Customer Reviews

Donizetti: Anna Bolena (complete opera live 1957) with Maria Callas, Gianni Raimondi, Gianandrea Gavazzeni, Orchestra & Chorus of La Scala, Milan

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The historical setting of the confllict between King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn provided Donizetti with his "Anna Bolena", and Maria Callas with one of her greatest roles. This is still another opera that Callas should have recorded in the studio, but since she didn't, we are lucky to have this live 1957 La Scala broadcast of the famous revival. The sound isn't great, but it's much better than many other performances of this genre. Callas is in as good vocal form as she could be expected to be in 1957, in other words, very good indeed. She plays the martyred and injured queen for all she's worth, and the effect is riveting. Callas was also fortunate in having at her side the great Italian mezzo Gulietta Simionato, who, as Jane Seymour, her rival for the affections of Henry, sings magnificently, matching Callas note for note in the great duet in Act II.Simionato also does some very wonderful singing on her own. Nicola Rossi-Lemeni is a menacing Henry and Gianni Raimondi is a lyrical Percy, Anna's great friend and confidante. Gavazzeni's conducting is taut and appropriate intense. It is fortunate that EMI issued this performance on its Callas Edition series. The performance, by the way, is somewhat cut down to essentials, which was in keeping with the performance standards of the time. Very strongly recommended.

I'm always of the view that Callas reached her absolute peak as a dramatic singing actress with this legendary production of ANNA BOLENA at La Scala. In 1957, Callas's vocal decline was just around the corner but, judging from the evidence of this live recording, she was then still in remarkable vocal form. Indeed, her voice, her impressive dramatic gift and musicianship are heard here in almost perfect equilibrium and these combine to form an all-rounded and three-dimensional portrait of the heroine, a woman of flesh and blood caught in the midst of those internecine disputes which plagued the English Court, but who also possesses great nobility and a palpable sense of tragic grandeur even when her fate is sealed.

Indeed, every word that Callas sings tells and her inflection and tone colouring are not only apt, they are often insightful and illuminating. Her plaintive tone in the more poignant passages can make a stone weep and her unique accentuations of the texts can tug at one's heart. On the other hand, she never sacrifices the music for the sake of overt histrionics and her legato singing and the way she shapes and sculpts the long phrases are things to marvel at. She is in such fine vocal form that not only is she able to cap the ensemble at the end of Act I with a clarion top D, her performance of the very demanding final scene is a vocal tour de force that is imbued with a wide palette of emotions. All in all, it is sublime performance that is not only vocally awesome, but is also shattering in its emotional impact.

Callas has a worthy partner in Simionato's Giovanna (Jane Seymour), as the latter is in imposing vocal form throughout. Although Giovanna is not a well-developed character in the opera, Simionato succeeds in making the most out of it. Her arias are stylishly delivered and her coloratura singing is generally excellent. She can definitely hold her own against Callas in the crucial duet in Act II, where she also has a high C to spare at the end.

Gianni Raimondi, although in good voice and possesses a secure top, is a rather faceless Percy, and no matter how regal Nicola Rossi Lemeni might have looked on stage as Henry VIII, his tone is here smaller than usual and rather frayed at the edges. By contrast, Gabriella Carturan is an appealing Smeton which makes one regret that some of her arias have been excised. Gianandrea Gavazzeni is an idiomatic Donizettian and he's able to propel the music forward with verve. Nevertheless, it is not the most insightful of readings. The La Scala chorus is not always very neat in their singing.

As this is a live recording, there are obvious sonic limitations. However, this shouldn't prevent the listener from admiring the performance, which is definitely one of the great nights at La Scala. Besides, such technical deficiencies would pale into insignificance before Callas's unforgettable portrayal. Highly recommended!

I never thought ANYONE could surpass my beloved Edita as Anna Bolena (I heard her live) but this just DID IT! I do prefer Gruberova in several roles but Callas OWNS Anna Bolena now. The best performance imaginable with a fantastic cast and a brilliant conductor! BRAVA!

A critic once called this his desert island recording. I'd like to repeat that. Even though it was already in the late fifties (Her 1956 Lucia wasn't very good, the 1955 was much better) here Callas had a top night. No wobbles, no screamed high notes and she is simply on fire. The problem here are the cuts and that is why my Nr. 1 Anna Bolena recording is the Sills-recording (Whose intensity was equally stunning) but I also LOVE this one. Callas sounds so beautiful in the duet with Giovanna... (The EXCELLENT Simionato) and her "Al dolce guidami" is dulcet indeed. I wonder why Gianni Raimondi never got more famous. He's an AMAZING Percy. The sound is pretty good for its time... IMHO no opera-collection is complete without it. (And the Sills-rec)

SOURCE:
Live performance from the opening night of the new Visconti production of "Anna Bolena" at La Scala in Milan, April 14,1957.

