Customer Reviews

Bellini: I Puritani

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I am getting really sick of reading those appalling remarks about the voice of Callas. I'm a voice student, and even though I can easily find fault with some of Callas' voice production methods, I find her art so compelling and so musically "right" that I can easily dismiss the rest. Callas may not have had a "beautiful" voice in the usual sense of the word, but she had something much better ------ complete command and authority grafted onto a voice that was expressive, moving, and thrillingly intense. I would give half my life to have the gift she had, and her performance on this "Puritani" recording only makes me more convinced of her greatness.She was, at the time of this recording, a dramatic soprano with the ability to sing florid music, and this was no mean feat. I have read that Callas during her lifetime told an interviewer: "There are those who love my voice and those who don't and think that I'm a great big lie. That is their opinion and their right. They don't have to bother with me, since I myself don't bother with those I don't like". I couldn't say it better myself. If you don't like Callas, don't listen. You probably don't know what you're hearing anyway!

This recording was rated in Opera News of August 1977 as one of the 20 milestone recordings in the first half century of recorded opera history (1908~1958). The cast of Callas, Di Stefano, Panerai, and Rossi-Lemeni is superb and all in their prime. Callas is in a class by herself, Di Stefano sings with robust passion, and Tulio Serafin conducts magnificently. This is a performance that is well worth purchasing, it is a piece of opera history.

I am not a huge fan of Maria Callas; that is, I appreciate her voice in her best recordings and always appreciate her dramatic artistry. But I am not one of those fans who find nothing wrong with the screeching and sour notes--the scooping and absolutely ugly sounds which certainly do appear in many recordings. The fans who give Callas their endless, non-judgemental love find excuses everywhere for these "mistakes." Frankly, in this kind of bel canto music, I'd rather hear a great voice teamed along with great artistry...and in a pinch, a little less of the artistry and more of the gorgeous singing. This recording of Bellini's I PURITANI supplies the voice and artistry in great amounts. Absolutely no excuses need be made here for the leading lady, her co-stars and supporting cast, the orchestra or its conductor.

Callas was obviously in terrific voice during this recording of Bellini's second most popular opera, which I find in every way, superior to his NORMA. Both stories are rather silly, but in I PURITANI we only have to smirk while the leading lady goes through two mad scenes rather than try to put away our dramatic disbelief during the story of a Druid priestess and her infidelity and ultimate self-immolation. (Although, I'll admit that if it's NORMA you wish to hear, there is no better way to hear it than with Callas and conductor Tullio Serafin.) I PURITANI's gorgeous melodies, the dramatic arc of the story, and the way the story is told in libretto and score in a compact form are all first rate. For me, this is not one of those operas that goes on endlessly repeating what has been sung before. I PURITANI deserves a much wider audience.

Serafin is the conductor here as he is on many of Callas's recordings, among them her unforgettable, unbeatable TOSCA along with tenor Giuseppe di Stefano who is brilliant in both operas.

The sound on this 1953 recording from La Scala, Milan is rich and bright. The set of 2 CD's is one to treasure. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

I Puritani is one of Bellini's three greatest operas (the other two being Norma and Sonnambula). Its melodies are extremely moving. Under the baton of the great Serafin they can easily make one cry, especially when you have artists like M. Callas and G. di Stefano singing the main roles. I'm not a fan of these singers but this is by far their most effective performance on disc!

The feeling Maria Callas injects into Elvira's words (Qui la voce...o rendete mi) is unbelievable! I usually prefer her in exciting cabalettas but here she is superb! M. Caballe is the only other soprano I can thing of, who could ever be so moving in Bellini's music (she recorded the opera with Kraus but unfortunately, a bit late in her career). In the faster, "firework", sections, Callas is exciting if not as brilliant as J. Sutherland. Di Stefano is heard here in his short-lived prime with a voice of exceptional warmth and beauty! The "a te, o cara" fully epitomises this legendary tenor. His uncovered high notes annoy sometimes but after all, these belonged to his style of singing. Panerai also had a beautiful voice and he definitely is a plus in this recording.

Should this be your only Puritani recording? No because it's incomplete, in monophonic sound and the second Sutherland recording, complete and with an all-star, bel-canto expert cast is available. On the other hand, Serafin's reading of the score, the young Callas and Di Stefano are a marvel to listen to and make this EMI set a must!

