# Is Maria Callas the best opera singer ever?



## Dedalus (Jun 27, 2014)

I heard this was true. Is she really that good?


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

Ah, a Christmas can of worms nicely opened! It all depends on what you consider great in a singer. Is it voice, acting ability, passion or a combination of all three. Callas was a great dramatic actor but, to my ears, not an absolutely brilliant singer but she was very talented and her emotion when singing could be thrilling and moving in equal measure. One of the greats, certainly. The greatest? Highly debatable. I shall now don a tin helmet and retire to the trenches to await incoming!,


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

She was certainly one of the greats. There was also more than one Callas. There was fat Callas who was one of the supreme coloratura sopranos of all time including heart stoppingly HUGE notes above high C, who could sing Wagner and turn around and sing Bellini within days. She was certainly one of the two or three greatest interpreters of music ever. To many ears she did not possess the most beautiful voices around, and after she lost 80 pounds this became more and more the case. On the other hand, after she lost weight she became a much more vivid actress... certainly one of the most supreme actresses to ever be on stage. There were four roles she totally owned.... moreso than anyone else: Tosca, Norma, Armida and Medea. This is a supreme example of Callas at the peak of her vocal powers... from Armida in 1952 with dazzling coloratura and ginourmous high D's above high C:



.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

I think it is foolish to debate the 'best ever' in a highly competitive and diverse field. Callas was certainly a great vocal actress - one of the greatest ever. However, she never sang Mozart so she cannot be considered the greatest Mozart soprano. Also if sheer vocal beauty is what you are after you'd be better going to the likes of Sutherland or Tebaldi. But for sheer dramatic ability Callas is certainly right up there with the greats.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

http://www.talkclassical.com/43649-my-last-maria-callas.html


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## Tuoksu (Sep 3, 2015)

For me, absolutely yes.


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## Don Fatale (Aug 31, 2009)

Earlier this week I was in my local bar when Katherine Jenkins came up in conversation. Someone made the foolish remark of calling her an opera singer in my presence. :devil: I cued up YouTube examples of Jenkins and then Callas on my phone (with headphones). The dear lady was crying during the Callas, husband returns from smoke break and asks what I've done to upset his wife! That's Callas for you.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Callas probably brought more to opera than any other singer ever did. Her dedication alone to perfection and hard work is a signature to her commitment to the art.
Was she blessed with the most beautiful set of pipes? Even she herself will tell you "no". 
But as anyone who knows the first thing about opera will tell you, there is much more to opera than a beautiful voice. And Callas had everything else, looks, temperament, plus a charisma about her, and a girlish, shy quality that came through the tigress. She exuded a sadness and loneliness about her as well.
Maria Callas was unique. There will never be another like La Divina. She holds the title.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Not sure we can ever know because there were many great opera singers of the pre-recording era and because recording quality may affect judgement of a comparison among many singers.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

One thing that puzzles me is why people get so passionate about people like Callas. They seem almost to view her as a higher being. She was a singer and an actress. A very fine one. But as any actress she dealt in fiction not real life. Don't get me wrong - I am an admirer. But it does puzzle me why she has been the object of almost worship by some.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

nina foresti said:


> Callas probably brought more to opera than any other singer ever did. Her dedication alone to perfection and hard work is a signature to her commitment to the art.
> Was she blessed with the most beautiful set of pipes? Even she herself will tell you "no".
> But as anyone who knows the first thing about opera will tell you, there is much more to opera than a beautiful voice. And Callas had everything else, looks, temperament, plus a charisma about her, and a girlish, shy quality that came through the tigress. She exuded a sadness and loneliness about her as well.
> Maria Callas was unique. There will never be another like La Divina. She holds the title.


I can add to this only that Callas was one of the most accomplished of musicians, and not only among singers. Everything she did had purpose and precision. Pianist Claudio Arrau had his students listen to Callas in order to understand phrasing, and the respect she earned among instrumental musicians and conductors for her ability to bring a musical score to life has no parallel.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

DavidA said:


> One thing that puzzles me is why people get so passionate about people like Callas. They seem almost to view her as a higher being. She was a singer and an actress. A very fine one. But as any actress she dealt in fiction not real life. Don't get me wrong - I am an admirer. But it does puzzle me why she has been the object of almost worship by some.


I thought you'd been on the planet longer than that! Every great and charismatic performer inspires fans to extravagant adulation, and this is nowhere truer than in opera. If you look at how people felt about Caruso, and still feel about other singers (Sutherland, "La Stupenda," comes to mind), not to mention the stars of popular music, movies and TV... Need I say more? It's just human nature.

Callas may be the greatest artist opera has ever seen, and her rather tragic life story only adds to the drama and mystique. When her fans seem loony to you, just smile indulgently and get back to something sensible like vacuuming the carpet.


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## SiegendesLicht (Mar 4, 2012)

DavidA said:


> One thing that puzzles me is why people get so passionate about people like Callas. They seem almost to view her as a higher being. She was a singer and an actress. A very fine one. But as any actress she dealt in fiction not real life. Don't get me wrong - I am an admirer. But it does puzzle me why she has been the object of almost worship by some.