SOUND:
By current standards, the mono sound is boxy and limited. By the standards of Callas' recorded live performances, it is well above average. Voices are generally well-caught in a sort of AM radio-ish way, the orchestra slightly less so. The audience at La Scala that opening night was unusually quiet for an Italian crowd. Perhaps they were a little awed by the occasion. Certainly, they were unfamiliar with the opera. Their recorded responses are positive, generous and at more or less the appropriate spots. All that aside, anyone who listens to this "Anna Bolena" should do so for the performance, not the sound reproduction.

CAST:
ANNA BOLENA, Queen of England - Maria Callas (soprano)
ENRICO VIII, King of England - Nicola Rossi-Lemeni (bass-baritone)
GIOVANNA SEYMOUR, lady-in-waiting to Queen Anna, king's mistress and next Queen of England - Giulietta Simionato (mezzo-soprano)
PERCY, a nobleman dangerously in love with Anna - Gianni Raimondi (tenor)
SMETON, a young page and musician idiotically in love with Anna - Gabriella Carturan (soprano)
LORD ROCHEFORT, Anna's brother who has a talent for being in the wrong place at the wrong time - Plinio Clabassi (baritone)
LORD HERVEY, a courtier who is acutely aware that his career will not be advanced by being Anna's friend - Luigi Rumbo (baritone)

CONDUCTOR:
Gianandrea Gavazzeni with the Orchestra and Chorus of the Teatro alla Scala, Milano.

DOCUMENTATION:
Libretto with English translation. Short history of the opera and brief summary of the plot.

TEXT:
This was the second major production of "Anna Bolena" in the modern bel canto revival. There are substantial cuts, from which the role of Percy is the greatest sufferer. Many reviewers clearly suffer the vapors at the very thought of losing a single bar of the golden legacy. I am not among their number. Sometimes, less actually is more. I have seldom found note-complete performances, especially those with pseudo-bel canto ornamentations created on the spot, to offer a markedly improved artistic experience. Sometimes, as in the horrifying example of Wagner-length "complete" "Tales of Hoffmann," it can be a dismal downer. In this case, the shortened text of "Anna Bolena" works well enough.

"Anna Bolena" premiered at La Scala on December 26, 1830. It was the big hit that catapulted the 32-year old composer into the great bel canto triad with Rossini and Bellini. For all its success, the opera shared in the general collapse of bel canto fortunes and lay dormant until the 1950s. The post-World War II era saw a revival of the bel canto repertory, largely driven by the presence of Maria Callas and the subsequent development of a group of divas who combined enormous power with extraordinary vocal agility.

(Here in the Twenty-first Century, we find ourselves amid a drought of such divas once again. Where is the next great Medea, Lucia, Norma or Anna Bolena to be found? Almost certainly not among the troops of Handel specialists who come pouring out of today's academies.)

The libretto of "Anna Bolena" rests only lightly on the dreary historical facts. Anne Boleyn is conceived as a fairly typical bel canto heroine, even to the extent of being granted a short mad scene. The reputation Henry VIII is completely slagged in librettist Romani's telling of the tale. The king hasn't a single vestige of honor, generosity or loyalty. He lacks even the self-awareness that makes Shakespeare's monstrous Richard III so entertainingly charming.

It is a part of the received lore among opera fans that the role of Anna is a voice killer. Why this should be when Norma, say, and Turandot and Isolde are not, I can't say. Whatever the dangers, the voice of Callas in 1957 was more than a match for them. Fans of La Divina quite properly regard this as one of her great triumphs. Critics, on the other hand, profess to detect the earliest cracks in the noble vocal facade. Perhaps that is so, but I for one do not choose to ignore the virtues of a performance while searching for its faults.

Callas is better supported by the rest of the cast than is often the case with her live recordings. Nicola Rossi-Lemeni, with his somewhat wooly voice, was not one of the great singers of the Twentieth Century, but he was a good one, nevertheless. I saw him in San Francisco a couple of times toward the end of his career. He was a solid performer who could carry an audience with him. Simionato was very much an A-list singer and sounds like it here, despite the oddly offhand dismissal to be found in the review published by the Good Grey Gramophone Magazine. (Years later she described this "Anna Bolena" as the highlight of her career.) Gianni Raimondi sounds fine to me in what remains of the part of Percy, although some would doubtless argue that his is not the proper type of voice for the role. (The very same argument could be made about Callas herself, despite the too-confident insistence of fans that the remarks of the critic Stendahl about the first Anna, Giudita Pasta, show her to have been something of a Nineteenth Century pre-iteration of Callas.) The singers in the smaller roles, the orchestra, the chorus and the conducting all uphold the reputation of La Scala.

A famous live performance in decent sound with Callas in full La Divina-mode--five stars, of course!

LEC/AM/1-07

If this recording were uncut it would be heaven... But at this time it was a miracle that this rarity was performed at all, because Callas requested it. Callas sings a fantastic Anne, Simionato is the best Giovanna and Rossi-Lemeni has much authority as Henry VIII. This is still the greatest "Anna Bolena".

