Customer Reviews

Maria Callas in Concert - Hamburg 1959 and 1962

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As another reviewer has already mentioned, Callas was never filmed in a complete opera. (Ironically, no less than three films exist of the second act of Puccini's Tosca, a role that she did not regard with particular favor.) So, these filmed live concerts of varied operatic repertory are particularly valuable as a document of a spellbinding performer practicing her art. The concert from 1959 finds her in more secure voice, though she misses a top C in the Macbeth aria and omits some interpolated high notes elsewhere. However, the earlier concert as a whole is a vivid demonstration of her dramatic intensity and the variety of her vocal art, ranging from the steely intensity of Macbeth, to the ineffable grief of the Don Carlo aria, to the flirtatious charm of the Barber of Seville. By 1962, she was in noticeable vocal decline and there are frequent instances of what became an all-too-familiar unsteadiness on top notes in the later concert. She also has difficulty remembering words in the Carmen excerpts in 1962. On the other hand, O Don Fatale, a mezzo aria, is mesmerizing. Anyone who wants to learn why Callas continues to exert such a powerful force on the world of opera need only view these concerts to know the reason.

Maria Callas was a phenomenon. She evoked the strongest passions, pro and con, during her too brief peak period. Unfortunately she did her best work in the 1950's and 1960's when films and videos of opera were rare. That makes this DVD so important.

Here we see her in two recitals. Sadly she was never filmed in a complete opera (to the best of my knowledge). Like another one of the reviewers, I have watched these performances on laser disc for years and was especially pleased to see them come out on DVD. The quality of the picture reflects the state of the art of the time. But you will not buy this DVD for picture quality. You will get it as a visual and auditory record of the most interesting singer of the past 50 years.

There are many glorious moments on this DVD. Perhaps my favorite is Una voce poco fa from The Barber of Seville. Her recording of the complete opera on EMI is still one of the best versions of this opera, but her aria in this recital is the best of her several recordings. And what presence she had.

As a lover of opera it is a disappointment that I never got to see Callas perform live. This superb DVD will have to be my consolation.

Without loosing hope, I none the less didn't expect such a great thing to happen so fast. I am talking about the Callas in Hamburg 59 & 62 concerts, which were released by a Dutch house on DVD. There's only another dvd (pure music*) issued by a Japanese company. In that case the price is fantastic (US$ 100 for 29 minutes of music!) and the quality is far from being good. This one is an elegant edition. Even the menu is made with care, showing nice live pictures of Callas. The image is perfect and the sound was remastered to digital, making this a unique opportunity to enjoy the concerts without fearing any tape damage. Arias can be selected at random, just as on a music cd, in case you don't want to listen to the whole concert in one sitting. I do recommend you'd buy it (I'm not working for the company who released it!) before it becomes obsolete. Most of us will have a dvd player one day, this is the new format to stay. I also bought mine when I had 5 titles in my collection, some are already out of stock. * there's Life and Art also available but haven't got that one.

If you are a fan of Maria Callas, then you undoubtedly own the Hamburg Concerts on VHS format. If you love Maria Callas, then you're probably an audiophile, too! It's about time that Maria Callas' repertoire become available on DVD. The actual DVD is fantastic. A full menu allows the audeince to choose subtitles (in three languages) to the arias. A good stereo or digital stereo gives new life to these familiar concerts. This DVD is a must have for Callas fans!

I have the Laser Disc version of this. I bought it 7 years ago and has enjoyed it since. The charm of Callas never let me down...always cheers me up...I have watched this hundreds of times and still loving it. I plan to get the DVD version very soon. My favorite is her in "O Don Fatale"...look at her expression. She went from sad, somber, to full of joy. She is truly the goddess of opera.

Not being the consummate "opera queen," I'll spare you my thoughts on the technical aspects of Callas' voice. My primary exposure to opera is on record, and in that venue nobody in my opinion has come close to her. Listening to Callas is like being there, because she knew better than anyone how to "act" with her voice. In that sense, she's like a cheap date for the legions who can't afford real opera. To use a line from an old hippie song, a recording of Callas is like "a ticket to ride." What I find most remarkable about this double bill DVD is the striking metamorphosis in Callas when she shows up for the second concert in 1962. Bear in mind when you watch it that she had by now divorced her fatherly husband-mentor and become lovers with the Greek shipping tycoon, Aristotle Onassis. To say that she is a different woman would be an understatement. Suddenly the cold goddess of the woeful countenance has become a vivacious musical vixen. Sporting a stylish sixties haircut, and a sexy lowcut gown, she almost puts you in mind of Jacqueline Kennedy--but with more spirit. Woops! Did I inadvertantly mention her nemesis, who hijacked her boyfriend, thus ending one of the century's great romances, and sending La Callas' emotional life and career into a tailspin? Sorry. But for me, this may be the most compelling aspect of this remarkable video document. Watch it, and you will not only see a great artist in all her glory, you will witness history.