I would say, out of all objects of human worship, talented people like Callas (or the man in my avatar for that matter) are among the most harmless on one hand and most deserving on the other.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Florestan said:


> Not sure we can ever know because there were many great opera singers of the pre-recording era and because recording quality may affect judgement of a comparison among many singers.


This deserves post of the day!


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

DavidA said:


> *However, she never sang Mozart *so she cannot be considered the greatest Mozart soprano.


Not true, she sang Constanze in Abduction from the Seraglio at La Scala in 1950 (admittedly in an Italian translation.) She also recorded quite a few Mozart arias both early and late in her career.


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## Green pasture (Aug 11, 2015)

DavidA said:


> I think it is foolish to debate the 'best ever' in a highly competitive and diverse field. Callas was certainly a great vocal actress - one of the greatest ever. *However, she never sang Mozart *so she cannot be considered the greatest Mozart soprano. Also if sheer vocal beauty is what you are after you'd be better going to the likes of Sutherland or Tebaldi. But for sheer dramatic ability Callas is certainly right up there with the greats.


http://www.talkclassical.com/40482-maria-callas-mozart-destined.html

Please also refer to Callas' performance annals and discographies compiled by Frank Hamilton:
http://frankhamilton.org/mc/


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## Green pasture (Aug 11, 2015)

Becca said:


> Not true, she sang Constanze in Abduction from the Seraglio at La Scala in 1950 (admittedly in an Italian translation.) She also recorded quite a few Mozart arias both early and late in her career.


Actually, it's April 1952 (4 performances - 2, 5, 7, 9 Apr)


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Becca said:


> Not true, she sang Constanze in Abduction from the Seraglio at La Scala in 1950 (admittedly in an Italian translation.) She also recorded quite a few Mozart arias both early and late in her career.


I did actually know about the odd Mozart performances and recordings. I perhaps should have said that she never sang Mozart on a regular basis as did (eg) Schwartskopf. Then the latter never sang Tosca as far as I know. What the point is that no soprano, however great, can be judged 'the greatest' in everything as no-one appears the have sung everything.


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## silentio (Nov 10, 2014)

DavidA said:


> I did actually know about the odd Mozart performances and recordings. I perhaps should have said that she never sang Mozart on a regular basis as did (eg) Schwartskopf. Then the latter never sang Tosca as far as I know.* What the point is that no soprano, however great, can be judged 'the greatest' in everything as no-one appears the have sung everything*.


OP asked if Maria Callas was the best opera singer ever. If that is your definition of the best opera singer then I don't agree. She does not need to sing everything, and sing everything best to be the best.

Harvard is consistently ranked as the best university in the US: most of its departments are in top 5, the number of affiliated Nobel Prize winners is staggering, its annual endowment is gargantuan, the quality of its research is stellar etc . However, it doesn't offer a Pharmacy program like University of Kentucky, one of the most decent pharm programs out there. _--Shame on you Harvard, you can't be the best! _

Of course, if I want to study Pharmacy, I know that by default Harvard is not _for me_. But I still acknowledge that Harvard is _in general_ better than Kentucky and probably than most (99.99%) of the universities in this nation.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

silentio said:


> OP asked if Maria Callas was the best opera singer ever. If that is your definition of the best opera singer then I don't agree. She does not need to sing everything, and sing everything best to be the best.
> 
> Harvard is consistently ranked as the best university in the US: most of its departments are in top 5, the number of affiliated Nobel Prize winners is staggering, its annual endowment is gargantuan, the quality of its research is stellar etc . However, it doesn't offer a Pharmacy program like University of Kentucky, one of the most decent pharm programs out there. _--Shame on you Harvard, you can't be the best! _
> 
> Of course, if I want to study Pharmacy, I know that by default Harvard is not _for me_. But I still acknowledge that Harvard is _in general_ better than Kentucky and probably than most (99.99%) of the universities in this nation.


Sorry but this sort of reasoning is not for me. Of course Callas was a great singer. But whether she was the greStest is a matter of what repertoire she was singing as well as personal taste. There are people who do not like the sound of Callas' voice.


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## Tuoksu (Sep 3, 2015)

DavidA said:


> One thing that puzzles me is why people get so passionate about people like Callas. They seem almost to view her as a higher being. She was a singer and an actress. A very fine one. But as any actress she dealt in fiction not real life. Don't get me wrong - I am an admirer. But it does puzzle me why she has been the object of almost worship by some.


because she's La Divina :lol: 
Jokes aside, I personally consider her my idol. She literally changed my life for good.


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## PlaySalieri (Jun 3, 2012)

Her voice and singing style did not suit mozart and though I place mozart first for opera I am a huge Callas fan.

In the late 40s/early 50s I would think she was as great a singer as ever existed. Listen to those old mono recordings.

A lot of people know her through the later LP recordings which she made when she was already well in decline and thus point to Caballe who had a pristine voice well into the high notes. 
or the paris video rec - some truly awful moments and some truly great ones.
still an off par Callas was better than anyone else at what she did best.
Her 2nd husband has much to answer for.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

stomanek said:


> Her voice and singing style did not suit mozart and though I place mozart first for opera I am a huge Callas fan.
> 
> In the late 40s/early 50s I would think she was as great a singer as ever existed. Listen to those old mono recordings.
> 
> ...


