callas' _Madama Butterfly_ with Karajan:
> 
> ...


I have some mental allergy towards Maria Callas but that is enjoyable.

I also like her in this recording of Parsifal:






I don´t remember when I heard her for the first time but I had the same reaction as Brotagonist.


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Sloe said:


> I have some mental allergy towards Maria Callas but that is enjoyable.
> 
> I also like her in this recording of Parsifal:
> 
> ...


Wonderful voice for Parsifal but the singing in Italian doesn't appeal to me to be honest. I prefer my Wagner in Italian all the way home.


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

watching a clip of a performance of Tosca where she stabs Scarpia (Tito Gobbi). the voice was so dark and the chest notes were so, well, _chesty_, that I actually thought it was a contralto role


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

This is an easy question. My first hearing of Maria Callas was to my knowledge two days ago. I was just curious what all the fuss was about.

Some of you should feel vindicated and gratified to know my reaction was --


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## Guest (Mar 12, 2015)

I don't remember. I was probably busy thinking about, you know...Verdi or something.


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

BalalaikaBoy said:


> watching a clip of a performance of Tosca where she stabs Scarpia (Tito Gobbi). the voice was so dark and the chest notes were so, well, _chesty_, that I actually thought it was a contralto role


Weren't you the guy who mistook his wife for a hat?


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

Weston said:


> This is an easy question. My first hearing of Maria Callas was to my knowledge two days ago. I was just curious what all the fuss was about.
> 
> Some of you should feel vindicated and gratified to know my reaction was --


Are you suggesting 'bomb' (as in 'epic failure') or 'bombshell' (as in 'revelatory')?- because the content of my response depends on the content of your response.


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Weston said:


> This is an easy question. My first hearing of Maria Callas was to my knowledge two days ago. I was just curious what all the fuss was about.
> 
> Some of you should feel vindicated and gratified to know my reaction was --


Based on those pictures, I couldn't tell you whether you were blown away by Callas' genius or repulsed by her drama... But I love the response because I don't know what you are getting at. Plus A1 sauce from me.


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

Albert7 said:


> Based on those pictures, I couldn't tell you whether you were blown away by Callas' genius or repulsed by her drama... But I love the response because I don't know what you are getting at. Plus A1 sauce from me.


But how could anyone who has a pulse be "repulsed by her drama"?- unless of course one didn't have a pulse to begin with. . . _or_ a 'heart.'


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Marschallin Blair said:


> But how could anyone who has a pulse be "repulsed by her drama"?- unless of course one didn't have a pulse to begin with. . . _or_ a 'heart.'


Some people can't handle having too much power. It would scare them off .


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

Albert7 said:


> Some people can't handle having too much power. It would scare them off .












Singing of Divina's stamp makes me feel vitally _alive. _


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## undifelice (Mar 11, 2015)

What a gorgeous post, Marschallin Blair. 
I too have been a recent convert to the Callas school. I was initially put off by what I thought was an ugly sound-having mostly listened to bird like coloraturas, and the beautiful Tebaldi-but I get it now. I really do. I remember thinking she was a perfect, perfect Lady M, but nothing more; she seemed to have what Verdi wanted, and her dramatic capabilities were of course second to none. But I still didn't think she was right in the rep that was mostly dominated by the bell like sounds of a Sutherland, a Dessay, you name it. However, having now listened more extensively to her discography, I can't even put my finger on what I thought to be an unattractive sound. 
Looking forward to listening to the '58 Traviata!


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## SimonNZ (Jul 12, 2012)

Thanks to all the hyperbole surrounding Callas on TC I've been completely put off playing any of her recordings again, probably for years to come.


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## undifelice (Mar 11, 2015)

Hi Albert7! 
Just wanted to let you know I am an 18 year old, and I am very much committed to spreading the gospel of Callas amongst my friends. I'll keep fighting the good fight!


