Maria Callas, Soprano – the opera guide

The online opera guide to Maria Callas

Read the short biography of Maria Callas and listen to highlights of her career. Maria Callas undoubtedly belongs to the 3 most important female opera singers of the 20th century. Many of her recordings have become references.

 

Callas Locations

Meet the most important places:

• Callas and Milan
• Callas and Paris
• Callas and Sirmione

 

 

Callas’ Roots in New York and Athens

Maria Callas, born 1923 in New York, left the United States with her mother after the divorce of her Greek-born parents for Athens. There the talented Maria was trained in singing under the strict supervision of her mother.

First appearances and marriage

At the age of 15 she had her first public appearance. Her first leading role was at the age of 19 in the National Opera of Athens with Tosca. In 1949 she married her 27 year older promotor Meneghini.

On the way to celebrity

Callas attracted international attention with a Mexican tour. With iron will she went through a slimming cure and lost about 30 kilograms within half a year. She thus laid the foundation stone for her status as a style icon of the 50s. Due to her excellent technique and her large vocal range she was able to sing a wide repertoire. Her most iconic roles were in the operas Medea, Il turco in Italia, Tosca, Norma, Lucia di Lammermoor and La traviata.

Casta diva (Norma) – Callas

 

In addition to the great art of singing, she captivated with great intensity of expression and acting. With her art of singing she influenced generations of following artists. Maria Callas also had opponents and so many performances became the stage for the Pro and Contra camps. Today her historical significance is undisputed and is equated with that of Enrico Caruso.

Her singing technique was great and she excelled also in roles of coloratura soprano.

Non si da follia (Il turco in Italia)

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Aristoteles Onassis

At the age of 36 she met the rich shipowner Aristoteles Onassis. The resulting liaison led to the divorce with Meneghini. The relationship with Onassis was unstable and Onassis left her by the end of the sixties for Jackie Kennedy.

 

 

Maria Callas’ Vocal decline and comeback

At the beginning of the 60s vocal problems began. Although she could celebrate a sensational comeback with the London Tosca in 1965, the decline could not be stopped.

Vissi d’arte (Tosca)

 

 

The last years

At the beginning of the seventies she taught and tried 1973 a comeback with her longtime musical partner Giuseppe di Stefano, which failed heavily. Maria Callas died of a heart attack in 1977.

In 1969 she filmed the Medea, but the movie became a flop.

 

 

Impact

Maria Callas undoubtedly belongs to the 3 most important female opera singers of the 20th century. Many of her recordings have become references. Her interpretations of roles such as Tosca, Medea, Violetta or Norma will survive. Her sense for drama and the expressiveness of her voice are unrivalled.

Numi, venite a me, inferni Dei! (Medea)

 

 

Highlights of Maria Callas’ recordings

 

Leonora from Il Trovatore was also one of the Callas’ glamorous roles. Listen to her in Tacea la notte. The beautiful long bows and the richness of their timbre are impressive.

Tacea la notte placida. Di tale amor 

 

Let’s start with the recording of Maria Callas. It is simply fantastic how Maria Callas can transport the drama of the situation. The recording was taken from the legendary Mexico time.

Di geloso amor sprezzato  –  Callas / Baum / Warren

 

We hear a recording of D’amor sull’ali rosee with Maria Callas. She captivates with her unique ability to transport the mood with her timbre. It is remarkable how she sings the many beautiful ornaments wonderfully natural.

D’amor sull’ali rosee   

 

Maria Callas triggered a Rossini Renaissance. So listen to her «Contro un cor» from the barbiere.

Contro un  cor 

 

Listen to Voi lo sapete from Cavalleria rusticana in a great interpretation that Kesting describes as follows: «She forms the melodic line as carefully as one of Bellini’s long melodies. And she never searches for an effect resulting from the affect at the expense of the music. She treats «Voi lo sapete» not as a solo aria, but as a narrative and a confession».

Voi lo sapete

 

Next is the Ineggiamo from the Cavalleria rusticana. Experience how Maria Callas lets her soul flow into the music and leads to a heavenly high B. In «Ineggiamo» the singer has to sing great emotions over a carpet of sound of a huge orchestra and a huge choir.