Mind you, Callas did leave her first husband for him. So maybe she has too!


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## DarkAngel (Aug 11, 2010)

DavidA said:


> One thing that puzzles me is why people get so passionate about people like Callas. They seem almost to view her as a higher being. She was a singer and an actress. A very fine one. But as any actress she dealt in fiction not real life. Don't get me wrong - *I am an admirer. But it does puzzle me why she has been the object of almost worship by some*.


Ha ha......worship is deserved when you burst on the opera scence in such dramatic fashion, her focus on dramatic Italian bel canto roles caused such a sensation (the famous canary killer) by reminding the opera world these are not weak fragile roles but searing powerful portrayals, who can forget her early mad scenes of Puritani, Lucia, and umatched MacBeth, Norma, Traviata, Tosca roles that catapulted Callas to queen of la scala status......during a time when giants walked the stage, to fly where eagles dare

100 years from now legend of Callas will only grow stronger, this is a rare artist we must praise the opera gods we have many recordings of her works to enjoy, an assoluta soprano in our time.......


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

One pre-recording era operatic singer and actor (and more) that may rival Callas is Pauline Viardot.


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Arguably, and according to the available sources, the most similar singer to Callas was Giuditta Pasta, the first Norma. There are a number of coincidences, including being a soprano assoluto, the repertoire, the huge praise received as a singer-actress, the problem to get their voices uniform across all registers, their early declines, after rather short careers,...


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## DarkAngel (Aug 11, 2010)

schigolch said:


> Arguably, and according to the available sources, the *most similar singer to Callas was Giuditta Pasta, the first Norma*. There are a number of coincidences, including being a soprano assoluto, the repertoire, the huge praise received as a singer-actress, the problem to get their voices uniform across all registers, their early declines, after rather short careers,...


Pasta not only gave debut performance of Norma but also La Sonnambulla and Anna Bolena in 1830s.......also three of Maria's reference performances, we can only guess from written description what Pasta actually sounded like while we have modern audio documents of Callas greatest acheivements......


It is remarkable the number of similarities that can be drawn as you describe......


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## Radames (Feb 27, 2013)

DavidA said:


> Sorry but this sort of reasoning is not for me. Of course Callas was a great singer. But whether she was the greStest is a matter of what repertoire she was singing as well as personal taste. There are people who do not like the sound of Callas' voice.


Yup- that's me. Her voice did not have the beauty that Tebaldi had.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Dedalus said:


> I heard this was true. Is she really that good?


She's was a great singing actress, one of the best ever, but her diction left something to be desired.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

hpowders said:


> She's was a great singing actress, one of the best ever, but her diction left something to be desired.


...and Sutherland's mushy middle didn't leave something to be desired? Yet she wasn't La Stupenda for nothing.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

nina foresti said:


> ...and Sutherland's mushy middle didn't leave something to be desired? Yet she wasn't La Stupenda for nothing.


But she (Dame Joan) is the greatest, in every way.


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## PlaySalieri (Jun 3, 2012)

DavidA said:


> Mind you, Callas did leave her first husband for him. So maybe she has too!


agreed - she had a taste for fat old billionaire magnates. but she genuinely did love onassis.


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## Tuoksu (Sep 3, 2015)

stomanek said:


> Her voice and singing style did not suit mozart and though I place mozart first for opera I am a huge Callas fan.
> 
> In the late 40s/early 50s I would think she was as great a singer as ever existed. Listen to those old mono recordings.
> 
> ...


She didn't marry Onassis. But yeah, I mainly blame him for her decline  he did break her heart.


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## Tuoksu (Sep 3, 2015)

hpowders said:


> She's was a great singing actress, one of the best ever, but her diction left something to be desired.


Callas' diction was superior to many native Italian singers! It left nothing to be desired. She gave the words even more meaning than was desired.


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## PlaySalieri (Jun 3, 2012)

Tuoksu said:


> Callas' diction was superior to many native Italian singers! It left nothing to be desired. She gave the words even more meaning than was desired.


I thought this diction comment was aimed at Sutherland otherwise I would have replied. Callas is the one singer that did articulate every syllable with great clarity.


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## DarkAngel (Aug 11, 2010)

Tuoksu said:


> Callas' diction was superior to many native Italian singers! It left nothing to be desired. She gave the words even more meaning than was desired.


Not only clear voice and diction, but her bel canto technique was a marvel of accuracy and artistic style. Conductors often commented if the average fan only knew behind the scences all the exacting technique Maria employed to execute the composers score.....the descending scales, trills, portamento, staccato, inspired ornamented runs etc were all done to the highest standards bringing out color and nuance others could not fully reveal, the "inner magic" of the character, a perfect legato style

Also the unique ability of Callas to maintain amplitude and size of voice all the up the scale to a devastating "E natural" makes for electrifying moments she is known for, it is an unforgettable experience that inspires us mortals to worship! 