This live performance video gives us the opportunity to see and hear Maria Callas in concert. She is magnificent! Every gesture, every phrase, every nuance of her finely honed performance is here for us to enjoy. I only wish that someone had possessed the foresight to videotape one of her legendary opera performances in it's entirety. That would have been something!

HOPEFULLY, Shes' looking down at all of this frenzy and enjoying quite a giggle or two!

Utter meshing with orchestra, conductor, audience [and the occasional rose bouncing off her 'do']. Not just the vocal fireworks [recording quality is not too bad] but it's the person or the acting of the person, that slight little headtwinge ala Carmen ... waiting to break into a flamenco perhaps? The utter versatilityof this splendid artist .... NO it's not just the voice [there might have been 'others'] but it is the personality and her splendid acting ability.

She's very timeless on this one - and connects instantly ... quite a must for the aspiring actor, actress ..... or just the bored housewife, wanting a slight mid-afternoon escape into Her world.

Thank God for these old recordings!

{Around today? There'd be NO competition}

Hello again! This second review is about the second concert which it seems I have ignored in my first one. Maria in this tour in 1962 -which started in February in London and has been preserved in audio in a very bad sound- was in a good physical condition but her voice started to fail her in the high notes region. The wobble is obvious but she still gives more than any other opera singer could give in a live performance.

Her "Pleurez mes yeux" aria is heartbreaking. She does what she was doing especially in her Traviatas. She gives the impression that she will not be able to finish the aria because of the anguish and the torment of the character she is interpretting. She then sings two arias from Carmen and gives us a small idea of how Carmen would be if she would perform the whole role. She transforms Carmen in a very hard person in the whole, very secure and carefree. The ultimate perfection of interpretation of the character. The aria from Ernani is not one of my favorites but she sings it with perfection. It's Verdi after all and it is easy for her....Then comes La Cenerentola which she also sings in a joyful style. I always watch twice the "non piu mesta" part. She fascinates me when she sings those scales and with much easiness... The last aria "O don fatale" comes from Don Carlo. In this aria one can see her acting skills in small periods. In the first part she is powerful, strong and angry while she curses her beauty. In the second part she is sad, asks for forgiveness and the voice is more passionate. And at last from a point of dreadful thoughts, comes joy!! Watch as her face from sad becomes happy and gives the phrase in full happiness..."Un di mi resta...lo salvero..." that finishes with quite a fantastic way that makes people go mad. Callas la Divina in action!!!

About the first review of mine I would ask the previous, friend reviewer to read carefully the booklet of the DVD that he bought. I know that you my friend did not find her singing bad, so it came across that she had not caught a cold, but in the booklet also is said that Maria had a cold during that tour. I will tell you to focus on several parts ` She was suffering from a cold at the beginning of this tour and the effects of it were still evident', `Callas several times sends worried glances in the direction of the conductor, presumably indicating that she is not happy with the way her voice is behaving. ', ` ...the effects of the cold become apparent when a top C fails to sound properly....' . I would also go a step ahead and recommend you to listen to the Stuttgart concert four days after her Hamburg performance to whiteness a really exhausted by the symptoms of a cold Callas... As a Callas collector I own it of course. Thank you for your time.
I hope everyone enjoyed watching this DVD. It's like a legend coming alive in front of our eyes in a well preserved picture, thanks to EMI classics...:)

If her voice ever conquered you, the image will do more! She is not only a soprano with supreme teceniques, but also a prima dona living in every characters she sings through her dramatic make-blelieve artistry. Without any knowledge of the lyrics, you understand the characters and the whole story behind them through the gestures and the facial expressions she made while singing in vivid emotions. You will never know Callas fully enough without seeing her singing. A Must-Have for Callas fans, and, of course, for those who didn't understand yet to aprreciate this prima dona of the last century.