Ineggiamo 

 

Kesting comments Callas’ interpretaion Quegli occhi: «In the duet Tosca-Cavaradossi from the first act, which in its psychologically masterful structure is an eloquent example of dramatic, correct and beautiful singing, she shows what it means to sing as a performer. In front of the picture of the Madonna painted by Cavaradossi, Tosca asks who the blonde woman in the picture is. Cavaradossi replies with the false casualness of the man feeling guilty, that it is the Maddalena. In sudden recognition Tosca screams that it is the Attavanti. Cavaradossi must appease her, and while she is still singing «quegli occhi», still thinking and again with a suppressed stream of tears, he tunes in the wonderfully flowing cantilena «Qual occhio al mondo». Tosca takes this up with the phrase «O Come la sai bene l’arte di farti amare» and suddenly the Callas sounds so intoxicated – and intoxicatingly beautiful like no other singer. From an inconspicuous moment she makes a great moment of the opera.

Quegli occhi –  Callas/di Stefano/Sabata

The famous Vissi d’arte from Puccinis Tosca.

Vissi d’arte

 

With Giuseppe di Stefano in Lucia di Lammermoor:

Verrano a te sull’aure   –  Callas / di Stefano

 

Listen to Maria Callas in a magnificent and haunting interpretation of this aria in this recording conducted by Tullio Serafin.  Lucia waits at the fountain for Edgardo and tells her maid that at this place the ghost of a murdered Ravenswood has appeared to her.

Regnava nel silenzio…Quando rapito in estasi 

 

A famous fact around the beautiful sextett of Lucia di Lammermoor arose in the fifties. You will find a legendary Berlin recording from 1955 with Karajan and Callas. The fact that Herbert von Karajan ordered a «da capo» due to the great moment was sensational. In this Sestetto you can enjoy Italian singing art of the purest.

Chi mi frena a tal momento (Sestetto)  –  diStefano/Panerai/Callas/Zaccaria

 

Listen to the madness scene from Lucia di Lammermoor urgently sung by Maria Callas in a recording, which became famous among other things by this scene, wonderfully accompanied by Herbert von Karajan.

Il dolce suono…Sorge il tremendo fantasma 

 

The famous brindisi from La Traviata

Libiamo nei lieti calici  –  Callas / diStefano

 

We start with a heavenly duet «Un di felice, eterea». In this duet full of tenderness, he confesses to her that he has loved her secretly since one year. Hear Maria Callas and Giuseppe di Stefano.

Un di felice, eterea  –  Callas / diStefano

A great duet from La Traviata

Imponete…non amarlo ditegli  –  Callas / Bastiannini / Giulini

 

Verdi composed for great feelings in the duet scenes of Violetta with Alfredo. The scene takes place in the Salon of Flora. Alfredo has uttered humiliating words about Violetta at the playtable. Violetta fears an invitation to a duel and asks Alfredo to leave. He throws money at Violetta’s feet with the words that he has now paid for Violetta’s services. Violetta faints and sinks to the ground. Listen to the recording «Inviato a seguirmi» with Giulini. The orchestra literally vibrates and sweeps Callas and di Stefano along to a great vocal performance. Opera cannot be more beautiful.

Invitato a qui seguirmi  –  Callas / di Stefano / Giulini

 

Another highlight is «Teneste la promessa…addio del passato». It is one of the great farewell arias of opera literature, Violetta’s farewell to life, magnificently interpreted by «Primadonna assoluta» Maria Callas.

Teneste la promessa…addio del passato

 

A dramatic part is the death scene at the end («Prendi, quest’è l’immagine»), it opens with a funeral march. Again, interpreted by Maria Callas.

Prendi, quest’è l’immagine  –  Callas / di Stefano / Giulini

 

There is a famous Nabucco 1952 live recording of an unleashed Maria Callas. Listen to it in «Ben io t’invenni…Anch’io dischiuso». A Quote from Jürgen Kesting on this: «The recitative…reveals for the first time Callas’ sense for the structure, the temporal structure and the pathos of musical speech; the Andante sings it with lyrical subtlety and refined hues… and then she plunges into the ascending coloratura chains of the cabaletta. She sings the ascending trills up to C”’ with a furioso that can cause fear and terror».

Ben io t’invenni…Anch’io dischiuso  –  Callas/Gui

 

You’ll hear another passage you must not miss under any circumstances – one of the most famous, of the opera’s recording history. Let us hear Jürgen Kesting talking about this duo form Nabucco with Gino Bechi: «She goes even wilder in the duet in the third act. She is indeed acting like a wildcat. First the baritone sings a lamenting melody in F minor, to which Abigaille responds with a replica in D flat major. Then the voices join and end with a vehement stretch. For whatever reason: Bechi and Callas don’t sing together, but against each other – not a duet, but a duel. Although the baritone naturally possessed a powerful spatial voice and can strike a high a flat with blaring force, it is sung out by Callas: her high E flat ”pierces the room like a tracer of light and it is the burning intensity of the tone with which she overrides Bechi’s force of nature”. In this scene Abigail is at the height of her power and Nabucco is her prisoner. Nabucco begs Abigail not to kill his daughter (Abigail’s sister). Listen to «Deh perdona» with Maria Callas and Gino Bechi.

