# Callas 1952 vs Callas 1959: "Suicidio" from La Gioconda



## Concertantek364 (Mar 13, 2021)

Which of Callas' versions of "Suicidio" from La Gioconda do you prefer? Please share your thoughts on your choice.

*1952, from studio mono recording of complete opera, Cetra *






(The picture in the video shows Callas as Gioconda at La Scala, Milan, December 1952, slightly more than three months after this recording. After this run of performances at La Scala, the role left her stage repertoire.)


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Callas as Gioconda at the Arena Verona, July 1952, just less than two months before the Cetra recording session in Turin in September 1952

*1959, from stereo remake of the complete opera for EMI/UK Columbia*






(Please note the uploader of the video got the year of recording wrong - should be 1959, NOT 1960)


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Callas at recording session for the EMI/UK Columbia stereo remake at La Scala, Milan, September 1959


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

While I very much admire what Callas was able to do with _"Suicidio!"_ with her 1959 voice, I much prefer the potent voice of 1952, able to do whatever she wished to do with the aria. High notes and low notes were handled masterfully with no compromises. The wild creature that was Gioconda is fully brought before our eyes (ears).


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Callas didn't alter her interpretation in any significant way over the years, and there needn't be any explanation for that besides the fact that it simply couldn't be improved. It remains almost archetypal, and many of us measure all others by it. All that's left to do here is express a preference for the voice of 1952 or the voice of 1959. I have no trouble preferring the former for not only the greater security at the top but the greater fullness in the lower midrange, with what seems a more thorough blending of the registers, i.e. a stronger admixture of chest tone. I can't but recall that by the time of her "comeback" in 1972, that part of the voice was quite weak, with the registers having simply broken apart and the pure chest tone having to be carried high in order to achieve any volume. In 1952 there was apparently no hint of that eventual problem.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> Callas didn't alter her interpretation in any significant way over the years, and there needn't be any explanation for that besides the fact that it simply couldn't be improved. It remains almost archetypal, and many of us measure all others by it. All that's left to do here is express a preference for the voice of 1952 or the voice of 1959. I have no trouble preferring the former for not only the greater security at the top but the greater fullness in the lower midrange, with what seems a more thorough blending of the registers, i.e. a stronger admixture of chest tone. I can't but recall that by the time of her "comeback" in 1972, that part of the voice was quite weak, with the registers having simply broken apart and the pure chest tone having to be carried high in order to achieve any volume. In 1952 there was apparently no hint of that eventual problem.


Very nicely put. Thanks, Woodduck!


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

The 59 would have been exciting to hear live without a doubt, but to listen to over and over I would choose the earlier version. Woodduck nailed this one with his review. The earlier version rivals Ponselle's version and to say that is to say a lot, in my opinion. For me it is a tie and I am fine with that.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

The earlier Cetra performance was one of the first Callas recordings I ever heard and it totally overwhelmed me. I had no idea a soprano could sing with such vehemence and passion. On the same record was the fabulous Cetra recording of the Mad Scene from *I Puritani* and it seemed incredible that I was listening to the same singer.

However, unlike others here, I find it very difficult to choose between the two performances of the aria above. The whole of the 1959 *La Gioconda* finds her in much better voice than she had been for some time and I don't think the differences between the two are as great as has been popularly thought. There are no flaps on high notes in the 1959 performance and she actually manages the floating phrase on _volavan l'ore_ rather better in 1959 than she does in 1952, where there is a slight hint of unsteadiness on the top A. the semi-quavers are slightly better articulated in 1959 too. In any case, both are fabulous performances and both eclipse all competition, save for Ponselle.

Incidentally, when John Steane did his comparison of the aria, featuring Bonnisegna, Destinn, Austral, Ponselle, Milanov, Cerquetti and Callas, in which he had no problem giving the palm to Ponselle and Callas, it was to the 1959 recording that he was listening. What I did enjoy was following along with the score in the earier version. Here you can see that Callas achieves her effects by simply carrying out the instructions in the score. For instance, Gioconda sings two almost identical downward scalic phrases from F# at the top of the stave on _domanda al cielo di dormir queta, di dormir queta d'ento l'avel_. The first has accents on the notes and the second does not, and you can actually hear the difference in Callas's performance. This is just one of countless examples of Callas's superior musicianship.

I think I'm going to go for the 1959 performance, if only because everyone else is going for 1952. I think both are superb and quite honestly I'd like to vote for both.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Oh my! The magic a tapeworm can do! (kidding)
That '52 is extraordinary! Her chest tones are beyond belief and her high note did not have that small wobble of the second one.
If anyone had some first doubts about the Callas voice, just play them that '52 version and watch their conversion before your eyes.


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## Azol (Jan 25, 2015)

In 1952 recording her chest tones are fabulous and I also happen to prefer tighter vibrato to a more "relaxed" one in 1959 version.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

I'm too late to vote, but I would have gone for the 1952 version, since I prefer the stronger accents and more overt interpretation in this aria, than the later softer approach. I agree mostly with what others have said in this thread.

N.


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