Bellini: I Puritani / Callas, di Stefano, Rossi-Lemeni, Panerai; Serafin

Vincenzo Bellini (Artist), Orchestra e Coro del Teatro alla Scala (Artist), Tullio Serafin (Artist), Maria Callas (Artist), Giuseppe di Stefano (Artist), Nicola Rossi-Lemeni (Artist), Rolando Panerai (Artist), Angelo Mercuriali (Artist), Aurora Cattelani (Artist)

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 19, 1997)
• SPARS Code: ADD
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: EMI Classics
• ASIN: B000002RXQ
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #148,999 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. I Puritani, opera: Sinfonia

2. I Puritani, opera: Act 1. Scene 1.: "All'erta! All'erta!"

3. I Puritani, opera: Act 1. Scene 1.: "O Di Cromvel Guerrieri"

4. I Puritani, opera: Act 1. Scene 1.: "A Festa!"

5. I Puritani, opera: Act 1. Scene 1.: "Of Dove Fuggo Io Mai?"

6. I Puritani, opera: Act 1. Scene 1.: "Ah! Per Sempre Io Ti Perdei"

7. I Puritani, opera: Act 1. Scene 1.: "T'appellan Le Schiere...Bel Sogno Beato Di Pace E Contento"

8. I Puritani, opera: Act 1. Scene 2.: "O Amato Zio, O Mio Secondo Padre!"

9. I Puritani, opera: Act 1. Scene 2.: "Sai Com'arde In Petto Mio"

10. I Puritani, opera: Act 1 . Scene 2.: "Odi...Qual Suon Si Desta?"

See all 20 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. I Puritani, opera: Act 2.: "Ah...Dolor! Ah, Terror!"

2. I Puritani, opera: Act 2.: "Qual Novella?":

3. I Puritani, opera: Act 2.: "Cinto Di Fiori E Col Bel Crin Disciolto"

4. I Puritani, opera: Act 2.: "E Di Morte Io Stral Non Sarà Lento"

5. I Puritani, opera: Act 2.: "O Rendetemi La Speme...Qui La Voce Sua Soave Mi Chiamava"

6. I Puritani, opera: Act 2.: "Vien, Diletto, È In Ciel La Luna!"

7. I Puritani, opera: Act 2.: "Il Rival Salvar Tu Dêi"

8. I Puritani, opera: Act 2.: "Se Tra Il Buio Un Fantasma Vedrai"

9. I Puritani, opera: Act 2.: "Riccardo! Riccardo!"

10. I Puritani, opera: Act 2.: "Suoni La Tromba"

See all 20 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential recording

This dates from near the beginning of Maria Callas's recording career. It was for many fans their first encounter with her, and it contains some of the most beautiful singing she ever did before a recording microphone. Set in 17th-century England, during the struggle between the Puritan supporters of Oliver Cromwell and the Cavalier royalists who supported the Stuart dynasty, this opera focuses on the problems of Elvira, a young Puritan woman in love with Arturo, a member of the Cavalier faction. Complications arise, Elvira believes she has been betrayed by Arturo, and she loses her mind. Her mad scene (a kind of music for which Callas developed a formidable technique) is the opera's musical and dramatic climax, but by no means the only reason for getting to know it. While the role of Elvira towers over the others, ensemble singing is a strong part of I Puritani's appeal. Callas's voice was in its top form for this recording, and her superb acting skills convey many subtle shades of anguish. She dominates the performance, but her supporting cast is better than those she usually got before becoming a major international star, and they work well together. --Joe McLellan

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars CALLAS SHINES IN THIS "PURITANI" RECORDING, September 30, 1999

By A Customer

I am getting really sick of reading those appalling remarks about the voice of Callas. I'm a voice student, and even though I can easily find fault with some of Callas' voice production methods, I find her art so compelling and so musically "right" that I can easily dismiss the rest. Callas may not have had a "beautiful" voice in the usual sense of the word, but she had something much better ------ complete command and authority grafted onto a voice that was expressive, moving, and thrillingly intense. I would give half my life to have the gift she had, and her performance on this "Puritani" recording only makes me more convinced of her greatness.She was, at the time of this recording, a dramatic soprano with the ability to sing florid music, and this was no mean feat. I have read that Callas during her lifetime told an interviewer: "There are those who love my voice and those who don't and think that I'm a great big lie. That is their opinion and their right. They don't have to bother with me, since I myself don't bother with those I don't like". I couldn't say it better myself. If you don't like Callas, don't listen. You probably don't know what you're hearing anyway!

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ONE TO TREASURE, March 3, 2002

By	MOVIE MAVEN (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

I am not a huge fan of Maria Callas; that is, I appreciate her voice in her best recordings and always appreciate her dramatic artistry. But I am not one of those fans who find nothing wrong with the screeching and sour notes--the scooping and absolutely ugly sounds which certainly do appear in many recordings. The fans who give Callas their endless, non-judgemental love find excuses everywhere for these "mistakes." Frankly, in this kind of bel canto music, I'd rather hear a great voice teamed along with great artistry...and in a pinch, a little less of the artistry and more of the gorgeous singing. This recording of Bellini's I PURITANI supplies the voice and artistry in great amounts. Absolutely no excuses need be made here for the leading lady, her co-stars and supporting cast, the orchestra or its conductor.

