Customer Reviews

Maria Callas - La Divina

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Even if you believe (correctly) that there are sopranos with better voices, and even if you prefer modern digital recordings, if you are at all a fan of opera, you must buy at least one CD -- preferably this one -- of Maria Callas. There is something incredibly mesmerizing about her, an emotional quality and range that is unique, even if her voice does tremble in the upper register. Her La Wally is unsurpassed in my mind, the great "L'Amour est un oiseau rebelle" from Carmen is as well, and while Leontyne Price takes a backseat to noone in Puccini, Callas' versions are special as well. A wonderful cross section of 16 of the greatest arias of all time, plus the chance to hear Callas in an astonishing range of roles. Buy it.

I do not intend to get into a controversy with the Callas bashers (one or two of them on these pages), but as a student of music and voice, I am amazed at the range of music Callas undertook during her great career. Her musicianship, phrasing, and involvement were things that any fledging singer would wish to possess. I find Callas' voice moving, colorful, expressive, dramatic, and yes, BETTER than beautiful. Callas' voice is the voice of truth and music in it's most lofty form. Virtually every aria in this collection has the stamp of Callas ---- nothing is half-baked --- the great diva's sense of musical committment is obvious in every selection.
For those who do not like Callas --- fine, but don't bash a great artist whose particular strengths do not reach your ears. They certainly reach mine, and many others. During Callas' liftime, the multitudes listened. They are still listening!

I wonder how many people got into Maria Callas because of the movie "Philadephia," which featured the aria "La Mamma Morta" (from the opera "Andrea Chenier") in a crucial scene between Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington? I wonder how many took note of her because Fernando in "Our Lady of the Assassins" finds that her soprano pierces his heart? In that film, we hear her sing a Rossini aria from "The Barber of Seville." Maybe folks encountered the reference in Camille Paglia's "Sexual Personae": "Cultishness still thrives among homosexual opera fans, whose supreme diva was tempestuous Maria Callas."

Whatever the trigger, Callas' popularity is on the rise. This disc gathers her good eggs into one basket. This is a "best of" among the arias she sang in the 1950s and 60s. My favorites include her version of Bizet's warning about ungovernable love "Habanera," Saint-Saens' meltingly lyrical "Mon Coeur S'ouvre a ta Voix," and Puccini's mournful "O Mio Babbino Caro."

Her voice isn't perfect, whatever that means. It sounds thin and syrupy at times by the standards of world class opera. But it's the best we have. She is the best ever. If you want to be wowed, her high note on Rossini's "Una Voce Poco Fa" will endanger your crystal--and that's after she effortlessly navigates its string of complex arpeggios. If you want to be charmed, listen to the words Callas as Delilah sings to Samson: "Come back to my caresses!" Though she is known more for her interpretations of Puccini and Verdi, Callas' work in the French opera "Samson and Delilah" is among her very best. The viscosity of her voice becomes an asset as it suits the honeyed words of Delilah's eye-batting seductions perfectly.
This aria is sublime, exquisite.

A creature of theater, Callas manages a unique sound for every character she voices, finding endless variations of timbre, dynamics, and phrasing. This CD is on my marooned-on-a-desert-island short list. There are actually three "La Divina" CDs, and they are all worth having. The Callas box set contains a fourth CD as well, an interview with Callas.

Maria Callas is an overhelming mistery for every Opera fan. Her voice is unmistakable, her ability as actress uncompared. If you buy this Cd, you will understand why she is called La Divina. Every sung word is clear, every tone is firm. Her voice changes depending from the role she is playing: the wretched Violetta of "La Traviata" is laughing at the chance of a true love, Wally is seeking a new life, Norma sings gently to the moon, Tosca is singing her desillusionment in a prayer to God,... From time to time you'll don't be simply listening to a human voice, but to the HUMAN FEELINGS that voice is evoking. Callas was a genius: nobody has reached such a power in vocal emission, such interpretation capability, such perfection after her sad dead in 1977, and even during her short life. Sure, she was not always at her best and her voice faded within 15 years of brilliant career.But she begun singing on stage in the late '30s, having no pause and using her instrument without regard.She had a repertoire of 140 Operas,ranging from the "dramatic soprano"-roles to the "coloritura"-roles.No other is and was able to perform such different kind of arias(which reqeuest a totally different technical background)during the same recital and even during the same MONTH. This Cd shows her voice at her best, in the Golden Age of the early and mid '50s. If you can buy also the VHS of her Parisian debut, anno 1958, edit by EMI. She will overhelm the watcher with her magnetism and the listener with the perfection and unicity of her voice and timbre. "I wish for me the best, because I always do the best..." Callas once said... Preposterous? Listen and judge!

