Callas 100: 5 Essential Recordings That Prove the Enduring Greatness of Maria Callas
Maria Callas
December 2, 1923 — September 16, 1977
On the 100th anniversary of her birth, I explore the genius of this remarkable artist through five of her operatic recordings.
O don fatale. This was the aria I was searching for. I needed a CD recording (this was 2006) because I had to play it for a student’s voice lesson and I wanted to know how it went. However when I went to the library’s media services department every CD recording had been checked out (By the student I was playing for, I would later find out). So I went to the internet. There was this new video streaming website called YouTube that I had used a couple of times to find other songs so I started there. I typed in O don fatale and the first hit was a video of Maria Callas. I had heard of her only once before when playing in the pit orchestra of the musical Sweet Charity. The first trumpet was currently listening to her recording of Carmen and went on and on about her fantastic phrasing. “Whatever that means” I thought at the time.
Since I recognized her name, I pulled out my score and clicked play. My life would never be the same……..
A lot has been said and written about Maria Callas: “Great actress, terrible voice”, “She ruined her entire career chasing Aristotle Onassis who ended up dumping her for Jackie Kennedy anyway”, “Overrated”, “The Ultimate Diva”, “Great singer before she lost the weight”, “The greatest singer of all time”. The list goes on. In fact, I do not think there is any other opera singer in modern history that has evoked so much controversy and polarization. Yes, Luciano Pavarotti stirred plenty of controversy and recently Placido Domingo and Anna Netrebko have become pariahs in the US while becoming semi-deities pretty much everywhere else. However, none of these artists evoke the same type of visceral reactions people still have to Callas nearly 50 years since her death and 100 years since her birth.
In this essay I am not interested in exploring any of this. As I said, a lot has been written about Callas, some of it true, most of it blatantly false (including anything written by Terrance McNally), and much of it ridiculously exaggerated. I am much more interested in understanding why, after so many decades off a stage or in a recording studio, this artist still captures the imagination of so many music lovers. What made her so brilliant? The voice itself? An instrument once described by her mentor and frequent collaborator Tullio Serafin as “Una grande vociaccia” (a grand ugly voice). Her acting? Which legendary soprano Joan Sutherland once described as “a bit, hammy”.
Or was it a combination of unique qualities that when spun together created the most dramatic, artistic, and expressive operatic portrayals ever committed to disc?
I have selected 5 full opera recordings that I believe paint a very vivid portrait of why, nearly 50 years after her death, Maria Callas still remains one of the best selling and revered classical recording artists of all time.
Note on the List
Although Callas made several dozen full opera studio recordings, I find Callas in live performance reaches dramatic, vocal, and artistic heights rarely heard in her studio output. Therefore this list mainly comprises live recordings. Unfortunately the audio quality of these recordings can vary greatly. However, some great remasters have been done over the years and listeners should be able to find at least one recording of each in acceptable sound.
I.
Vincenzo Bellini
Norma
Teatro alla Scala 1955 (Live)
Antonino Votto, conductor
Maria Callas (Norma), Mario Del Monaco (Pollione), Giulietta Simionato (Adalgisa), Nicola Zaccaria (Oroveso)
As for the performance — as much as any evidence that exists it demonstrates the greatness of Callas, particularly in this most demanding role.-Bob Rose Fanfare Magazine
Overview of Performance
Norma was the role Callas performed the most. Over 90 performances across her career including several live and studio recordings. However it is this performance, recorded live at the opening of the 1955 La Scala season, that is the greatest representation of her interpretation of the role. Callas is in resplendent voice throughout and almost makes this fiendishly difficult role sound simple. Norma calls for the soprano’s entire “bag of tricks”: thrilling high notes, coloratura, long spun lines, chest tones, dramatic declamation, and a wide array of colors to convey the druid priestesses shifting moods and circumstances. Callas is more than up to the assignment and gives the role all of this and so much more: she fully embodies the spirit of Norma who, by opera’s end, makes the ultimate sacrifice for her children and followers.
