Customer Reviews

Medea

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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This is one of Callas' most famous roles. Callas was born to play monumentally tragic, misunderstood characters such as the mythical Medea who was driven to such depths of despair by her husband's betrayal that she killed their joint children just to punish him. I do not imply any naive emotional parallels to Callas' own tragic and misunderstood life, but the strength of Callas' characterization of Medea in this opera is certainly remarkable. There are some surviving movie clips of Callas performing arias from Medea on stage. The effect of the soprano, one moment standing there dressed in a regular recital attire, and in another moment with the first bars of music suddently transforming herself into an ancient Greek woman possessed by fury and despondency, is indescribable.

P.S. There is another Medea - or rather Medee - a French baroque opera starring Lorraine Hunt, which features performances as fiery as this one, but whose music is perhaps of a higher order. Check it out.

I love this set although you don't seem to have to look far to find plenty of people who rabbit on about this not being one of Callas's best studio recordings or best recordings of Medea. Pooh! I say, I reckon someone said that once & everyone's just jumped on the band wagon.

It is 1957, Callas's voice is great, very clean, her phrasing is as amazing as ever, diction terrific - not one missing consonant. The stereo sound captures the strings, the orchestra, the chorus terrifically - I love the overture to this opera, It always gives me goosebumps, and I defy anyone to listen to the final "E che? Io son Medea!" and not be thrilled.

Ok, there can be something extra special about Callas recorded live but that doesn't stop this from being a really enjoyable studio set & nicely free from all the extraneous noises that live versions invariably include.

Unfortunately, at the moment, it can be difficult to find a copy as it is one of the very few studio recordings of Callas not owned by EMI although it has been issued on their label under licence in 1990 & 1997. BMG (originally Ricordi) now have the copyright and have declined EMI's request to extend the licence. Apparently, BMG have said they wish to release a version themselves. This is some time ago and they have not delivered. (This information is courtesy of an email from EMI when I queried why it was missing from their current catalogue.)

I bought a 2nd hand set & it is great. If you can find one I recommend you do too.

Some Marketplace sellers list the earlier release (B000002S21) of this recording which includes Beethoven's "Ah! perfido". They should not list it here because there is a significant difference in the quality of the sound. The edition that Amazon itself advertises is a quite a bit cleaner.

Although this recording is historically rated below the other recordings of Medea by Callas, it is perhaps the most balanced as far
as interpretation and style. Cherubini's music is foremost here, not
personality (as in the manic, hectic, testosterone laden recording of Bernstein, or the RABID performance in Dallas).

Although it is an unforgettable experience hearing Callas in these live
performances (and I suggest owning all 6 of the existing recordings
if your budget allows), this recording allows you to really hear
the composition. Serafin's masterly pacing and classic style allow
the architechture of the piece to emerge. Callas is in wonderful voice,
and although there is no chest voice barking or blood spitting, it is
still an amazing performance. And the young Scotto as Glauce is
worth a listen too.

The recorded sound allows you to actually HEAR the orchestra, and
appreciate Cherubini's harmonic language.

I first owned this studio "Medea" in the dark ages of LP's and, though a Callas fan in alt, I must admit that I didn't much like it. I could understand people's objections: they were apparent simply by listening for myself. Then EMI released the performance on CD and some of the objections disappeared. Much of the shrillness and unsteadiness was gone; though, very strangely, there was little drama to be heard. True, everyone seemed to be singing with great intensity and conviction; but they seemed not to be singing *to* each other. There was no dramatic inter-relation between the singers, and the drama suffered accordingly. I played the set very seldom - only when I wanted an experience of better sound as opposed to the dramatically superior live performances [Florence & Milan '53, Dallas '58, London '59, Milan '61]. Then EMI re-mastered the set in their "Callas Edition" and achieved something of a miracle. How it can be so I suppose a sound engineer could say, but they managed not only to create more spacial depth both for orchestra and singers, but the singers now seem to be singing *to* each other and the increase in dramatic vitality is striking. I now play this "Callas Edition" set often and enjoy it in its own right. So - ignore the original reviews of this performace based on the LP issue and by all means find it, though admittedly this is difficult to do. But be sure to find it in the latest "Callas Edition" re-mastering. It's a revelation, and the result holds its place with the live performances. Though I don't always think EMI succeeded in their re-mastering of Callas' performances for their "Callas Edition" [personally I think they lost a bit of the fizz and charm in re-mastering her "Turco" and "Barbiere"], in the case of the studio "Medea" the results are wonderful indeed.

One of the most famous Callas roles and for the reason. This is indeed a classic. Cherubini music is great to start with, Serafin simply understands it and it shows. The cast is great, but of course above all there is Callas in this role which suits her best. For sure on her live recordings of Medea (La Scala and Dallas most of all) there are parts in which she's even better than on this one, but the technical quality of this recording is a big plus. Listen to this one first and then go on to the live ones to appreciate the nuances. No wonder there are no other Medeas around, who would dare it after Callas ?

Those who know anything about opera will, of course, know of Maria Callas: the voice, the fame, and the painful downfall; however, they will also know of her most important roles: Norma, Violetta, Tosca and Medea. Medea is the opera that brought Callas her first major European success at the Florence Music Festival under the baton of Vittorio Gui in 1953, and her live version from La Scala under Leonard Bernstein ranks among one of the most important recordings of her career. The La Scala performance and that recorded live at the Dallas opera in 1958 are Callas' most famous recordings of the role of Medea, and her studio version is often overlooked by many opera aficionados; however, it remains a priceless treasure because the static and extra noise of a "live" recording is removed and nothing remains except the music and the voice.