I read a story from long time partner Julia Simionato (who has performed with all the greats) recalls her first time singing with Maria in 1950 Aida (Mexico) and the act 2 closing climatic high note (unwritten for "Gloria all egitto") she recalls "it was like a bright star gleaming in the night sky that remains fixed in my memory forever"


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## Tuoksu (Sep 3, 2015)

This reminds of me of one my favorite quotes about Callas:

"_Listen to me, everyone speak about Callas. But I know Callas. I know Callas before she was Callas. She was fat and she had this vociaccia - you know what a vociaccia is? You go kill a cat and record its 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. In Italian of course. 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. Maestro Serafin he say to me afterwards, you know now something about Parsifal. I say, "No, Maestro, I know much more. I know how to study. And I know that we are more than voices. We are spirit, we are god when we sing, if we mean it." Oh yes, they will go on about Tebaldi this and Freni that. Beautiful, beautiful voices, amazing. They work hard. They sincere. They suffer. They more talented than Maria, sure. But she was the genius. Genius come from genio - spirit. And that make her more than all of us. So I learn from that. Don't let them take from you because you are something they don't expect. Work and fight and work and give, and maybe once in a while you are good._"
Renata Scotto


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

I think it would be safest to call Callas one of the greatest musicians of the twentieth century. I feel this title fits her better than "greatest opera singer ever" (and I don't even think there is any such thing).


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

stomanek said:


> agreed - she had a taste for fat old billionaire magnates. but she genuinely did love onassis.


Fell in love with a sex machine!


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## russetvelvet (Oct 14, 2016)

Has any other post-war singer revived a work the way she did La Sonnambula? I'm genuinely asking, since no one else came to mind yet.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Dame Joan Sutherland.


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

she is the best in the following roles: Norma, Lady Macbeth, Abigaille, Armida, Tosca, Carmen (even if only on recording)
but she was not even _close_ to being the best: Gilda, Lucia, Elvira, Semiramide or Brunnhilde

apart from that, she had the best glissando and the best chest voice of any soprano.

compared to more stable singers like Sutherland, Flagstad, Te Kanawa or, more recently, Fleming, she left much to be desired in terms of longevity, but this was the price of her legacy. even so, her "prime" in the early 50s lasted, what? 5 years? given she tackled roles under the age of 25 which wrecked the voices of 40-50 year old dramatic sopranos, expecting to make it out in one piece would have just been arrogant. after that, she made the opposite mistake: trying to lighten her voice into a sweet lil bel canto coloratura. don't get me wrong, her coloratura was more than impressive, but her voice was about as lightweight as the menu at McDonald's and about as bright as the skies of a Scottish winter (which incidentally I find quite beautiful, so this is not meant as an insult). your support is bound to take a nosedive when you have a dramatic soprano sized voice (with a mezzo timbre) and try lift it into a canary.

an absolutely fantastic singer and artist, but her place as #1 deserves more contestation than it has typically received. it's been awhile since I made an ordered list of my favorite sopranos, but if I were to do so now, she would probably be somewhere around 6th, not first or even second.


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

BalalaikaBoy said:


> an absolutely fantastic singer and artist, but her place as #1 deserves more contestation than it has typically received. *it's been awhile since I made an ordered list of my favorite sopranos*, but if I were to do so now, she would probably be somewhere around 6th, not first or even second.


oh hell, why not do that now 

10) June Anderson
9) Maria Callas
8) Virginia Zeani
7) Montserrat Caballe
6) Kiri te Kanawa
5) Frida Lieder
4) Edda Moser
3) Kirsten Flagstad
2) Elisabeth Schwarzkopf 
1) Joan Sutherland

9th place is nothing to sneer at given greats like Price, Nilsson and Sills didn't even make my top 10.


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## Tuoksu (Sep 3, 2015)

BalalaikaBoy said:


> she is the best in the following roles: Norma, Lady Macbeth, Abigaille, Armida, Tosca, Carmen (even if only on recording)


and Aida, Gioconda and epecially Medea and Giulia (La Vestale) and she completely owned these last two along with Armida, Lady Macbeth and Norma.



> but she was not even _close_ to being the best: Gilda, Lucia, Elvira, Semiramide or Brunnhilde


I don't agree about Gilda, Lucia and Elvira. Her Cetra recording is the best Puritani ever in my opinion. the 1952 Lucia was stunning with an unmatched mad scene. The 1955 Lucia was even more convincing but slightly less impressive in coloratura and vocal fireworks. Her sonnambula too was the best. Those roles were NOT meant for light, bright voices. They were written for the same voice that sang Norma and Anna Bolena. Even if the voice was too heavy, her vocal-acting genius made it work. I know people prefer Sutherland in these, but when you listen to her you get only vocal showoff. I don't hear a deranged Elvira, nor a gloomy Lucia, nor a sweet Amina. Sometimes I even find her cadenzas in bad taste, plus the fact that she actually sounds like a grandma.

No one has ever heard her Brunnhilde on record  I wonder how you can tell. For Semiramide I agree. I find her rendition rather boring, even though it is the most truthful to Rossini's score.

Callas gave elegance and depth to these roles that no one before (or after) her did while still giving us the vocal firework thrills that were as impressive as any exhibitionist's.