I have been collecting Callas' recordings for a little over a year now, and I have a special feeling for this one because it's the first Callas CD I ever bought. Callas sings a great variety of arias on this CD, and it's amazing how she changes her voice for each role. For example, what a contrast between the aria from Samson and Dalila, and the very next aria, "Caro nome" from Rigoletto! And yet she always remains Callas. No other singer moves me emotionally as she does. Also, I have to disagree with the reviewer who didn't like the version of "Vissi d'Arte" that was used on this CD. This is my favorite "Vissi d'Arte" ever! I love the one on the 1953 recording, too, but the 1964 version is so moving! There's nothing like it. And you can get the 1953 version without buying the complete recording (even though I highly recommend the complete recording); it's available on the collection "Maria Callas: Voice of the Century".

To quote Pia's excellent review: "Ok, define singing art. Is it not a combination of colours, phrasing, diction, timbre and technique? Listen to Callas as she sang in 1949 and you'll hear how gorgeous her voice was. But a beautiful voice ain't enough. Caballe knew that and she herself says that "Maria opened the door to a terra incognita! She made things possible that would have remained impossible without her!" plus she consulted with "arrogant" MAria whom she called "the kindest and sweetest advisor I ever had" which roles suited her voice best. Caballe knows the difference, you obviously don't."

I am working with singers and coductors, have done so for 53 years. Yet I would never come up with such haughty lies. This kid is in need of a spanking and some music lessons. Callas isn't the non plus ultra in everything and definitely made some painful recordings in the later years. But this compilation brought together why she's called "La Divina". There is no "truth" in art or music, anyone who presents such insufferable presumption as A "review" should re-think his attitude. Go and stage and sing, kid. And do your homework, kiddo!!!

It was odd to read one of the highlight-reviews accusing Callas of lacking "art". Now everyone has his own defintion as to what art is but to throw around such rather dubious dogmas like saying "There's only one flavour of ice-cream! And that's VANILLA!" Frankly I'm quite sick of some of the insipid Callas-bashing here and not only musically but also as a person, like saying she only recorded this or that to support her own legend. Fame is not artistry...right? That's what he says... Well, Callas was a grand enough artist never to record cheap crossover or to sing in the Muppet-Show as Caballe did. Whenever you hear her sing you are gripped, she'll never leave you cold one way or another while Caballe sometimes seemed to sleepwalk through her roles depending on her gorgeous voice and that is what I find to be non-artistic at all. She adds pianissimi wherever possible, after 1970 she barely sang any forte acuti which basically wrecked every "A bello a me ritorna" where a dramatic attack con forza is needed. She never had Callas' upper range her voice ending at a D, thus making her recording of Lucia a disaster. Her coloratura in the madscene is so heavy as if she were walking through swamp.

"I have listened to and studied opera for over forty years, and I can think of no recording by Maria Callas that I could conceivably rate higher than three stars without violating my musical conscience!"

Now what a pity THAT is. I guess you never heard her 1953 Tosca then which even her most severe critics worship? Her live 1955 Norma and Sonnambula? Her miracle of an Aida in 1951? Etc. Disliking several Callas-Recs myself (Like the Mozart-Weber Recital, the second studio Lucia, the Verdi Arias III etc.) I'd never come up with something as haughty as this. And what are the arguments? Tales of a "degraded" and "arrogant" diva which is highly superficial and not musical whatsoever.



"The 'La Divina' series of recordings is no exception. Just as fame is not artistry, artistry will always consist of more than a bag of dramatic tricks."

Indeed. And more than a bag of senseless pianissimi and screeched forte acuti!

"The art of opera rests upon the exposition of the beauty of the human voice- such is in fact the foundation of opera;"

Oh really? Um, Bellini must have been an idiot indeed when he wrote his Norma and Amina for Pasta whose voice was a "flawed" soprano sfogato like Callas! Read Stendhal's description of Callas voice to see what Bellini had in mind and then say again that Caballe fits the bill as Norma! Who are you to dictate on what "the art of opera rests" anyway? I guess people like Serafin, Gui, Giulini, Zefirelli, Bernstein etc. were pros who didn't know what art is/was.

"and while the dramatic inspiration arising from the art of singing remains an aspect of opera's cause, and certainly of its popularity, it is nevertheless secondary to the singing art."

Ok, define singing art. Is it not a combination of colours, phrasing, diction, timbre and technique? Listen to Callas as she sang in 1949 and you'll hear how gorgeous her voice was. But a beautiful voice ain't enough. Caballe knew that and she herself says that "Maria opened the door to a terra incognita! She made things possible that would have remained impossible without her!" plus she consulted with "arrogant" MAria whom she called "the kindest and sweetest advisor I ever had" which roles suited her voice best. Caballe knows the difference, you obviously don't.