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

undifelice said:


> What a gorgeous post, Marschallin Blair.
> I too have been a recent convert to the Callas school. I was initially put off by what I thought was an ugly sound-having mostly listened to bird like coloraturas, and the beautiful Tebaldi-but I get it now. I really do. I remember thinking she was a perfect, perfect Lady M, but nothing more; she seemed to have what Verdi wanted, and her dramatic capabilities were of course second to none. But I still didn't think she was right in the rep that was mostly dominated by the bell like sounds of a Sutherland, a Dessay, you name it. However, having now listened more extensively to her discography, I can't even put my finger on what I thought to be an unattractive sound.
> Looking forward to listening to the '58 Traviata!


_
What a sweet thing to say_, undifelice! _;D_

Thank you.

<Kiss on the cheek.>

I envy you your '58 Covent Garden _Traviata_ encounter.


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

SimonNZ said:


> Thanks to all the hyperbole surrounding Callas on TC I've been completely put off playing any of her recordings again, probably for years to come.


There are those who'd call an enchanting unicorn "an ugly, one-horned mule."

After all, one is what one is.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

SimonNZ said:


> Thanks to all the hyperbole surrounding Callas on TC I've been completely put off playing any of her recordings again, probably for years to come.


That is a shame certainly. However I remember feeling the same about a certain Broadway/movie star for quite a while. I was a teenager admittedly but all the hype had put me off. I was above all that, I thought.

However I had a spare afternoon in Paris once and found myself outside a cinema playing her movie, her first and one she got an encore for, so I decided to go in and see what all the fuss was about. Even whilst paying for my ticket I was absolutely determined to dislike her. By about ten minutes into the film I was blown away, and I became a total convert.

I hope, for your sake, that you will find your way back to the fold, maybe after a short cooling off period.


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

Albert7 said:


> Wonderful voice for Parsifal but the singing in Italian doesn't appeal to me to be honest. I prefer my Wagner in Italian all the way home.


At least I like something with Callas.


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## clara s (Jan 6, 2014)

My first meeting with Calas's divine voice was when I was about 12 years old.
It was late summer, and I was in a beautiful open air theatre, with my teachers and friends,
for a "night with the Diva" a performance dedicated to Callas.
There were many opera singers, photographs of her all over the theatre,
when near the end of the performance, a video started showing Callas in her 
most supreme roles.
Exquisite...

And suddenly I saw and heard a dreamy presence.
Casta Diva from the 1958 appearance in Paris.
I stayed still, I could not even think anything, I didn't want to think anything,
I just tried not to lose a single note from this unique voice.

"Casta Diva, che inargenti 
queste sacre antiche piante, 
a noi volgi il bel sembiante 
senza nube e senza vel..."









Today the Maria Callas museum is prepared in Greece.
Her voice will be the sole guide of the visitors in this museum,
which is going to open its gates in the very near future.
Sound and visual documents, personal objects, costumes,
letters, telegrams, notes, pictures, photographs, programs from
her performances, roles and among all these her VOICE,
and the visitor will have the opportunity to discover Callas's expressive talent and skill,
through videos and recordings.

This is the legacy of Maria


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

I forget that humans can have trouble reading the canine facial expression. Translation: I was blown away and gobsmacked. But if I have to 'splain it, I guess it just doesn't come across. 

I am never repulsed by drama if it's where it belongs - on stage and screen and in the pages of a book or the brushstrokes of a painting. 

I'll add Callas to my list of things to investigate, though I'm a little troubled by the quality of recordings from her prime, before my time.


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

GregMitchell said:


> That is a shame certainly. However I remember feeling the same about a certain Broadway/movie star for quite a while. I was a teenager admittedly but all the hype had put me off. I was above all that, I thought.
> 
> However I had a spare afternoon in Paris once and found myself outside a cinema playing her movie, her first and one she got an encore for, so I decided to go in and see what all the fuss was about. Even whilst paying for my ticket I was absolutely determined to dislike her. By about ten minutes into the film I was blown away, and I became a total convert.
> 
> I hope, for your sake, that you will find your way back to the fold, maybe after a short cooling off period.


I'm intrigued. Was it Barbara Streisand?


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

I meant to add that I clicked on something at random on Spotify. It turned out to be Alfredo Catalani, "Ebben? ne andrò lontana," from La Wally (on the 2014 Pure - Maria Callas album). Not exactly a household name piece, but it certainly is stunning, soaring into the stratosphere.