> apart from that, she had the best glissando and the best chest voice of any soprano.


Amen to that!



> compared to more stable singers like Sutherland, Flagstad, Te Kanawa or, more recently, Fleming, she left much to be desired in terms of longevity, but this was the price of her legacy. even so, her "prime" in the early 50s lasted, what? 5 years? given she tackled roles under the age of 25 which wrecked the voices of 40-50 year old dramatic sopranos, expecting to make it out in one piece would have just been arrogant. after that, she made the opposite mistake: trying to lighten her voice into a sweet lil bel canto coloratura. don't get me wrong, her coloratura was more than impressive, but her voice was about as lightweight as the menu at McDonald's and about as bright as the skies of a Scottish winter (which incidentally I find quite beautiful, so this is not meant as an insult). your support is bound to take a nosedive when you have a dramatic soprano sized voice (with a mezzo timbre) and try lift it into a canary.


That's the very definition of a Dramatic Coloratura. It's called Drammatico d'agilità. Basically dramatic but with the enough agility to tackle those scores. Rosa Ponselle claims Callas was the other way around "*her voice was a pure but sizable dramatic coloratura-that is to say, a sizable coloratura voice with dramatic capabilities, not the other way around." *
Callas was trained by Hiladalgo who according to her* "always kept me on the light side. She knew I was a very heavy voice but she knew also that such heavy voice should always be kept limber and agile as athletes also. Because basically I was a dramatical coloratura, and you must always keep the voice lighter was she is"* and that's how they did things back in the day with Pasta and Malibran etc.
Her voice was naturally geared for bel canto. I wouldn't say she even tried to sound like canary-bird because she didn't need to and she always insisted there had to be a dramatic depth to bel canto roles. Actually I think she was guilty of the opposite. Callas overused her chest voice to artificially darken the sound and make it even more dramatic. But her voice did have a natural sweetness to it despite everything, especially after 1953. According to Rodolfo Celletti *"Callas seemed to use another voice altogether, because it acquired a great sweetness. Whether in her florid singing or in her canto spianato, that is, in long held notes without ornamentation, her mezza-voce could achieve such moving sweetness that the sound seemed to come from on high ... I don't know, it seemed to come from the skylight of La Scala."*
If you listen to her Juilliard masterclass, she tells the soprano singing Lucia that it's a dramatic role, and repeats that Lucia, Norma, sonnambula, Anna Bolena, Puritani were all meant to be sung by on type of Soprano. What ruined her was an amalgam of loss of confidence, lack of practice, early menopause, heartbreak and a disease that was tearing her body apart. The weight loss effect remains open to discussion.


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## gellio (Nov 7, 2013)

Bellinilover said:


> I think it would be safest to call Callas one of the greatest musicians of the twentieth century. I feel this title fits her better than "greatest opera singer ever" (and I don't even think there is any such thing).


I would agree with this. I remember when I was first getting into opera and discovered her. I would go to the Barnes & Noble in downtown Minneapolis. They had a great and huge classical music section. One of the workers there was very knowledgeable and assisted me in picking recordings - he had never done me wrong. When I went to buy Carmen, I wanted the Solti recording. He insisted I buy Callas. The only reason I wanted the Solti was it was on 3 cds (so I thought it more complete, haha) and I had other Solti recordings. I had never heard of Callas at the point. He said, "you have never, nor will you, ever hear anything like her." He absolutely refused to sell me any other Carmen, so I relented and bought the Callas.

I will never forget my reaction when I heard her for the first time. Confusion - is this a beautiful voice, or an ugly voice? But it was riveting nonetheless and so distinctive. You cannot mistake her for anyone else, nor can you mistake anyone else for her. I became a huge fan of hers instantly. She introduced me, and many others, to works we may never venture towards.

I once talked to someone who had seen Callas performance. He said it was impossible to take your eyes off her when she was on stage, whether she was singing or not.

I also think her range was and is unparalleled. Who could sing Brunnhilde one night and Il Puritani the next? She was remarkable.

Her life is also, in itself, a tragedy, which I think people can relate to and sympathize with, from her very strained relationship with her mother, to Onasis leaving her for Jackie Kennedy, to losing her voice, to dying alone. I once read a book about her, that talked extensively about the last years of her life. Apparently, she used to cry to her servants and beg them to stay on their days off because she didn't want to be alone. She also reportedly said, "Everyday, thank God one day less!" Very sad, indeed.


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## damianjb1 (Jan 1, 2016)

hpowders said:


> She's was a great singing actress, one of the best ever, but her diction left something to be desired.


Really? There are many faults that Callas can be accused of but I would never have thought poor diction was one of them.


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## damianjb1 (Jan 1, 2016)

gellio said:


> I would agree with this. I remember when I was first getting into opera and discovered her. I would go to the Barnes & Noble in downtown Minneapolis. They had a great and huge classical music section. One of the workers there was very knowledgeable and assisted me in picking recordings - he had never done me wrong. When I went to buy Carmen, I wanted the Solti recording. He insisted I buy Callas. The only reason I wanted the Solti was it was on 3 cds (so I thought it more complete, haha) and I had other Solti recordings. I had never heard of Callas at the point. He said, "you have never, nor will you, ever hear anything like her." He absolutely refused to sell me any other Carmen, so I relented and bought the Callas.
> 
> I will never forget my reaction when I heard her for the first time. Confusion - is this a beautiful voice, or an ugly voice? But it was riveting nonetheless and so distinctive. You cannot mistake her for anyone else, nor can you mistake anyone else for her. I became a huge fan of hers instantly. She introduced me, and many others, to works we may never venture towards.
> 
> ...


