Customer Reviews

Puccini: Madama Butterfly (complete opera) with Maria Callas, Lucia Danieli, Nicolai Gedda, Herbert von Karajan, Chorus & Orchestra of La Scala, Milan

5 star:		(50)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

It is clear from the customer reviews that Maria Callas is controversial. Even at the height of her career fans either loved her voice or hated it. I confess that I am a Callas fan, but I will concede that she did not have the most beautiful voice in the world. For voice, the Tebaldi fans were right. Same for Sutherland, whose diction might have needed improvement, but whose voice, especially in her prime, was magnificent. I love those two singers also. But when it came to understanding the depth of a character, and putting that understanding into the interpretation, Callas was without peer in her era. Perhaps only Rosa Ponselle was in her company. (Don't get me wrong. I think there were many fabulous sopranos in the twentieth century, from Galli-Curci and Farrar, through Milanov, to Schwarzkopf and de los Angeles.) Still, Callas was special.

Consider for example, how differently she sings certain similar roles. Violetta, Mimi, Cho-Cho-San, and Carmen are all within six or seven years of each other. Yet Callas sings each of them so differently that you get the feeling that Cho-Cho-San is a vulnerable fifteen year old, Mimi a romantic nineteen year old, Violetta a sophisticated twenty year old, and Carmen a cunning and passionate twenty-one year old. She does this by vocal tone, by subtle hesitations when the text calls for it, and by expression. This is the sort of thing that some listeners are drawn to, while others are repelled.

As for this performance, Callas is fortunate to have had the young Karajan conducting. As time went on, he became more and more full of himself. But in the 1950's Karajan made some outstanding opera recordings. Another stellar performer is the very musical tenor, Nicolai Gedda. The rest of the cast is not famous, but they do a good supporting job. Still, the star is Callas herself. You either by her understanding of the main character or you do not.

For those who don't like Callas, there are several other fine recordings to consider. Renato Scotto and Carlo Bergonzi have a great recording with Barbirolli, de los Angeles and Bjorling on EMI from 1960, and a later Karajan version with Freni and Pavarotti from the mid-seventies. Personally, I favor the Callas and the Scotto, though I also have a special fondness for Bjorling and de los Angeles. But Callas is my number one choice for Butterfly.

Like the other reviewers who have weighed in, I was amazed that the majestic Maria Callas could create such a moving, overpoweringly effective "little Butterfly". What demands this opera places on the soprano: the evolution of a fifteen-year-old child to a 17 (or is it 18?) year-old WOMAN wise to the ways of the world, broken by the impending loss of her child, yet broken while retaining enormous dignity? Not easy, either, singing out over the Puccini orchestration in the last act...

You could probably find a more beautiful rendition of the love duet, to be sure. But "Un bel di" shows us the etched singing---and yes, it is quite beautiful---that Maria Callas could deliver in her golden years. "Che tua madre"---we see more of the woman, more strength, more knowledge coming into her voice---wholly effective and wonderfully sung.

By the last act, her last exchanges with Suzuki show us a flesh-and-blood woman, resolute, doomed, still hopeful in brief moments. By "Tu, tu, tu, piccolo iddio" her mastery is stunning in its conception: the choppy distress of the opening lines giving way to spaciousness, to legato... And how did she KNOW to find so cleanly the "internal rhyme" in the words "faccia" and "traccia", to weigh each word JUST SO? And the measured finality of her half-sung "Va, gioca, gioca", as she sends her child away to play: this is the stuff of heartbreak.

Will we ever hear an artist of the stature of Maria Callas again in our lifetimes? Somehow, I hold out little hope of that. We are blessed to have these wonderful EMI sets, for her genius and, for that matter, of Herbert von Karajan (in his earlier years), of Victor de Sabata, and the ever-brilliant Tullio Serafin. Conductors of that stature have also seemed to have gone the way of all flesh. You have only to listen to the beefy heartiness of James Levine to rush right back to your older sets.

This "Butterfly" is an experience that once heard, is not to be forgotten.

Is it not one of the cornerstones of "Art" that the same painting, the same play, or as in this case the same preformance can effect, and mean as many different things to as many people? I could go in to all the many reasons why this recording touches me so deeply, but I'd only be repeating what so many of you have already said. I would only like to share one thought. Say what you will about voice or interpretation, more than twenty years after her death we are still listening to, loving or hating it, and most importantly studying, discussing, and sharing our feelings about it. Only a great artist can create and sustain emotions of this leval. Butterfly certainly desrves more than one interpretation, and one is not necessarily better than another, only different. I have more than one set of this opera as I do of most, but if I had to choose, atleast right at this moment, this would be the one. It's a keeper.

For a live-recording!!!! Callas sang the role only three times... And the gentleness, the sweetness of the love-duet... The HOPE in "Un bel di vedremo" (Here her voice sounds as sweet as CANDY!) and the haunting pathos of the finale... Callas alone managed the balanche from an innocent child-bride to a loving mother... The phrases to her child WITHOUT any melodramatic sobs are incredible, she's delivering Butterflys agony with vocal colours only... (Unlike Tebaldi for example) Gedda sounds youthful and lyric as Pinkerton. This is the ultimate Butterfly along with the Scotto-recording.