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

I listened to a short youtube clip once ages ago, and it didn't make much of an impression on me, then just a few weeks ago I listened to her for a longer time and in closer detail here:






My impression is she had a lovely and rich voice but unfortunately didn't sing much of the repertoire I am most interested in (Baroque and Modern).


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

BBC Radio 3, 1981, Sempre Libera. I was 21 and at university.

I had long been a classical music fan, but this is what got me into opera. I immediately went out and spent some of my student allowance on a tape set of La traviata.


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## undifelice (Mar 11, 2015)

After reading this thread, I immediately popped over to YT to rewatch a Callas documentary. I loved the woman, I loved the artist. I'll always regret never having the chance to witness her glory live.

*Her Lady M is second to noneee*


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Bellinilover said:


> I'm intrigued. Was it Barbara Streisand?


You guessed right. And I still think her screen debut in *Funny Girl* is one of the most gob-smacking debuts on film. Quite honestly, by the time she had finished singing _I'm the greatest star_ I was convinced.


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## Viardots (Oct 4, 2014)

My first encounter with Callas occurred at a relatively young age of 12. I must admit that at that time much of the repertoire she sang was not yet within my "radar". Looking back from hindsight, this CD isn't really the best introduction to anyone who hasn't heard her before, as most of the selections came from the 1960s, when she was approaching the end of her career on stage and her voice was not what it used to be in its glorious prime in the early-mid 1950s. The CD was played on a local classical music radio station programme featuring historical reissues released on CD in the early 1990s. It was my introduction to Callas.









My first impression?
-	My young mind hardly knew how to describe it. It certainly wasn't beautiful in the conventional sense.
-	But I immediately sensed that it was a voice capable of expressing the darkest of human emotions, one possessing a tragic grandeur that was alluring in a way that one finds it difficult to explain. 
-	Even the very name "Maria Callas", as pronounced by the radio presenter, evoked an aura of legend.

Well, this first encounter at least aroused my curiosity. But it would take several more years, through reading of countless CD reviews, feature articles, books about the great diva, as well as a gradual expansion of the operatic repertoire that I listen to, that I came to appreciate more and more her tremendous contributions to the world of opera.

The very opera that turned me forever into her fan is La Traviata. I first acquired the 1955 La Scala performance and the 1958 Lisbon performance as these two were more readily available in the local CD stores. Later on I managed to get the 1958 Covent Garden performance. It was through her Violetta that I came to fully understand the complete splendour of her artistry - the ability to create a living, believable character through expressive painting and colouring of words in the libretto and use of various shades of tone of her sound, rather than merely beauty of sound, as well as an absolutely sure grasp and acute sense of the directions in the musical score and the architecture of the entire opera. All these are achieved with utter spontaneity and sheer instinct, as though there is no other way to achieve such marvels. To me it was Alexandre Dumas' La Dame aux camélias coming alive through audio means alone. From that point onwards there is no turning back.


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

GregMitchell said:


> You guessed right. And I still think her screen debut in *Funny Girl* is one of the most gob-smacking debuts on film. Quite honestly, by the time she had finished singing _I'm the greatest star_ I was convinced.


Your story reminded me of one that Dustin Hoffman told in an interview. In the 1960's, when Streisand was first becoming popular, a friend urged him to watch her perform on some TV show (I forget which one). Hoffmann said he tuned in reluctantly, expecting or even hoping that she would be bad, and instead he was stunned by her talent.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

clara s said:


> My first meeting with Calas's divine voice was when I was about 12 years old.
> It was late summer, and I was in a beautiful open air theatre, with my teachers and friends,
> for a "night with the Diva" a performance dedicated to Callas.
> There were many opera singers, photographs of her all over the theatre,
> ...


A wonderful post! Thank you for the information on the Callas Museum! A reason to visit Greece among many!


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/16/greece-honours-opera-star-maria-callas

Is the arts academy referred to in the above article the same as the museum Clara S mentions, or are they two separate projects? Sounds interesting, anyway.