That's a great story (Barnes & Noble and Carmen). It was the Berlin Lucia that got me. When I first heard her I couldn't understand what it was people liked about her. Then I listened to the 1953 Tosca and there were moments that were like a volt of electricity going through me. In particular when she's telling Cavaradossi how she murdered Scarpia. She had these colours in her voice that were astounding.


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## gellio (Nov 7, 2013)

damianjb1 said:


> That's a great story (Barnes & Noble and Carmen). It was the Berlin Lucia that got me. When I first heard her I couldn't understand what it was people liked about her. Then I listened to the 1953 Tosca and there were moments that were like a volt of electricity going through me. In particular when she's telling Cavaradossi how she murdered Scarpia. She had these colours in her voice that were astounding.


She was really something, and buy and large, I don't like her repertoire. I like Mozart, Wagner and the Russians. A far cry from the Callas repertoire. But, she gave me an appreciation for Donizetti and Bellini. I mostly listen to her concert recordings, Barbiere, Carmen, Norma and Gioconda. Even Callas couldn't save Puccini and Verdi. Aside from Turandot, Butterfly and Traviata, I'm just not a fan


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

gellio said:


> She was really something, and buy and large, I don't like her repertoire. I like Mozart, Wagner and the Russians. A far cry from the Callas repertoire. But, she gave me an appreciation for Donizetti and Bellini. I mostly listen to her concert recordings, Barbiere, Carmen, Norma and Gioconda. Even Callas couldn't save Puccini and Verdi. Aside from Turandot, Butterfly and Traviata, I'm just not a fan


Interesting, and similar to my experience. I don't actually dislike most of Callas's repertoire, but I do find much of it far more interesting when she sings it (which, in some cases it really is). She was incapable of putting two notes together without making them mean something. Singing telegrams? The phone book? The Joy of Cooking? Ask Amy? Set them to music, give them to Callas, and I'm there.


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## damianjb1 (Jan 1, 2016)

Woodduck said:


> Interesting, and similar to my experience. I don't actually dislike most of Callas's repertoire, but I do find much of it far more interesting when she sings it (which, in some cases it really is). She was incapable of putting two notes together without making them mean something. Singing telegrams? The phone book? The Joy of Cooking? Ask Amy? Set them to music, give them to Callas, and I'm there.


I'm the same. Bel Canto would be one of my least favourite styles of Opera (except for Norma) and I don't think she's at her best in later Verdi (Forza, Aida etc). But in things like Traviata, Trovatore, Macbeth etc no-one could touch her.


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## RES (Oct 30, 2014)

This thread has the wrong title question. It should be 'Was Callas the greatest musician in the operatic medium?'--to which the answer is a resounding 'Yes'! She may have been the greatest musician of the twentieth century, period.


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## ldiat (Jan 27, 2016)

https://plus.google.com/u/0/collection/wY9k3?cfem=1


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

damianjb1 said:


> Really? There are many faults that Callas can be accused of but I would never have thought poor diction was one of them.


She didn't have poor diction by any stretch of the imagination. But mention of diction and words reminds me of something I've always noticed: in her first studio recording of LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR (the one with Tullio Serafin conducting) she mispronounces the word "_fonte_" ("fountain"), in the first lines of the aria "Regnava nel silenzio," as "_fronte_" (which means "forehead," I believe). I just always thought that was a curious slip-up.


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## Tuoksu (Sep 3, 2015)

Bellinilover said:


> She didn't have poor diction by any stretch of the imagination. But mention of diction and words reminds me of something I've always noticed: in her first studio recording of LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR (the one with Tullio Serafin conducting) she mispronounces the word "_fonte_" ("fountain"), in the first lines of the aria "Regnava nel silenzio," as "_fronte_" (which means "forehead," I believe). I just always thought that was a curious slip-up.


I remember that too. At one point that 1953 Lucia was the only one I listened to and I spent a long time thinking it was actually "fronte" not "fonte"  "Colpia la fronte un pallido raggio di tetra luna" still makes sense though.

In the mad scene in her 1952 Mexico Lucias she forgot half the words. Like instead of "ah quella voce m'è qui nel cor discesa..." she was making up words but that happens to anyone. Same thing with her first trovatores.

In the 1962 Hamburg concert she completely forgot the words to Habanera and I found it too embarrassing (maybe because it's more obvious to me, French being my second language.)

That has nothing to do with her diction though. Sometimes she forgets words and substitutes them with words that make perfect sense or are synonyms like in La Luce Langue in the almighty 1952 Macbeth she says "Oh volutta del trono" instead of "soglio" and "Son io nelle mie stanze" instead of "mie case" in the 1959 Hamburg recital Pirata..Etc This only proves how professional and proficient in Italian she was.


