Customer Reviews

Maria Callas - La Callas... Toujours

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It's so unfortunate and unfare, that there is no full opera recording featuring legendary diva, Maria Callas. What is available on VHS or DVD is just several concerts and fully staged II act from "Tosca" (two versions, this one and later one, 1964). I love all these concerts, every one is special for some particular reason. This one opens with "Casta Diva", from "Norma", which was Maria's one of the favourite roles and she sings it so well, so effortless, with such musical beauty. Then comes amazing performance of "Una poco", which I love the most on this DVD. It seems to me that Callas is not singing at all, her mouth opens the way as if she is just talking, even on the high C she stays so calm and so effortless. In my opinion Callas shouldn't have sung havier roles, which eventually ruined her beautiful voice, however I understand that singer always wants to achieve more. Although Callas voice was exactly right for belcanto singing and this aria is vivid example. The next on the DVD is Trovatore, aria followed by Miserere from last act. As I sad, Callas shouldn't have sung such dramatic roles, however this particular extract sound perfect.
And finally comes Tosca, II act, fully staged, whith Tito Gobbi. It is so amazing to watch just what these two greatest artist do on the stage, it is really unbelievable. If I compare this Tosca to 1964 version, I should say, Callas is better on this DVD, while Gobbi sounds better on 1964 recording for me. In whole, "Toujours" is must have, Callas was so great, true opera lover must not miss the chance to get her live recording.

Despite some edgy high notes this Paris gala finds Callas at her best. The challenging program alternates between lyric and dramatic arias with several moments justifing this as a must have dvd. The descending scale at the end of the Casta Diva is uniquely Callas-no one sings like this. The Act two of Tosca is phenomenal especially the Vissi D'arte aria. When Callas sinks to her knees at the aria's end and you hear all Paris applaud it's as if you're in the audience.

Of all the available visual samples available of Maria Callas this is the best and most loyal. In this peformance we are treated to some of Callas' most famous arias with dramatic changes in character and musical style. We begin with the bel canto treat of selections from Norma- Callas' famous "Casta Diva". Unfortunately the chorus who sings with her is horrible and off time which detracts from an otherwise perfect experience. No one was able to match the sheer expressiveness and fluid phrasing of Callas in this arena. Next selections from Il Trovatore are dramatic and again showcase the amazing phrasing which no other artist has been able to match. Leonora is shown to us as a living breathing person rather than just some pretty arias and a chance to showcase vocal beauty. Callas may not deliver the full throated beauty of other singers in this role, but you will never find a more fully developed and well phrased character in a role which was meant to be acted- not showcased for vocal fireworks. Then, she switches yet again into the comic light coluratura of Rosina's aria from the Barber of Seville. This was an aria she often performed in recital- yet rarely was she ever in such good voice as in this presentation. One overly eager fan began to shout brava in the middle of her aria while others shushed him. By far the highlight though is the staged preformance of act 2 of Tosca with Tito Gobbi. If you have ever heard Callas' Tosca then I need not comment of the genius she brought to this role. The greatest highlight of which is her Vissi D'arte which I dare you to sit dry eyed through. Her magnificent voice and unmatched vocal expression milk that aria for all it's worth. It is a shame that we weren't able to see Callas ealier when her voice was fuller and in richer bloom- but here we have her in fine voice and her usual dramatic perfection which she only achieved later in her career- this DVD is well worth it- discover La Divina today!

What I have enjoyed the most is watching the contrasts of this performance to the Callas Covent Garden video recording. Here, Callas is at her glamourous best. For example, the TOSCA in this recording presents a coutured diva whose dramatics are down a notch from the CG performance. Vocally, I think she is better here - but dramatically, the CG performance is superior.

I am glad to have this, if only to compare the two performances of ACT II TOSCA. It is also an excellent lesson in the grace and deportment of a true opera star. Such style! Such expression! (The concert portion of this is similar to the Hamburg recording.)

Ever since I began listening to opera a few years back, I have been a big Callas fan. This DVD is pure gold. After listening to her recordings, and the sheer drama in that heart-stopping voice, it was incredible to see her in action, live on stage. If not for all of the other amazing arias she sings, you must buy this DVD just to see her perform ACT II of Tosca with Titto Gobbi. Unlike the other live recording of ACT II Tosca at Covent Garden (1965), this recording was made in 1958, during a time when she was in really good voice. Titto Gobbi too puts on a spectacular show of the evil Scarpia - after seeing Titto Gobbi's Scarpia, I just hate this guy!

If you believe that Opera is not just singing, but acting as well, you don't want to miss this ACT II. In other words, BUY THIS DVD NOW! Even if you won't be able to eat for 3 days, buy it! Atleast you'll have soul food.