Callas was obviously in terrific voice during this recording of Bellini's second most popular opera, which I find in every way, superior to his NORMA. Both stories are rather silly, but in I PURITANI we only have to smirk while the leading lady goes through two mad scenes rather than try to put away our dramatic disbelief during the story of a Druid priestess and her infidelity and ultimate self-immolation. (Although, I'll admit that if it's NORMA you wish to hear, there is no better way to hear it than with Callas and conductor Tullio Serafin.) I PURITANI's gorgeous melodies, the dramatic arc of the story, and the way the story is told in libretto and score in a compact form are all first rate. For me, this is not one of those operas that goes on endlessly repeating what has been sung before. I PURITANI deserves a much wider audience.

Serafin is the conductor here as he is on many of Callas's recordings, among them her unforgettable, unbeatable TOSCA along with tenor Giuseppe di Stefano who is brilliant in both operas.

The sound on this 1953 recording from La Scala, Milan is rich and bright. The set of 2 CD's is one to treasure. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent rendition of this opera, April 6, 2006

By	BDSinC "Music lover" (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) - See all my reviews

Firstly, before discussing the singers, one must discuss this version of the opera. It is hardly complete, and even the solo numbers for Callas are heavily cut, often to the point they lose any real direction. To those that think this is because of Callas' poor techique, that is NOT the case. That was the custom of the times. Because Bel Canto operas often have long lovely melodies, and little drama, producers and directors felt cuts were needed to keep the audience's attention. Some cuts were traditional from performances through the years, but NONE of the cuts were ever made with the intent to make the music better, just shorten it.

One will not find the extra number at the end of the opera that Sutherland and Sills both sing, which Bellini wrote for a version of the opera he completed for Italy and for Malibran. The "Son Vergin vezzosa" of this version was included in the first production because Grisi could sing it well. Because of length of performance do to popularity of the numbers (and audience requiring repeats), some sections in the Act III duet were cut, and other cuts made as well.

None of those cuts ruined the structure of the pieces of the opera, these cuts do. "Son Vergin" is so cut and slashed it ends before it really has a chance to being. And the mad scene is omitting much, though all the long slow parts are in tact. It is the finale of the entire opera that is butchered to death. After the famous "Credeasi Misera", the opera just ends! Any development that could come out of that extremely cut ending (lacking the additional aria that Sutherland and Sills both sing) is cut even worse by removing an entire 3 pages of the score. And excepting the final notes, the lead singers sing NONE of the notes or interjections that would render some sense to what is happening. Again, a common practice of the time so that the singers could save their voice for a high note ending.

As a conception of the opera and what Bellini intended, this is certainly an extremely flawed version.

Yet, in spite of the lack of understanding of that time period in keeping music intact, there are wonders that come out of this recording that are simply jewels worth the experience.

Firstly, the conducting and reading of the score by Serafin is incredible. He makes each phrase telling, have meaning, and flow with such emotion. Even with this heavily cut version of the opera, with cuts that ruin the progression of the musical thought, he works magic. His understanding of this type of music, of this type of opera, is incredible. Would that many modern conductors would listen to his recordings and learn. He also supports his singers well, and NEVER overshadows them. Every thing blends into a perfect whole.

As for Callas, there is little to say. I enjoy her singing immensely and always have, even as a child when I actually heard her in her last Normas in Paris, and her Tosca in London. I have no problems admitting her voice was flawed, it was not beautiful at all, and at times it was simply UGLY. But her understanding of technique, of how to use the voice, what was musical and appropriate and what was not, was unbelievable. She says that Serafin taught her all she knew about a recitative, but did she ever learn and master what she was taught to perfection.

Her understanding of what Bel Cant is was not only evident in her recordings, but in her own words when teaching at Julliard. She knew how to make many small breaths appear as one long seamless whole, she knew the art of phrasing, and she used incredible musicality when performing. Was she perfect? By no means. Was she the most polished singer? Not in the least. But she knew how to tern a phrase and make it live. Some have talked about her "using flute notes" in their reviews. What they mean to say is her habit of using pianissimo when singing coloratura, or reducing the volume of the tone to sing very difficult passages. Yes, she did that. No, Joan Sutherland does not do that. Callas was a creature of her training, and she as trained by a great colorature soprano (at least of her day), and was therefore taught the way to turn a phrase and use a quieter tone when singing coloratura passages, the reason for doing so was so the voice didn't need to use a cover through the passagio in quick scales and trills. ( a cover should be used only in full voiced singing, and not with coloratura since it often makes it very heavy sounding; since Sutherland covered all the time, no matter what she was doing and knew how to use that cover to her advantage, avoiding the cover was not something she had to worry about)

What makes Callas great is her use of technique to bring out the drama she feels within, and there, she has no peers at all.

As for di Stephano, he is fine in this role, even if he is quite wrong for it. His D's are more than strained. His high F is not there at all but is replaced with a D Flat. Though that shows he couldn't handle the note Pavarotti can (and he wouldn't have sing that note in falsetto as Pavarotti did simply because at that time no one would have accepted it as proper at all, when in reality, Rubini, the creator of the role of Arturo sang everything above a G in a head voice), it hardly ruins the music, for the repeat of that high-lying phrase using the D flat instead of the F actually works better musically in some ways.

The basses were fine but I did find Rossi-Lemeni barks too often, and has a very rough legato line because of harsh blasting consonants.

All in all, it is a great performance, but if one wants a real representation of the opera, not just great singers (and in this case, mostly Callas) buy the recordings of Joan Sutherland/Pavarotti or Sills/Gedda and you will get the opera more complete (including all the reworked parts that are in the Malibran score). As for which is best? I really have no clue, as I love them all, and own them all, and listen to them all, depending on which mood I am in. If for emotional connection, I listen to Callas; if emotion with good technique, Sills; for just plain dazzling display, Sutherland.

My operatic world have room for them all.