Firstly, before discussing the singers, one must discuss this version of the opera. It is hardly complete, and even the solo numbers for Callas are heavily cut, often to the point they lose any real direction. To those that think this is because of Callas' poor techique, that is NOT the case. That was the custom of the times. Because Bel Canto operas often have long lovely melodies, and little drama, producers and directors felt cuts were needed to keep the audience's attention. Some cuts were traditional from performances through the years, but NONE of the cuts were ever made with the intent to make the music better, just shorten it.

One will not find the extra number at the end of the opera that Sutherland and Sills both sing, which Bellini wrote for a version of the opera he completed for Italy and for Malibran. The "Son Vergin vezzosa" of this version was included in the first production because Grisi could sing it well. Because of length of performance do to popularity of the numbers (and audience requiring repeats), some sections in the Act III duet were cut, and other cuts made as well.

None of those cuts ruined the structure of the pieces of the opera, these cuts do. "Son Vergin" is so cut and slashed it ends before it really has a chance to being. And the mad scene is omitting much, though all the long slow parts are in tact. It is the finale of the entire opera that is butchered to death. After the famous "Credeasi Misera", the opera just ends! Any development that could come out of that extremely cut ending (lacking the additional aria that Sutherland and Sills both sing) is cut even worse by removing an entire 3 pages of the score. And excepting the final notes, the lead singers sing NONE of the notes or interjections that would render some sense to what is happening. Again, a common practice of the time so that the singers could save their voice for a high note ending.

As a conception of the opera and what Bellini intended, this is certainly an extremely flawed version.

Yet, in spite of the lack of understanding of that time period in keeping music intact, there are wonders that come out of this recording that are simply jewels worth the experience.

Firstly, the conducting and reading of the score by Serafin is incredible. He makes each phrase telling, have meaning, and flow with such emotion. Even with this heavily cut version of the opera, with cuts that ruin the progression of the musical thought, he works magic. His understanding of this type of music, of this type of opera, is incredible. Would that many modern conductors would listen to his recordings and learn. He also supports his singers well, and NEVER overshadows them. Every thing blends into a perfect whole.

As for Callas, there is little to say. I enjoy her singing immensely and always have, even as a child when I actually heard her in her last Normas in Paris, and her Tosca in London. I have no problems admitting her voice was flawed, it was not beautiful at all, and at times it was simply UGLY. But her understanding of technique, of how to use the voice, what was musical and appropriate and what was not, was unbelievable. She says that Serafin taught her all she knew about a recitative, but did she ever learn and master what she was taught to perfection.

Her understanding of what Bel Cant is was not only evident in her recordings, but in her own words when teaching at Julliard. She knew how to make many small breaths appear as one long seamless whole, she knew the art of phrasing, and she used incredible musicality when performing. Was she perfect? By no means. Was she the most polished singer? Not in the least. But she knew how to tern a phrase and make it live. Some have talked about her "using flute notes" in their reviews. What they mean to say is her habit of using pianissimo when singing coloratura, or reducing the volume of the tone to sing very difficult passages. Yes, she did that. No, Joan Sutherland does not do that. Callas was a creature of her training, and she as trained by a great colorature soprano (at least of her day), and was therefore taught the way to turn a phrase and use a quieter tone when singing coloratura passages, the reason for doing so was so the voice didn't need to use a cover through the passagio in quick scales and trills. ( a cover should be used only in full voiced singing, and not with coloratura since it often makes it very heavy sounding; since Sutherland covered all the time, no matter what she was doing and knew how to use that cover to her advantage, avoiding the cover was not something she had to worry about)

What makes Callas great is her use of technique to bring out the drama she feels within, and there, she has no peers at all.

As for di Stephano, he is fine in this role, even if he is quite wrong for it. His D's are more than strained. His high F is not there at all but is replaced with a D Flat. Though that shows he couldn't handle the note Pavarotti can (and he wouldn't have sing that note in falsetto as Pavarotti did simply because at that time no one would have accepted it as proper at all, when in reality, Rubini, the creator of the role of Arturo sang everything above a G in a head voice), it hardly ruins the music, for the repeat of that high-lying phrase using the D flat instead of the F actually works better musically in some ways.

The basses were fine but I did find Rossi-Lemeni barks too often, and has a very rough legato line because of harsh blasting consonants.