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## clara s (Jan 6, 2014)

Figleaf said:


> http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/16/greece-honours-opera-star-maria-callas
> 
> Is the arts academy referred to in the above article the same as the museum Clara S mentions, or are they two separate projects? Sounds interesting, anyway.


The Academy of lyrical arts is going to be an academy for young artists 
named in Maria Callas honour.
This Academy will be situated also in Athens, in the building
where Calas's house was once.

The Callas museum will be in an other area, almost under Acropolis,
in a 4 storey building, the photograph of which, I showed in my post.

We, all Callas admirers, could meet some time in the future, in Athens
and have a Maria Callas day in the museum, her house, finishing with some of her 
best performances which we will attend through a documentary.


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## clara s (Jan 6, 2014)

hpowders said:


> A wonderful post! Thank you for the information on the Callas Museum! A reason to visit Greece among many!


thanks

yes, we could all even visit her home village in southern Greece


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

clara s said:


> The Academy of lyrical arts is going to be an academy for young artists
> named in Maria Callas honour.
> This Academy will be situated also in Athens, in the building
> where Calas's house was once.
> ...


I'm free tomorrow afternoon between 2PM-4PM.


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## clara s (Jan 6, 2014)

hpowders said:


> I'm free tomorrow afternoon between 2PM-4PM.


I did not see it on time
we could go by teletransport hahaha

next weekend in the Athens opera house, in front of this portrait


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

clara s said:


> I did not see it on time
> we could go by teletransport hahaha
> 
> next weekend in the Athens opera house, in front of this portrait
> ...


How will I know it's you? There may be other gals there too.


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## clara s (Jan 6, 2014)

hpowders said:


> How will I know it's you? There may be other gals there too.


I will hold the whole box of Maria Callas remastered edition

... and a lobster (from the other thread) hahaha


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

clara s said:


> I will hold the whole box of Maria Callas remastered edition
> 
> ... and a lobster (from the other thread) hahaha


Yes! In its own lukewarm bath! And I will be wearing the Alpine White Talk Classical sweatshirt.


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## sabrina (Apr 26, 2011)

Casta Diva on a youtube video. I might have heard her before in a TV/radio program, but I don't remember. But before Internet era I remember getting a book about her...
After youtube striking encounter I started buying most of the CDs/DVDs I found with her.


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

I am curious about video documentation of her operas? I wonder whether those have ever been collected into a box set.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Albert7 said:


> I am curious about video documentation of her operas? I wonder whether those have ever been collected into a box set.


There is no video documentation of her operas. All we have are two performances of Act II of *Tosca*, both with Gobbi (Paris 1958 and London 1964). There is also a much cut performance of bits of Act II of *Tosca* with George London on the Ed Sullivan show in New York.

Other than that all we have are various concerts and TV appearances.


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## Belowpar (Jan 14, 2015)

There's a couple of snipets of her on stage but sadly not in close up or synced with the audio.


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## Il_Penseroso (Nov 20, 2010)

Una voce poco fa on VHS, but I wish it was 'Qual cor tradisti ' or 'Deh! non volerli vittime' instead...


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Belowpar said:


> There's a couple of snipets of her on stage but sadly not in close up or synced with the audio.


Yes snippets only. You can also see bits of the Lisbon *Traviata* on youtube. It's filmed presumably from the back stalls, and the quality is pretty grainy, but even here you get some impression of Callas's profound musicality, the way even her movements are a response to the music. Everything is organic. Nothing is applied or extraneous. She really was a musical miracle.


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## clara s (Jan 6, 2014)

Elvira de Hidalgo was a distinguished soprano
and the teacher of Maria Callas in the Athens conservatoire,
whom Maria loved deeply.


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## Diminuendo (May 5, 2015)

Habanera from EMI's The Best Classical Album in the World...Ever! And the rest is history.