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## ldiat (Jan 27, 2016)

posted on my facebook page and i found it on You tube


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## Eddy Rodgers K (Feb 12, 2017)

ldiat said:


> posted on my facebook page and i found it on You tube


She was perfect. She's the reason I got into opera. Sure there are many with more beautiful voices, but ever since we have recordings there hasn't been anyone that comes even close to painting pictures with their voice the way she did.

People speak of her vocal acting, saying she made you feel as if what was happening was real, but I disagree. She didn't make you believe the character she was playing was really in love, in pain, melancholic, anxious, suffering, sick... no. She made you actually feel all those things. I often cry when listening to her, no matter the content of the piece, for this very reason. I cry even when I feel her happiness.

Take Casta Diva, for example, and compare Sutherland to Callas. Sutherland was an operatic goddess and her voice was superior to Callas's. But Sutherland is singing. Callas is Norma, worshipping the moon. You can feel her devotion.

For me Callas is the greatest of all time and I am grateful she existed because my life changed when I discovered her.

I'm not an expert on opera as I am only recently getting into it, but I know what I feel, and to me Callas is like no other.

I know this thread is a bit old but I had to say something. I mean, if it wasn't for her I wouldn't be in this forum, so I feel it's important.


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

Woodduck said:


> I thought you'd been on the planet longer than that! Every great and charismatic performer inspires fans to extravagant adulation, and this is nowhere truer than in opera. If you look at how people felt about Caruso, and still feel about other singers (Sutherland, "La Stupenda," comes to mind), not to mention the stars of popular music, movies and TV... Need I say more? It's just human nature.
> 
> Callas may be the greatest artist opera has ever seen, and her rather tragic life story only adds to the drama and mystique. When her fans seem loony to you, just smile indulgently and get back to something sensible like vacuuming the carpet.


indeed. it's hard for us to know what Giuseppina Strepponi, Maria Malibran, Isabelle Colbran or Giulietta Pasta might have sounded like (though of all of them, I'd most like to hear Sibyl Sanderson. I imagine her sounding like something of a 19th century Joan Sutherland).

....and these are just the sopranos. I'd have loved to hear Filippo Galli live as well, if for no other reason than there is a shortage of truly great basses.


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## DarkAngel (Aug 11, 2010)

What do you think boys, am I the best ever...............


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

to be honest, Callas barely makes my soprano top 10 list. not that she wasn't a wonderful singer, but the wobble and almost painful sounding top notes keep her out of the top 5.

aside from that, the rest of my criticisms are taste-based. she was AMAZING in the right roles (Lady Macbeth, Norma, Abigaille, etc), but overall, there was nothing "soprano-y" about her sound. this shouldn't suggest I prefer my sopranos to sound wimpy or girly (give me Callas over 50 girly soubrette voices any day of the week. they make me feel as if I've drunk a gallon of sugar water.....), but even in the larger, darker voices, there needs to be _some_ brightness in the voice (ex: Flagstad, Crespin, or, recently, Christine Goerke).


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Eddy Rodgers K said:


> She was perfect. She's the reason I got into opera. Sure there are many with more beautiful voices, but ever since we have recordings there hasn't been anyone that comes even close to painting pictures with their voice the way she did.
> 
> People speak of her vocal acting, saying she made you feel as if what was happening was real, but I disagree. She didn't make you believe the character she was playing was really in love, in pain, melancholic, anxious, suffering, sick... no. She made you actually feel all those things. I often cry when listening to her, no matter the content of the piece, for this very reason. I cry even when I feel her happiness.
> 
> ...


Thank you for a beautiful tribute, which I know many would echo. As a practicing musician and a singer of modest endowment, I can say that no musical artist has inspired me as much as Callas. What anyone thinks of her voice - an unusual one, to be sure - is largely a subjective matter, but her preeminence as musician and artist is unlikely ever to be challenged. All practitioners and lovers of opera as an art form are in her debt.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

BalalaikaBoy said:


> indeed. it's hard for us to know what Giuseppina Strepponi, Maria Malibran, Isabelle Colbran or Giulietta Pasta might have sounded like (though of all of them, I'd most like to hear Sibyl Sanderson. I imagine her sounding like something of a 19th century Joan Sutherland).
> 
> ....and these are just the sopranos. I'd have loved to hear Filippo Galli live as well, if for no other reason than there is a shortage of truly great basses.


Amen to this .:clap:


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## RES (Oct 30, 2014)

BalalaikaBoy said:


> indeed. it's hard for us to know what Giuseppina Strepponi, Maria Malibran, Isabelle Colbran or Giulietta Pasta might have sounded like (though of all of them, I'd most like to hear Sibyl Sanderson. I imagine her sounding like something of a 19th century Joan Sutherland.


From contemporary accounts, Pata and Malibran come closest to Callas in her prime. One can also see the relationship in vocal type with Rosa Ponselle, who, however, was not the inspired musician Callas was (and advised never to sing more than one high C a week). And as to the 'wobble and shrill top': those largely refer to post-Meneghini Callas. There's plenty of physically untroubled Callas to enjoy that surpasses the legacies of any other singer.