"aria Callas possessed an uncanny native intelligence, and I personally believe she understood this truth of the operatic art, yet was vocally incapable of approaching opera in any other way."

Thank God she didn't but remained faithful to what she was taught by de Hidalgo, Serafin, Gui and Legge. (Legge was a perfectionist and he worshipped Callas!)

"adly, I am convinced she is almost single-handedly responsible for the by now nearly complete inversion of this truth, to the detriment of modern operatic history."

Heh? All I hear are vanilla-voices like Swenson, Jo, Dessay, Fleming, Guleghina... Not one with the fire and colours of a Muzio, Callas, Gencer, Galvany, Scotto or Olivero.

"ne can forgive Callas' poor judgement with respect to her instrument, however much one is constantly confronted with it in listening to her recordings, but it is impossible to obfuscate the sorrow of this, her deleterious contribution to the accepted modern understanding of operatic art."

Gee, now that IS interesting. Playing God sure is fun, ain't it? I as yet haven't read one musical argument against Callas in your entire post.


"he Gounod, Mozart, and 'Turandot' on this recording are simply unlistenable, and display, in my view, a degraded personal arrogance; singing something simply because you are Maria Callas, serving the legend rather than the music."

Well, to say that about an artist who was her own worst critic and who actually forbade to release several recordings (After she died nobody paid attention to her wishes) this is a slur that either comes from ignorance when it comes to Callas the artist and Maria the woman or from sheer, obnoxious hatred.

"hat other conclusion can one come to? Her 'Sempre libera' is caught in her throat, and lies dead on the disc from lack of any rhythmic veracity. For all Callas' fame as Norma, and despite ravishing conducting from Serafin, the vocal squawking in 'Casta diva' is an insurmountable obstacle to listening; listen to any of Caballe's versions for the unadulterated truth!"

I wonder if we're listening to the same reason. As for Caballe for the "unadulterated truth"... She was a great Norma as the DVD from Orange proves but honestly, her "Casta Diva" gives me nothing. She could be singing the phonebook and there would be no difference as she sounds the same in each role which I find to be most boring and bland.

"t is telling that the mezzo aria 'Habanera' is the best thing on this disc. Is it not interesting how often the hyperbolic praise of Maria Callas is prefaced by quasi-apologetic remarks on the lack of vocal beauty, her 'wobbly' notes (wobbly? you could drive a 18-wheeler through the vibrato!), her 'stressed sound'?"

If one where to stress a singer's flaw how about Caballe's screeched forte acuti? How about her insecure low register making her recordings of Carmen's and Eboli's arias laughable? How about her indifference towards the composers intentions who demanded "dolore", "passione" etc. here and then? How about her absolute indifference towards what suits her voice or not? Her Turandot and Isolde were way out of her possibilities, her Lucia lacked ability for fioritura and was transposed and transposed until it fit somewhat... Her Marschallin is absolutely Anti-Straussian, listen to Schwarzkopf for the "truth". Her recordings of Lady Macbeth's arias suffer from indifference... Now as for how I think of Caballe: She is one of the most generous and gifted people ever to trod the stage. Her Tosca with Carreras is one of my faves, her Aida unmatched in beauty, her Anna Bolena haunting and gorgeous, her Norma from Orange is a wonder. I could go on and on. I have no intention to upset Caballe's fans. I don't want a diva-war. But such accusations towards a dead singer who suffered so much during her life and career are truly not necessary. Think of the joy she can give and if she displeases you, let it rest for a while.

"Ad mere fame, no matter how magnificently it may be possessed, will never constitute true artistry."

What is true artistry? In art, there are NO dogmas.

This collection is essential as it is beautiful. Like Pasta or Muzio Callas never leaves a listener untouched. She brings out the best and the worst in people. And that only geniuses are capable of as has been said by Caballe herself.

I bought all three La Divina Releases and they're all splendid. Brilliant, for Callas and beyond!

I'm sorry but the review below is just nonsense. Because if there's ANYTHING one cannot accuse Callas of is that she didn't get "in character". Her portrayals of love, despair, rage, madness, happiness and joy are legendary. Her vocal colours are sublime. Just read Amazon's brilliant review on this divine set and don't be blinded by ignorant bashing.

Divine and then some.
A unique mezzo voice delivering a 'one-two-three punch': one in the gut, one in the heart and one in the head.
The listener instinctually senses all she imparts-regardless of French,Italian,German literacy or opera knowledge.
Her gifts were many-the 'voice'(simultaneously:sharp,buttery,bright and dark),inimitable phrasing,timing,dramatic intensity and versatility.
A fine jumping off point for Callas neophytes and Opera 'sissies' who say they don't like Opera, but never really listened to any.
For all of us already converted, I say turn it up!