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## Dongiovanni (Jul 30, 2012)

My parents had one opera recording... this one:


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## Cesare Impalatore (Apr 16, 2015)

My first conscious memory is when I got that Emi _The Very Best of Maria Callas_ CD as a Christmas present or something and listened like crazy to her _In questa reggia_ which fascinated me immensely at the time.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

My first Callas experience was inadvertent:
"Una macchia è qui tuttora" (the Sleepwalking a Scene), the second band of a selection of Verdi's music in a Time-Life album called "The Romantic Era."
It made me realize that there was *something* to opera after all. The voice, the rhythmic control, the sculpting of the vocal line, the dramatic coherence of everything that was sung, the sheer audacity of the plunge into the chest register ("o maledetta"), the eerie _fil de voce_ at the close, all contributed to the impression Callas made on me. Most of all, it was the *authority* that she conveyed - everything seemed right, just, impeccable. Magisterial. Also on that same LP side: Corelli and Tucci in Trovatore, Fischer-Dieskau in "Eri tu," Freni in Traviata. But Callas was the one who convinced.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Yesterday I met an old gentleman from Boston (he told me he was 78) who related to me me his first memory of Maria Callas. He actually saw her in *La Traviata* at the Met. He would have been quite young at the time but the memory has stayed with him all his life. He remembers particularly how organic her performance was, how even the way she moved was a response to the music. I have to admit I felt rather jealous.


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

GregMitchell said:


> Yesterday I met an old gentleman from Boston (he told me he was 78) who related to me me his first memory of Maria Callas. He actually saw her in *La Traviata* at the Met. He would have been quite young at the time but the memory has stayed with him all his life. He remembers particularly how organic her performance was, how even the way she moved was a response to the music. I have to admit I felt rather jealous.


Typical British understatement.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

clara s said:


> Elvira de Hidalgo was a distinguished soprano
> and the teacher of Maria Callas in the Athens conservatoire,
> whom Maria loved deeply.


What a delight this is! The performances are amazingly similar. Even with the great difference in their timbres, and the much greater weight of Callas's voice, it's clear from the pinpoint execution of fioriture and clarity of phrasing they share that the pupil learned her lessons well. Callas called herself a "sponge," and it's wonderful to hear what she soaked up as a girl at the Conservatoire.


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## dwindladwayne (May 18, 2015)

_Un bel dì vedremo_, obviously!


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## clara s (Jan 6, 2014)

Woodduck said:


> What a delight this is! The performances are amazingly similar. Even with the great difference in their timbres, and the much greater weight of Callas's voice, it's clear from the pinpoint execution of fioriture and clarity of phrasing they share that the pupil learned her lessons well. Callas called herself a "sponge," and it's wonderful to hear what she soaked up as a girl at the Conservatoire.


you are observant

Elvira de Hidalgo was a great coloratura and this was given in full to her student.

She was also very experienced in how to behave on stage, something which is very different from just singing. And this was taught very successfully to Maria.

see here what the teacher says about her student


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

clara s said:


> you are observant
> 
> Elvira de Hidalgo was a great coloratura and this was given in full to her student.
> 
> ...


That is simply beautiful. Hidalgo's knowledge, her wisdom, her character are like a fact of nature. Do we have such teachers now? I think we could use her.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

"Hello, is Ari there? Tell him it's Maria."


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## clara s (Jan 6, 2014)

Woodduck said:


> That is simply beautiful. Hidalgo's knowledge, her wisdom, her character are like a fact of nature. Do we have such teachers now? I think we could use her.


The teacher is a key factor in the development of an artist.
To enter the Athens conservatoire, Callas had to pass an audition.
She sang the very impressive Aria of the Ocean, from Weber's Oberon.

Elvira de Hidalgo was more than thrilled with Maria's voice
although the other teachers suggested not to accept Callas,
because they said she was arrogant.
De Hidalgo took her in her class as a scholar with no fees.

De Hidalgo did not use just a simple method for teaching,
but a whole system of rules and exercises of the voice,
a "school" with a special way of singing, known as bel-canto.
She was one of the last carriers of the great tradition of bel-canto.


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## clara s (Jan 6, 2014)

hpowders said:


> "Hello, is Ari there? Tell him it's Maria."


hahaha very good

douze points per te

ps by the way, did you work in the telephone board of Olympic airways?


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

clara s said:


> hahaha very good
> 
> douze points per te
> 
> ps by the way, did you work in the telephone board of Olympic airways?


Ha! Ha! Now I have to give those points right back to you. It's a delightful draw!!! :tiphat:


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