Anna Bolena, Donizetti's great opera about the English queen who was beheaded by her husband Henry VIII, was a masterpiece rarely revived after its premiere. A year earlier, during 1956, the opera was revived in the composer's hometown. On 1957, with Luchino Visconti's guidance and the genius of Maria
Callas at the helm, the opera was given at La Scala. In the pit was Gianandrea Gavazzenni, and the La Scala orchestra and chorus sang wonderfully that night. The set, a dramatic setting of dark shades contrasted by the fabulously brilliant costumes, helped to heighten the drama of the opera. But most fabulous of all was the Anna Bolena of the evening, Maria Callas. No other Anna had sung the role with much passion before, even approaching the boundaries of a verismo interpretation coupled with a well-schooled bel canto technique. There were many Annas who later would embellish the lines of the queen with greater roulades, but no other interpreter of the role could capture the tragic air that Callas gave the wife of Henry VIII. What makes this role such a great vehicle for her voice is the fact that Anna had much that related to the Druid priestess Norma. Both had lovers who had secretly conducted affairs behind their backs, and both were to discover this in the middle of the plot. What makes Anna different though, is the fact that her lover turned on her and even executed her! The colors brought into the writing of this role demand an entirely different kind of temperament from that of Norma. Anna has to maintain a sense of regality, yet she loses her temper in one of the scenes where she is to be brought before the judges. "Giudici! ad Anna!!!" The excerpt was to be sung to perfection by Callas, and no other singer could capture the fury she imbued in the cabaletta (something only Callas can do). "Va infelice", the duet between Jane Seymour and Anne, is much like Bellini's "Mira o Norma", and Giulietta Simionato and Callas sing it to a level of musicality unachieved by other singers. The madscene, the piece that closes this great opera, is undoubtedly the pinnacle of Donizetti's mad scenes. In my opinion, not even the famous Lucia di Lammermoor mad scene could equal the dramatic intensity of A Dolce Guidami...Coppia Iniqua. And who else could bring such dramatic truth into this mad scene than Callas? This scene alone is worth the entire recording, and I would highly recommend this Donizettian legend for your music library.

If EMI was burning down, this is the first recording I'd save. Listen to Sills, Souliotis and Sutherland singing Al Dolce Guidami in the final act: Very nice, all three. Sills and Souliotis, especially, have moments to recommend them. Then listen to Callas, and you're no longer in the realm of comparison and contrast. You're in the realm of goosebumps, and head tingles, and the distinct possibility of tears.

The only drawback to this CD is the sound, which isn't bad, but it actually could have been a lot better. If you ever have a chance to buy the BJR bootleg of this recording, elbow everybody out of the way and pounce on it. The difference in quality is not minor. It's the difference between having water in your ears and the water popping. The clarity is so much greater on BJR-- it's not a casual difference. Still, in any form, the Callas "Anna Bolena" is a mandatory purchase -- one of the earthly splendors that must be experienced before you leave this planet.

Maria Callas is known as one of the greatest artist of the century because she was responsible for the revival of neglected bell canto operas. April 14, 1957 is one of those memorable days. It is the opening night of a new production of a great neglected opera Anna Bolena. This was staged in the La Scala. I am very happy that this particular event was documented in this recording. At least were able to listen to this spectacular memorable night. The Characterization of the La Divina is one of the most exciting she has done. This is probably because Anna's tragedy comes as a fusion of all the wounded characters she had played previously. This seems to be the catalyst she needed to pour deep emotions for the role. The final scene of this recording will make everybody understand why the La Divina is considered the greatest singing actress of the 20th century. It shows her at the height of her talent both as a tragic actress and of course as a singer. Despite poor recording and untolerable hisses in some parts. This recording should not be missed for any reason for this is the best Anna Bolena on Disc.

Well, let's get over the caveats first. The performance is heavily cut and this is a live performance from 1957, so the sound is certainly lo-fi, though not completely unacceptable. Otherwise, this is a treasurable account of a historic and absolutely thrilling night at La Scala. The cast is not totally ideal; Rossi-Lemeni as Enrico has great authority but his tone is woolly and leaks air at every emission; Raimondi doesn't have the florid technique for Percy (and consequently much of his role is cut), but he does have the requisite italianate tone. The rest is pure gold. Simionato as Giovanna shows just how exciting a singer she was on the stage; her studio recordings do not do her justice. A high point of the set is the duet with Anna, Callas and Simionato first striking sparks off each other and then blending in sublime harmony. As for Callas, this captures her at the absolute height of her interprative powers in a role that was absolutely right for her at this stage of her career. From the gentle, plangent tone she uses in the first aria, through the fire and brimstone of the Act 1 finale, to the exquisite pathos of the final mad scene, she is sublime. A high point of the set is her voicing of "Guidici ad Anna!" just before the Act 1 finale, where all Anna's queenly outrage is brought to bear with almost unbearable intensity. The finale is capped with a ringing high D and the audience quite rightly goes mad. But it is also in quiet moments that Callas is unique. The ovation she receives after the cavtina in the mad scene is the natural outcome from an audience quite obviously unable to hold its breath any longer - and remember this opera was almost completely unknown at the time. Though EMI did not record Callas in many of her greatest roles, it is good to see that they are now repairing the omission with the official release of some of these live performances. Not to be missed.