As is often the case, Callas inspires her colleagues to meet her on this incredibly high vocal and artistic level. Giuletta Simonato, gives one of her greatest bel canto performances. Her duets with Callas are a highlight for the La Scala audience whose enthusiasm makes it feel as if the audience is its own character! Mario Del Monaco is not the most subtle tenor, but Bellini does not really ask for much nuance from his Pollione. Therefore Del Monaco is able to do what he does best which is produce golden, rich, thrilling sound.
The orchestra is definitely in accompaniment mode here and Votto keeps things moving along. He has a strong sense of the musical sweep of the piece and things rarely get bogged down. The drama is front and center here and Callas is in that rare form that proves unequivocally why she was and still remains prima donna assoluta of the operatic stage.
Thrilling Vocal Moments
Act I Finale “Perfido! Or basti”
Act II Duet “Mira O Norma”
The “Callas” Moment
Act II “Dormono entrambi” This opening recitative and arietta is, in my opinion, one of the most moving things Callas ever sang. Norma’s contemplation of killing her children has never been so fully realized. It is usually in these types of recitative passages, filled with floods of pathos and expression, that Callas’s gifts truly shine.
II.
Giuseppe Verdi
La Traviata
Teatro alla Scala 1955 (Live)
Carlo Maria Giulini, conductor
Maria Callas (Violetta Valéry), Giuseppe Di Stefano (Alfredo Germont), Ettore Bastianini (Giorgio Germont)
The final act is greatness itself, and indeed no part, and hardly any phrase, of Callas’s performance throughout the opera fails to provoke and deserve special comment.-Gramophone
Overview of Performance
Intense is a word often associated with Callas. This is most apparent in her live performance recordings. This performance of Verdi’s masterpiece in simplicity is a core example of sustained intensity spread across an entire performance. This is one of the few collaborations between Callas and the brilliant film and stage director Luchino Visconti who only began directing opera due his admiration of Callas. Even though there exists no video recording of this performance you can feel the intensity of Callas’ dramatic commitment in every word, phrase, and musical moment. The Callas voice is at its technical and artistic peak in 1955 and the first act roulades are tossed off with accuracy, simplicity, and ease. She caps the the end of the famous cabaletta “Sempre libera” with a secure and ringing Eb6 that sets La Scala on fire. For all of the fire of the first act, it is in the Act II confrontation with Germont that we get the pure essence of Callas. No soprano before or since has been able to fill Violetta with such a tapestry of colors that so fully express her joy, doubt, anguish and sorrow. The way she rides the orchestra in “Alfredo di questo core” provides layers of pathos that have to be heard to be believed. By the final act all the fire has run out of this “fallen woman” and Callas invests her final scenes with small bursts of flame that cannot be sustained. This is a truly iconic performance.
Callas receives excellent support from Giulini who, like Callas, understands the importance of the big sweeping theatrical moments and appropriately drives the drama forward towards them. Giuseppe Di Stefano is a frequent Callas collaborator throughout her career and this is certainly one of their finest moments together. His clear, ringing, passionate tenor is perfect for the love sick Alfredo and he rightfully brings La Scala to its knees in the Act II scene II “Money Scene”. One rarely gets the impression that Di Stefano is competing with Callas (like with Del Monaco, for example) but rather they bring out the best in each other. This music lives within their blood and they pour it into one another throughout. The only downside of what is possibly the greatest recording of this opera is Bastianini. The legendary baritone certainly produces that kind of rich, resonant, Italianate sound that is sorely missing in opera houses today. But he honestly could be singing the phone book for all his lack of dramatic involvement in the proceedings. It really is a shame that Giuseppe Taddei, Leonard Warren, or Robert Merrill could not have been here instead. Alas, we will simply have to settle for a great voice giving an uninspired performance.
If Callas only gave this one performance in her entire career, it would have probably been enough to secure her place in the history books. She is on a vocal, dramatic, and artistic plane that will most likely never be duplicated.