This recording, made in 1957, is quite sedate when compared to those made in Milan and Dallas, but far outstrip the others in clarity and beauty. Callas remarked during her Julliard Master's Class that Medea most be taken on the "lean side" and not the fat side in order not to sound like an animal, and one wonders whether or not Callas took her own advice during her live performances, but this studio version remains a testament to such a theory. Because Callas tones down the histrionics a bit, the listener is able to not only appreciate the beauty of the role, but also the beauty of Cherubini's score. Serafin's conducting is nothing short of fabulous and when paired to Callas, it is sublime.

Some might argue that the terror and fire of the live performances would be lost in a recording such as this, but it must be quite clear that because Callas is more tame in version, her explosions of anger and fury are twice as frightening then when she is a wild creature all the way through. When one doesn't expect the fireworks they become all the more explosive and terrifying.

The assembled supporting cast is also without fault in this recording, luckily, for Callas was often plagued by many horrible co-stars. The Neris of Renata Scotto is second to none, and Mirto Picchi is splendid Jason (he also played Pollione in Callas' Covent Garden debut Norma in 1952); while he is not quite the Jason of Jon Vickers, his powerful and clarion voice leave nothing to be desired.

The "Chest Register" of the leading lady must also be addressed if one is talking about Medea. The power of Callas' chest register was once compared to the contralto Chloe Elmo by one of the diva's costars, and is often discussed in relation to this opera. Medea is an opera less concerned with the fire of coloratura and more with the power of the middle register,and Callas displays her abilities with a power unrivaled by any other twentieth century soprano. Her display in the last ten minutes of the opera is worth the price of the whole opera: Medea has come completely undone with jealous insanity and destroys her own world and that of Jason. Simply Electric.

I advise purchasing all of Callas' Medeas (Florence, 1953; La Scala, 1953; the Studio recording, 1957; Dallas, 1958; and La Scala again in 1961). Certainly, all of them have flaws, and by the end The Voice is a battered shell of what once was, but the drama is always there.

First, I will say that I think Callas is marvelous in this performance. For some reason this recording has a less than stellar reputation and, for the life of me, at least where Callas is concerned, I cannot understand why. She is singing one of her signature roles & is in really fabulous voice: totally controlled, with no wobbles, screams, shrieks, etc.. One reviewer here said she sings "cleanly". I agree totally. She makes the character extraordinarily vivid. "Chi son? Io?... Medea!" is spinetingling. Her duet with the king where she conceals her impending villainy from him, but not from us, is stunning. Her use of the blackest chest voice for so many of the sorceress' utterances is chilling. Such examples of her art abound. So why are the smart set down on this? I really don't know.

On the down side, the recording is in primitive stereo, so it is not great. The score is cut rather severely. The mezzo, tenor, and bass are just ok. But they are professional and stylistically appropriate.

However, on the plus side, the conductor is Serafin, who was the best Italian opera conductor on records, for my money. Scotto is young and fresh as well and she sings her aria with some spirit and a really palpable sense of fear of Medea.

There is no such thing as a perfect recording, ladies and gentlemen. But if you want to hear Callas' Medea in clear sound and with her in excellent voice, try this. I don't think that any of her other recorded Medeas (with the exception of the Dallas live version, which is in so-so pirated sound) surpass this.

I agree with all of the positive remarks by previous reviewers. I believe I perhaps come at this recording from a different perspective than other reviewers, which may be helpful to some. Although I think Callas has a stunning voice, I will invariably choose a more recent, well-performed, and technologically clean recording of a work over a Callas recording of the same work of inferior sound quality. Why? Because my focus is ultimately on the work. That's true, here, of Cherubini's "Medea" -- an excellent, under-performed, and under-recorded opera. This 1957 Callas | Serafin | La Scala studio recording of "Medea," in stereo, is literally the one example I've found in Callas' recording catalog where a listener can confidently choose Callas without forsaking sound quality. In part as, again, "Medea" has been recorded so rarely. Thus, the greatest competitor to this Callas recording in sound quality is the Sass | Gardelli | Hungaroton studio recording of "Medea" from the late 1970s, which I also own, and which itself is hardly a technological wonder. Both recordings are now available on iTunes, with the Callas recording released by the licensee Classical Moments, wholly faithful to the integrity of the original master.

The Sass recording is only barely superior in sound quality to this Callas recording, and that is it's sole advantage over this Callas recording, if there is one. The performances on this Callas recording are FAR superior to those on the Sass recording. Callas is a musical, and theatrical, wonder here -- every note is struck perfectly and massaged with ideal dramatic effect, and her diction puts most any other great coloratura soprano to shame. Further, her counterparts on this recording are incredibly impressive -- a relatively unique circumstance in Callas' recording catalog. The orchestral sound is extremely rich and present for a 1957 recording. Thus, what shines here, in the end, without distractions, is Cherubini's "Medea." These performers, and this recording, give incredible life to a stellar, overlooked, opera.

A highly, highly recommended recording of a great opera.