All in all, it is a great performance, but if one wants a real representation of the opera, not just great singers (and in this case, mostly Callas) buy the recordings of Joan Sutherland/Pavarotti or Sills/Gedda and you will get the opera more complete (including all the reworked parts that are in the Malibran score). As for which is best? I really have no clue, as I love them all, and own them all, and listen to them all, depending on which mood I am in. If for emotional connection, I listen to Callas; if emotion with good technique, Sills; for just plain dazzling display, Sutherland.

My operatic world have room for them all.

Before this record, Puritani wasn't even performed because of the lack of voices that could cope with that extremely difficult opera. Mind you that at the time Bellini wrote the opera, it was written to suit the great voices of that time, like Maria Malibran. The opera itself is great - in my opinion Bellini's best. Callas makes a good Elvira, however the coloratura she does is very suitable for Lucia, but her voice is too dramatic and large for characters like Elvira and Amina in Somnambula. Di Stefano makes a very poor Arturo. That role requires vocal and technical qualities that he does not possess. When you hear him sing the famous aria, he runs out of air, trying to shout the notes. After hearing that aria performed by Lauri-Volpi and Del Monaco it is impossible to recognize Di Stefano even as a moderate Arturo. The bass, Rossi-Lemeni is dissappointing. His voice seems to be "off balance", empty of emotion, as if he makes a speech. But the one thing that I admired most about this particular recording is the baritone. Rolando Panerai makes a trully magnificent Richard. His performance is second only to Battistini. It is amazing how a 50's baritone could possess the same kind of technique as the baritones of the beginning of the century, like De Luca. Panerai's legato is amazing. His voice expression and colours are marvalous. His performance is both lyrical and dramatical. His voice can be powerfull and metallic at one moment, and soft, full of passion at the next. That was the most pleasant surprise I got from this record.

Overall *****

"Qui la voce" brings us Maria Callas at a point in time when her voice was at perhaps its most beautiful, though the "beauty" issue is, in my opinion, quibbled overmuch. Her artistry is enormous, without rival. This mad scene is a crowning jewel: enormously affecting and brilliantly sung.

Di Stefano, whom I love to pieces, is not at his most tidy or most consistent here; but he is, as always, believable and lovable. Rolando Panerai and Nicola Zaccaria are robust and resonant. The set has LIFE in it, while some newer versions have somewhat less.

Having heard my diva, Gruberova, as Elvira MANY times I was rather careful with Callas doing Puritani. Mind you, I DID like her Sonnambula, but ELVIRA? This role being sung by canaries like Carosio, Sutherland, Sills, Gruberova and so forth? Well, the beauty of canaries... And the beauty of Callas who sings like an angel here. Innocent, passionate and loving. What an Elvira, what coloratura and topnotes! Di Stefano isn't as great as Pavarotti but he's far more emotional. I'd recommend this recording to every lover of belcanto, THIS is how true belcanto sounds!

This classic recording captures Maria Callas near her very peak - the voice responding to everything she has in mind for Elvira. The coloratura is perfect, not only technically, but used as an expressive means to an end in defining the character. This reading is certainly the most intensely dramatic one on record (Sills is a close second). Reading an earlier review by a self-proclaimed "opera expert", I had to laugh a little - what is a "flute voice"? Is this a secret term used only by "experts"? In actuality, Callas had a variety of vocal colors to choose from and wisely chose to lighten her voice during some of the coloratura passages in the cabalettas. This is what expressive singing is all about. As much as I enjoy Sutherland, she simply does not have the musical imagination to create a full character out of the music in the way that Callas did here, and in many other recordings. Sutherland's strengths lie elsewhere - beautiful vocalism. with secure technique.
But why choose sides when you can have both? I have many of the recordings of Callas, Sills and Sutherland, and listen to each depending on what mood I happen to be in. The other singers on this recording are not really at Callas' level (so often the case), but Di Stefano is in strong voice, if not quite in style for Bellini - he sings the role more in the verismo style to my ears. And the high notes really stretch him at times. Rossi-Lemeni is a bit long in the tooth here - expressive, but not always secure, or in tune. Panerai is quite good, in an early recording for him. So get this recording, by all means. It's in a class of its own. One of the Sutherland (I prefer the 2nd) recordings, and of course the Sills are also must haves to get a full picture of the possibilities of this incredible opera.

Callas not only revived "rarities" such as "I Puritani" but sang them as they should be sung: A virtuosa in excelsis with the type of voice it was written for. I think this outshines every other recording of "I Puritani" (Sutherland, Sills etc.) because it's the only one that doesn't leave me cold. Buy it and enjoy its timeless beauty!