I first came across this film when it was released in one of those "laser discs" developed by Pioneer a couple of decades ago, nowadays gone the way of the Betamax, superseded by newer, although not always better, technologies. This EMI release contains most of that laser disc's contents, for some reason leaving out the initial segment (some dozen minutes I estimate), one that included introductory shots that showed the cars going round the Place de l'Opéra under a heavy rain to disembark their illustrious passengers, then proceeding inside to pan across the vast hall before the recital starts, spotting for us a few of the "toût Paris" that had attended the gala evening when Maria Callas would first sing before them, people like Juliette Greco, Brigitte Bardot, Charlie Chaplin and others, then went on to show the entrance of then French President René Coty, allowing us to listen to the National Anthem and then to the overture of Verdi's La Forza del Destino. This dvd release catches up when the latter has ended and Callas makes her grand entrance. Substituted for the segment I've described EMI have decided to give us some sort of a colour "guided visit" of the theatre, which resumes variously within the programme as we switch from one composer to another. A real loss, as the original film placed us within a marvellous context, allowing us to feel the atmosphere of the evening, as close as one can more than four decades away, and allowing ous to savour the diva's entrance practically as much as the Paris audience on 19/12/58 did. And whatever information one gets on the Palais Garnier in the new segment one can also get (and more) from the green Michelin guide.

Musically, the film is a mixed bag. There are magical moments in the recital, true, and the second half comprising the better of her filmed second act of Tosca (staged and in costume) with Gobbi giving his famous portrayal in top form makes it worth purchasing the disc alone, in spite of a defficient Cavaradossi, but by the time Callas came to Paris her voice no longer was the instrument that had given a solid floor to her legendary fame, justly earned on the Milan, London or Rome stages. Faulty (or ill-placed) breath takings are not uncommon, there's some shouting in the Tosca and she wobbles sometimes (the Verdi segment is especially affected). But anyway, documents like these are rare indeed and are a must. The Abbey Road engineers have improved the sound quality (mono, of course) over previous releases, as well as the image, and there is a very interesting and informative article by Gramophone magazine's well-known contributor, contributor John Steane.

The triumphant Maria Callas and the brilliant Tito Gobbi are here a revelation for those to whom opera is only and too simply listening for beautiful sounds. It's true that Callas' high notes are on occasion acidic at this Paris debut and that Gobbi tends to bark from time to time. But these are criticisms best suited to people who'd no more look at an opera singer than stare at a radio. If one listens externally for purity of notes, one will in spots be disappointed. But if one is open to how incarnational an art Callas and Gobbi practiced, the supreme suitability of phrasing to the required emotion, the brilliance of facial expression and body movement overwhelm any quibbles as to this or that note not being perfectly in place. In short, neither of these great artists is merely singing notes. They're inside their roles and singing the hell out of them. As a singing lesson, this is about as good as it gets.

The triumphant Maria Callas and the brilliant Tito Gobbi are here a revelation for those to whom opera is only and too simply listening for beautiful sounds. It's true that Callas' high notes are on occasion acidic at this Paris debut and that Gobbi tends to bark from time to time. But these are criticisms best suited to people who'd no more look at an opera singer than stare at a radio. If one listens externally for purity of notes, one will in spots be disappointed. But if one is open to how incarnational an art Callas and Gobbi practiced, the supreme suitability of phrasing to the required emotion, the brilliance of facial expression and body movement overwhelm any quibbles as to this or that note not being perfectly in place. In short, neither of these great artists is merely singing notes. They're inside their roles and singing the hell out of them. As a singing lesson, this is about as good as it gets.

I was eight years old when I saw this appearance of Mme Callas on TV. Eight years, and I was shocked for life.
My eyes could not leave the TV screen for one second, and afterwards I immediately withdraw to my room, pulled down pictures of Swedish pop stars from my wall and replaced them with a large photo of Maria, newly found in a weekly magazine. I was shocked, not only by her intensy and performace during that specific evening in 1958, but for lifetime. I repeatedly asked my father if he could take me to the Royal Opera in Stockholm, but it was not to be until 1972, when I had my first opportunity to visit the Opera House myself. I did not know much of Wagner but already had a Swedish idol in Birgit Nilsson, so my first real experience in Stockholm was a complete Ring des Nibelungen with Nilsson. Now 23 years old, I was shocked again and since then opera has never left my life. I will never forget that my interest was so unexpectedly woken by the flame of Maria Callas from Paris. How happy I was when this CD appeared!

This DVD was previously issued in some markets as "The Paris recital". The evening was hosted by Marie Claire magazine and attended by the creme of 50s Paris - including Bardot, Chaplin, Onassis, and the Windsors. The recital, needless to say, is excellent, a great document to a legendary singer. In the Tosca excerpt the performance of Tito Gobbi as Scarpia is superbly malevolent. There's even a moment of priceless humour as the unfortunate last minute stand-in for the scheduled tenor gaffes by briefly relapsing into the local French version after his big aria. Callas remains totally unfazed.

TECHNICAL: Running time 91 minutes, mainly black and white except for a short introduction to the Palais Garnier where the recital was filmed and end titles, which are in colour. The DVD subtitles include English, French and very usefully 'libretto' - which allows one to follow the text of Norma, Il Trovatore, and Tosca in Italian, but during the intervals subtitles Paul Tchernia's French commentary in French. But be warned that not all of the other EMI Callas DVDs have this option.