Customer Reviews

Maria Callas - Life & Art (2 CD's & Bonus DVD)

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

 

 

This 2 set CD and additional DVD are a great sampling of Maria Callas singing various operatic arias. They demonstrate not only her remarkable vocal range but her ability to perform expressively as well. No artist in my opinion can act today as well as Callas. Callas voice may have been flawed later on during her career, but her ability to act truly makes up for any vocal imperfections. After all, she is the only operatic soprano I know of who possessed not only the natural talent for acting, but the ability to sing anything from mezzo to soprano. If you are a fan of Callas, then I highly recommend this set. Even those not familiar with Maria Callas should hear her perform at least once.

First off, I think this is a great compilation of Maria Callas' work. It has a little bit of almst everything. It picks the right records and highlights them quite well. I liked the idea of splitting the album into two discs. One of lighter romantic arias. The other with tragic and dramatic arias. Now, to the point...
I listen to many operas as it is my music of choice. Whenever I find myself at a loss with a certain soprano for either character or tone I always find myself coming back to Callas. Not having the most tonaly beautiful voice she does for me what is more important. She adds life and passion to the music instead of just singing it. She knows the characters and their motivations. This rare feat comes thru in her voice. Capable of singing almost any soprano role from a light lyric coloratura such as Lakme or to the heavy demands of a Wagnerian role such as Norma. Not only does her range impress but her voice was capable of such colors and shades of those colors. She imparts such pathos and depth with her voice. This for me is most important. A singer can have the most tonaly beautiful voice, but if there is no heart and emotion behind it, forget about it. Callas has that in spades. Maybe that is why 30 some odd years after her death I still find myself turning to her for inpsiration.

This is one of the most beautiful presentations of Maria Callas I have ever seen. CD 1: The tragic heroine, CD 2: The romantic heroine, DVD: Concert in Hamburg. The CD:s does NOT include two full-lenght operas as another reviewer suggests. Together with the records: a little book with lots of photos - and the text of the different arias in German, Italian and English. As an introduction: "The tragic heroine" by Tony Locantro. The set is so beautiful, that every fan of Callas just must buy it. Published by EMI

This was my first owned recording of Maria Callas. One day I happened to hear her recording of Caro Nome on NPR and just had to have more. I wasn't disappointed. As has been said about Callas, one thing that makes this soprano stand out from others is the way she immerses herself emotionally in the character; this comes through in a beautiful and unique way. I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the recordings, well remastered digitally considering most were originally recorded in the 50's and 60's.

The DVD of her life was the most interesting part. I was really hoping for a wide selection of arias on the CDs, rather than the two full operas that came in the set.