Few people dislike Callas as much as I do, but twice she has made me sit up and take notice. The first time was in her first Tosca recording and the second time was this one. To really appreciate the dramatic elements of an opera, one should listen to it several times while following it in the libretto, because every syllable is important. Just listening to the overall sound doesn't cut it. I suspect those who think Callas doesn't sound like a 15 year old haven't done this.

Callas is beyond believe in this Butterfly. I find myself crying for hours after hearing it. It is just amazing what the diva can do with her voice. It is rich, deep, big and so so expressive. Please buy this set, you will be thrill to death. Her protrayal of this is so astonishing that I dare compare this Butterfly with the great Prima Donna's famed Tosca. She is just too wonderful for words. I think I listened to Un bel di at least a thousand times, and each and everytime I get goose pimples. I am voting for this cd as one of the greatest recording of all times.

Madama Butterfly was not a likely Callas role. She appeared in three performances of the role in Chicago three months after she completed this recording. Callas begins by sounding very young and fragile, and gradually builds her tone to that of a tragic woman caught up in a hopeless situation. Callas' Butterfly is a towering and profound experience, at times so shattering that it's almost painful. With the exception of an off-centered top D flat in the Entrance Scene, Callas' voice on this recording is actually an instrument of great beauty (rarely has this been said) and sensitivity. I consider this "Butterfly" to be one of her greatest (albeit unlikeliest) recordings. Nicolai Gedda is a satisfactory Pinkerton, and Herbert von Karajan supports the drama with great sense of drama. Despite all the wonderful Butterfly recordings, room should be found for this one. It's a beauty!

There are many "Butterfly" recordings out there that are excellent in their own right but this recording deserves a category of excellence all it's own. What almost looks like mis-casting on paper, Callas does an astonishing job with the title role, which she recorded months before singing a series in Chicago and never to touch the role again. This is really one of those recordings that should be considered an historical event in the history of recorded opera. The collaboration of all the principles with von Karajan shows a unique unity that hasn't been duplicated very often.

But there's Callas' Cio Cio San that is really the reason to consider this recording. Even her silences, such as when she notices Kate in the garden in the final scenes, speaks volumes. There's this incredible thread that she creates from her entrance to her death that is like nothing I've ever heard before in this role. Also her choice of tone is remarkable and characteristic of this most chameleon of artists. She transforms herself from child to woman during the love duet and really does not sing at full tilt until the heart rendering final scene. This is an amazing studio portrayal and like I said, absolutely historical.

I think that this recording is worth investigation by everyone who loves Butterfly. None of us should get stuck on one singer and her interpretation of any role to the point that we can't hear what other singers are trying to say.

No, for the zillionth time, Callas does not have a intrinsically beautiful voice. This point is so obvious that it should never be mentioned anywhere ever again. But listen to what she is trying to say; how she illuminates the character rather than just singing the notes (or letting them sing her, as is so often the case for most singers).

Butterfly can seem like such a washout as a character in the wrong hands: less noble than pathetic; all pitiful, spineless suffering that no longer seems purely noble in our age of empowered women. You can bet that you don't get that feeling with Callas. How strange that she apparently played that part in real life and yet never comes across as an irritatingly helpless doormat in any of the doormat roles.

As is so often the case in a Callas recording, the parts that are always thought of as the highlights (Butterfly's entrance, for example) are not the most memorable. The Act I duet takes on a depth that leaves you hanging on every single word- it's as though you're hearing it for the first time (a cliche, I know, but so true in this case). How could Callas deploy so many different communicative colors (and not just colors, but shades of colors) and shift so rapidly as the text required?

This is potent stuff, and the fact that Gedda sounds so young and handsome doesn't hurt in the believability or listenability departments either. This is not my first choice for Butterfly, but isn't Butterfly good enough as an opera to merit a different approach from a different singer (as well as a second, open-minded listen from the rest of us)?

This "Madama Butterfly" is a fantastic recording. Maria Callas truly sounds like a 15-year-old geisha and she thins down her mighty voice in order to sound more like Cio-Cio San. Her voice normally lacks beauty, though I don't consider it to be an intrinsically ugly one. In this recording, her voice is actually quite beautiful. Her "Un bel dì" is wonderful. It is finely sung and well acted. Her duet with Gedda is OK, nothing special. That brings me to the tenor. Nicolai Gedda is an exceptional artist, but he is not an ideal Pinkerton. He sounds out of place as the American lieutenant. He doesn't fare well in Italian operas, despite his exceptional linguistic gifts. He is much better in French, German, and operetta roles. The Sharpless is excellent and the Suzuki is competent. The true surprise for me was Herbert von Karajan's masterful conducting. The great maestro paces Puccini's gorgeous score perfectly. He is not the bombastic tyrant that you will find on his later recording of "Butterfly" with Mirella Freni and Luciano Pavarotti. In this recording, he doesn't drown out the soprano. Rather, he supports her with a great reading of the score. You will not go wrong with this recording. Just skip the parts with Gedda. Callas is masterful in her interpretation. Karajan shows us why he was a world-class conductor.