Description
Amazon.com
In case there was a moment in your life when your suspected that Maria Callas was not a driving force in opera in the last half of this century, pick up this set. Apparently unable to give a dull performance, here we get Callas in La Divina as Rossini’s flirty Rosina; Verdi’s emotion-torn Aida; Catalani’s unbelievably sad Wally (a classic performance, by which all others are measured); Bellini’s Norma (ditto); Puccini’s lovely, youthful Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi; the same composer’s frigid, furious Turandot as well as his confused, desparate Manon Lescaut; Verdi’s Loenoras–each noble; Meyerbeer’s ditzy Dinorah and Delibes’s loco Lakme (in some fabulous, high-flying coloratura singing); and at least a dozen more roles. While it’s true that her control over her voice varies–the French coloratura arias, from Gounod and Thomas operas, can be pretty acidic–there’s never an uninterested reading, never a once-over read-through. You’ll get to know the characters as well as their music by hearing Callas as each heroine–indeed, this collection is like a who’s who in opera. No music lover should be without it. –Robert Levine
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.