Mad Scenes

Vincenzo Bellini (Composer), Gaetano Donizetti (Composer), Ambroise Thomas (Composer), Nicola Rescigno (Conductor), Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus (Orchestra), Maria Callas (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Maria Callas
• Orchestra: Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus
• Conductor: Nicola Rescigno
• Composer: Vincenzo Bellini, Gaetano Donizetti, Ambroise Thomas
• Audio CD (January 20, 1998)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Angel Records
• ASIN: B000002S9Y
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #182,930 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #34 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Divas > Callas, Maria

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classical, January 14, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Mad Scenes (Audio CD)

I got this used... She made me weep like a baby... What a fascinating singer! I'm definitely buying more Callas-stuff!

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A DESERT ISLAND DISC, February 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Mad Scenes (Audio CD)

As a life-long Callas fan, this rates as my personal "desert island" disc. The final scene from "Anna Bolena" is full of nuance, limpid high notes, and as close as you can get to a perfect recitative. The supporting voices can only be described as comical, at best; excreble at worst. The cavatina is a music lesson to any musician in the lilting way she shapes her gruppeti, and her breath control in her cadenzas are awe-inspiring. The final cabaletta is hair-raising in her fury. The "Pirata" scene is a little more careful, but nonetheless ravishing. One forgets one is listening to early 19th-century music, so full of modern expression is it. One should compare it to the live "pirated" (no pun intended) recording from 1959 at Carnegie Hall. The mad scene from "Hamlet" finds the Callas voice once again a new instrument: the voice totally French in approach. The coloratura passges are incredibly clean and natural, and for the most part, the high notes are all in place. Her use of colors and dynamics are, as far as I know, the only that are completely faithful to the score. As for the Callas trill, it has never been equaled, and that includes a certain retired Australian soprano who once sang Clotilde to Callas' Norma. A MUST for all Callas fans, and a great introduction for novices.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best bel canto singing from Callas, June 30, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Mad Scenes (Audio CD)

I am tried of people comparing Callas and Sutherland or Tebaldi. Why can't we appreciate all of them? All singers have their strength and weakness. Callas is at her best here in this album. She is very moving and her technique is superb. The Mad scence from Anna Bolena is just stunningly beautiful. The final cabaletta shows Callas at home in one of the most challenging arias in bel canto operas. Her trills and scales are beyond criticism. This is one of my favorite albums together with Sutherland's "The Art of Prima Donna" and Price's blue album.