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## Eddy Rodgers K (Feb 12, 2017)

RES said:


> From contemporary accounts, Pata and Malibran come closest to Callas in her prime. One can also see the relationship in vocal type with Rosa Ponselle, who, however, was not the inspired musician Callas was (and advised never to sing more than one high C a week). And as to the 'wobble and shrill top': those largely refer to post-Meneghini Callas. There's plenty of physically untroubled Callas to enjoy that surpasses the legacies of any other singer.


What year (or recording) would you say is the last of Callas in her vocal prime?


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## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

Valuable first impression from a good listener:

I had heard of her, and when I actually heard her, she sounded "darker" than I had expected; almost like a mezzo-soprano. I thought she was gonna be higher and purer.

Then the more I listened, I got the appeal: she phrases really good, and there are subtleties and turns, which indicate a high degree of musical intelligence.

So, it's not just the voice, but the mind of the artist behind it.


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## Eddy Rodgers K (Feb 12, 2017)

millionrainbows said:


> Valuable first impression from a good listener:
> 
> I had heard of her, and when I actually heard her, she sounded "darker" than I had expected; almost like a mezzo-soprano. I thought she was gonna be higher and purer.
> 
> ...


Oh I think her voice was flawed. Dark and harsh. But I love her because she was a musical genius, and before discovering her I never knew art could be so moving. I think a great part of her brilliance lies in the subtleties and turns you mention, because she used them in a way that made the music, and the character she was playing, come alive. She could portray the entire psyche of a character with her voice. I swear that when I listen to her it's as if I'm experiencing something that goes beyond music.

Her instrument wasn't the best, but for me, art has to make me feel something. Callas's art speaks to me, it whispers in a language I cannot put into words because it is impossible for a human to do so, yet at the same time, it is a language I understand. I know what it is telling me, it's just something that everone has to experience for themselves.

I think that is true of all art, but especially about music. And Callas does it for me. I don't doubt that people who don't particularly love her find the same thing in other singers.

Rant over.


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## RES (Oct 30, 2014)

Eddy Rodgers K said:


> Oh I think her voice was flawed. Dark and harsh. But I love her because she was a musical genius, and before discovering her I never knew art could be so moving. I think a great part of her brilliance lies in the subtleties and turns you mention, because she used them in a way that made the music, and the character she was playing, come alive. She could portray the entire psyche of a character with her voice. I swear that when I listen to her it's as if I'm experiencing something that goes beyond music.
> 
> Her instrument wasn't the best, but for me, art has to make me feel something. Callas's art speaks to me, it whispers in a language I cannot put into words because it is impossible for a human to do so, yet at the same time, it is a language I understand. I know what it is telling me, it's just something that everyone has to experience for themselves.
> 
> I think that is true of all art, but especially about music. And Callas does it for me. I don't doubt that people who don't particularly love her find the same thing in other singers.


 To answer your earlier question about the last year of Callas in her prime, there are two answers: [1] 1953--for the heavy Callas, who had an unearthly, transcendent, incomparable voice as well as incomparable musicianship/expressivity; and [2] 1957, when the now-thinner Callas still could do everything but with a less complex voice and somewhat less reliability, but, of course, still overwhelming, unmatched musicianship/expressivity--maybe even greater in many roles. In late 1957, she underwent premature menopause and the hormonal changes show in her 1958 voice when we really hear vocal labor, shrill wobbly top, etc. Still, there are exceptions even there: in 1958, the Lisbon and Covent Garden TRAVIATAs are sublime, except for the unnecessary, unwritten high E-flat; and the Dallas MEDEA is brilliant in every way. And obviously, yes, after Callas, no one.


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

Florestan said:


> One pre-recording era operatic singer and actor (and more) that may rival Callas is Pauline Viardot.


Ah! mon fils, sois béni!


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

Yes, Callas was a great singer. She wasn't the greatest; there is no such thing.

How can anyone objectively declare that so-and-so is the greatest singer of all time? By what standard? Thill and Gedda were better tenors. George London could sing Boris Godunov better than Callas could.

Besides, as people have pointed out, there are a lot of great singers from the pre-recording age whose voices we haven’t heard. We can only imagine how Nourrit, Levasseur and Dorus-Gras sounded, while singers from the late 19th century often sound like Florence Foster Jenkins singing through a snowstorm. 

In fact, why the obsession with superlatives – THE greatest, THE best?


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

BalalaikaBoy said:


> indeed. it's hard for us to know what Giuseppina Strepponi, Maria Malibran, Isabelle Colbran or Giulietta Pasta might have sounded like (though of all of them, I'd most like to hear Sibyl Sanderson. I imagine her sounding like something of a 19th century Joan Sutherland).
> 
> ....and these are just the sopranos. I'd have loved to hear Filippo Galli live as well, if for no other reason than there is a shortage of truly great basses.


Better looking, though! She had a talent for wardrobe malfunctions, leading to the nickname "Sibyl SEIN-derson". The audience were tit-illated.

EDIT:
Sanderson in _Thaïs_








Sanderson as Esclarmonde








Sanderson as Manon


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