Thrilling Vocal Moments
Act I Finale “Sempre libera”
Act II Scene II Finale “Money Scene”
The “Callas” Moment
Act II Scene II “Amami Alfredo” One of Callas’s many gifts was her ability to properly calculate the execution of a big dramatic moment. Many sopranos mistakenly “prepare” this outburst too much and end up running out of steam too quickly. Callas gives the impression of complete spontaneity and floods this moment with thrilling passionate sound. Giulini provides sweeping support and Callas proves once and for all why she is “la regina della Scala”
III.
Luigi Cherubini
Medea
The Dallas Opera 1958 (Live)
Nicola Rescigno, conductor
Maria Callas (Medea), Jon Vickers (Giasone), Teresa Berganza (Neris), Judith Raskin (Glauce), Nicola Zaccaria (Creonte)
From there to the end of the opera, she is a cauldron of evil and revenge, the like of which you will never hear from any other singer. The only alarming thing about this performance is that it is the last time we hear her sing with such power and confidence.-Philips Assortment Box
Overview of Performance
One of the remarkable things about Callas’ very short career was her ability to bring once obscure or forgotten operas back into the standard repertoire. Medea had been largely ignored for almost half a century before Callas performed it in Florence in 1953. The work became one of the few roles that she sang in all stages of her career. This 1958 performance has taken on a legendary status not only because of her inspired vocal and dramatic performance but also the circumstances surrounding it. A lot has been written about Callas’ dismissal from the Metropolitan Opera in 1958 by Sir Rudolf Bing therefore I will not dedicate time to rehashing that situation. However I will say her dismissal and all of the negative press surrounding it have played a significant role in creating the “Callas myth” of unprofessional diva behavior. In fact, one need only listen to interviews with the conductors, directors, or singers who worked with Callas (many on numerous occasions by choice) to know that she was above all else, a professional of the highest caliber. Bing himself made clear on many occasions that his issues with Callas were purely contractual and that he had never worked with a more supremely professional and intelligent artist.
Back to Medea. By 1958 it seemed like Callas’ voice was on a steady decline. In fact her performances at the Metropolitan opera in 1956 and 1957 were by all accounts lackluster (in vocal terms at least) and a 1956 live broadcast recording of Lucia Di Lammermoor unfortunately bears that out. The voice had taken on a dry and almost white color and the high notes that used to come so easily were clearly a struggle.
I must note that although many of Callas’ performances in this period were vocally uneven and sometimes even cringe inducing, she also had some of her greatest vocal achievements at this time, for example the 1957 La Scala production of Donizetti’s Anna Bolena that I almost included on this list. The vocal security Callas demonstrated in this performance shows how her vocal decline was certainly not linear and was probably more a reflection of individual performance circumstances than a consistent downward spiral
However, possibly given strength through anger at her dismissal by Bing, this performance of Medea finds Callas in astonishingly secure voice all the way up to some blazing high C6s. It is a truly remarkable performance filled with so many different shades of this very complex character. Callas imbues Medea with a level of humanity that makes you almost sympathize with her plight. However, it is in the moments of pure evil and vengeance that Callas indelibly put her stamp. No soprano has ever excelled at dramatic declamation as much as Callas. The role is very heavy on recitative and Callas has an uncanny ability to shape and mold Medea’s angular phrases in a strong legato line that carries the drama forward. Callas is not singing carefully by any means and one just gets swept up in all the moments of pure theatricality throughout her performance. By the opera’s end it is as if the gates of hell have opened up as Medea’s horrific deed is revealed.
The Dallas audience seems very aware it is experiencing something very special and gives Callas all the assurance she needs that they recognize the greatness before them.
Rescigno was a great friend of Callas and this is easily their strongest collaboration. He keeps a strong hold on the proceedings and seems to understand how to bring out the best of Callas especially in the final scene. The orchestral moments such as the Act III storm are handled with romantic theatrical passion. Opera is theater after all and Rescigno seems to understand this innately.
The only other artist worth mentioning is the great Jon Vickers as Giasone. Callas and Vickers have a clear respect and admiration for each other. Vickers matches Callas’ passion note for note and their Act I duet nearly blows the roof off the Dallas Civic Opera. His tenor is not as Italianate as Corelli or Del Monaco but he is perfectly cast in this role that requires power in a low tessitura and a strong sense of drama.
There are several recordings of Callas in this role but I believe this one above all others captures that rare Callas gift for dramatic intensity through a stable legato line.
Thrilling Vocal Moments
Act I Aria & Duet “Dei tuoi figli la madre” & “Nemici senza cor”
The “Callas” Moment
Act IV Finale “E che? Io son Medea! This final scene is one of those moments that make Callas, Callas. There is really no singer who can convey fury, rage, and vengeance so absolutely. Medea murders her own children. A crime against humanity that is nearly unspeakable. Callas uses her voice in a way that conveys this horrific deed with astonishingly vivid color.
IV.
Amilcare Ponchielli
La Gioconda
Teatro alla Scala 1959 (Studio)
Antonio Votto, conductor
Maria Callas (Gioconda), Fiorenza Cossotto (Laura), Irene Companeez (La Cieca), Pier Miranda Ferraro (Enzo), Piero Cappuccilli (Barnaba), Ivo Vinco (Alvise)
She herself is said to have commented of her part in the last act; ‘’It’s all there for anyone who cares to understand or wishes to know what I was about’’. Here her strengths in recitative, her moulding of line her response to text are at their most arresting.-Alan Blyth Gramophone
Overview of Performance
Callas is frequently connected to the role of Gioconda even though it did not figure largely in her stage career. In fact, by the time of this recording in 1959 Callas had not sung the role on stage since 1952. In spite of this, Callas has a strong identification with the character and produces one of her rare record studio outings that matches the passion and intensity of her live performances. This was Callas’s second studio recording of Gioconda and the 1952 effort finds a much heavier Callas imbuing the role with a tremendous amount of stentorian power and strength. This later recording uncovers a wider array of vocal colors and a more feminine quality to the Gioconda characterization. Although this recording is made at the sunset of her career (obviously she was not yet aware of that fact) Callas is in very secure voice. There are even moments that are more vocally secure here than 7 years and 80 pounds prior. The role of Gioconda requires a great deal of power in the lower chest register and Callas delivers a colorful rich sound. She also gives several gleaming and secure top Bs and Cs throughout. However, I feel it is the pathos she is able to evoke in her middle voice such as in the Act I “Angele Dei” and Act III “O madre mia” that make this the greatest interpretation of this role ever recorded.
Unfortunately, the rest of the cast never comes close to reaching Callas’s level. They are all capable and can sing the notes as written with appropriate grand Italian style but the very young Cossotto and Capuccili are simply not experienced enough and Ferraro only knows how to bark.
Votto has a good sense of the piece and generally never lets things get too sluggish. Some of his tempi I have never heard in other recordings which is surprising since they are exciting and dramatic, for example the Act II finale. He and Callas are very in tune with each other in the final act which makes this entire recording worth its high status.
This recording is a perfect encapsulation of the art of Callas. Her greatness rises above her rather ordinary surroundings and delivers a legendary artistic achievement.
Thrilling Vocal Moments
Act II Finale “Vedi la, nel canal morto”
Act III “O madre mia”
Act IV “Ecco, il velen di Laura”
The “Callas” Moment
Act IV “Quest’ultimo bacio che il pianto inondo” How is it possible for a singer to convey all the pain and suffering of humanity through a legato line? We may never know what gave Callas this unique ability. This trio is, in my opinion, the most moving piece of operatic singing ever recorded.
V.
Giuseppe Verdi
Macbeth
Teatro alla Scala 1952 (Live)
Victor De Sabata, conductor
Maria Callas (Lady Macbeth), Enzo Mascherini (Macbeth), Italo Tajo (Banquo), Gino Penno (Macduff), Luciano Della Pergola (Malcolm)
Lady Macbeth, or ‘’Lady’’ as Verdi so endearingly called her, was a role Callas was born to play. Indeed, there are those who believe that this performance, recorded live on the opening night of the 1952–3 La Scala season, is one of the great representative performances of her career.-Richard Osborne, Gramophone
Overview of Performance
Interestingly even Callas’s largest detractors seem to agree with her legions of fans that the role of Lady Macbeth in Verdi’s early masterpiece is one made for her unique vocal gifts. Many will point to Verdi’s correspondence with a colleague that stated “The Lady” of his opera needed to have an unattractive ugly voice as a justification for Callas’s perfect fit. Obviously, I disagree that Callas had an ugly voice. In fact, I find it to be an incredibly beautiful voice purely on the basis of sound to say nothing of how she used it. That being said, I wholeheartedly agree that Verdi’s “Lady” was a perfect fit for Callas’s unique gifts, vocally and dramatically. Very few sopranos come close to her embodiment of pure evil (Shirley Verrett comes close) and the bel canto demands of the role are nothing for the young Callas to toss off as if they were second nature. Indeed they probably were. Her voice is its juiciest and hearing that big delicious sound fly over scales, trills and up to gleaming high Bs and Cs is simply thrilling. Her characterization is so whole and complete with numerous details and vivid colors and shadings that one would have thought she would have sung the role for years. Alas, she would never sing the role again on stage or make any studio recordings of the entire piece. She was to have sung the role at the Metropolitan opera in a new production co-starring Leonard Warren before she was fired by Bing. Tears for what could have been. But fortunately we have this performance captured where Callas and De Sabata create one of the most complex and satisfying Verdian characterizations on record.
De Sabata’s brilliance is clear throughout the performance from the choruses to the orchestral mood pieces. The only disappointment with his performance is the tempo of the “Sleepwalking Scene”. It’s not clear if it was he or Callas, or both, that decided to speed through this pivotal dramatic moment but it is certainly a missed opportunity that seems to just fly by.
The less said about Callas’s colleagues here the better. They are all capable and obviously sing in the appropriate Italian style (this is La Scala in the 1950’s afterall!) but none approach Callas and De Sabata’s level. That being said, Mascherini certainly has the kind of colorful, full baritone one would want for this role and can generally meet the big vocal moments on their terms. For all his sophistication, I would be less interested in hearing Gobbi sing this role. His voice is just too underpowered to make the appropriate impact in my opinion.
Many sopranos, Milanov, Price, Tebaldi, even Millo, have been called great “Verdi sopranos” and I don’t think any of them could have even approached what Callas does with this role. In fact, the record shows that Callas is without a doubt the greatest Verdi soprano of them all. Who else has sung Lady Macbeth, Violetta, Gilda, Amelia, both Leonoras, Abigaille, Aida, Elisabetta, and Elena on stage?
This performance shows the genius of Callas. Despite the “oom-pa-pa” nature of the score, this is one of Verdi’s most sophisticated creations and Callas gets at its very heart from the word go.
Thrilling Vocal Moments
Act I Scene V “Nel di della vittoria”
Act II Scene II “La luce langue”
Act II Scene V “Si colmi il calice”
The “Callas” Moment
Act IV Scene II The sleepwalking scene “Una maccia e qui tuttora” Putting aside De Sabata’s break neck speed, this is still one of the most superior examples of acting with the voice ever recorded. Callas imbues every word and phrase with color and meaning. It is mesmerizing to hear the shades of dark and light that she conjures. The final Db6 is not just vocally impressive, it is the shimmering star that caps a flawless dramatic performance. Brava Callas.
For any true Callas fan, I have merely scratched the surface of all that makes her great. However, I hope you have enjoyed this small tribute to an artist that has meant so much to me personally and has brought joy and pleasure to millions of others for 100 years.
Happy Birthday, La Divina!