Deh perdona  –  Callas/Bechi

 

This scene is one of the emtional highlights of Andréa Chénier and reminds of the dramatic scene between Scarpia and Tosca in the famous second act. Maddalena mourns her family’s fate and begs Gérard to release Chénier. Gerard confesses Maddalena his love and she offers him a night if he releases Chénier. If you know the movie «Philadelphia», then you might remember, when Tom Hanks Denzel explains to Denzel Washington the scene from Andrea Chenier «La mamma morta» (the passage is sung by Maria Callas).

La mamma morta  

 

Let us go Aida and the famous O patria mia. We hear how Legge and Kesting describe the voice of Maria Callas: «Maria Callas possessed the sine qua non for a great career, namely the immediately recognizable timbre. The voice was voluminous and in the best years it had a range of almost three octaves, although the highest height was not always secured and the depth…did not have the power to hold notes. The sound quality was luxurious, the technical ability phenomenal. Callas actually had three voices, which she could colour at will: At first a high coloratura soprano, far-reaching and agile, bright and brilliant, but also, if she wanted, cloudy and opaque. Even with the most intricate fioritures she had no musical or technical problems to overcome. Her chromatic runs, especially down, glided smoothly along… The middle of the voice was dark and slightly shaded. It was her most expressive register in which she could exude the most fluid legato. Here she produces her own unique and highly personal sound, sometimes as if she were singing into a bottle».

O patria

 

The great Nile Duet with Tito Gobbi.

Ciel…mio Padre Callas / Gobbi

 

Maria Callas was one of the great singers of the 20th century. Unfortunately, she could sing only in about 500 performances. To get an answer, the following story (quoted from Jürgen Kestings book, the greatest singer of the 20^th century) might help: «On a tour…she did a performance of Verdi’s Aida. Her tenor partner Kurt Baum annoyed the other protagonists by sitting uninhibited on his high notes. They complained to the conductor. Callas remembered that the manager of the theatre had shown her an old score with an «Eflat» for the finale of the second act. She let herself get a «carte blanche» by the conductor and her colleagues and gave Baum the due lesson with a beacon-like, blazing top note, which literally shocked the tenor. Later, Mario del Monaco was her partner and rival during the performance on 3 July 1951. In the concertato of the second act you can hear a lion roaring for his life, whose voice is being buried in the sound masses of the choir – and then the E flat of the soprano penetrates the tumult, glowing and luminous like a white flame, but which dissolves the matter of which it consists. There is no voice that can survive such a tension without harm.

 

Maria Callas vs Kurt Baum

 

Now an aria from Massenet. Maria Callas never sang Manon in the opera house.  Listen to her in a concert excerpt.

Allons! …  Adieu, notre petite table

 

This scene takes place in a smuggler tavern. Carmen sings a song that carries everyone away. Enjoy the “Les tringles des sistres tintaient” composed which Bizet composed with a lot of Spanish coloring and  sung by a wonderful Callas.

Les tringles des sistres tintaient 

 

Maria Callas sang the Carmen only in concert. She would certainly have been a charming Carmen. Take a look at the concert excerpt. The facial expression reflects the music and then the stole slips off her shoulders. She knew how to play a role and win the audience over!

L’amour est un oiseau rebelle

 

In a touching scene, accompanied by high strings and harp, Butterfly tells that she converted to the faith of Pinkerton out of love to worship the same god with him. Hear a beautiful interpretation of this scene by Maria Callas, who sings this confession infinitely intimate, almost childlike.

Ieri son salita – Callas

 

Maria Callas shows her unique ability to capture the moods and feelings of the role and to reproduce them in various colours. A gripping and touching recording of this great aria from Madama Butterfly.

 

Un bel di vedremo

 

Listen to a recording of Madama Butterfly’s finale which sends shivers down the spine.

Tu tu, piccolo Iddio  –  Callas

 

Hear Tito Gobbi and Maria Callas from the great Rigoletto recording of 1955 in a thrilling duet. The second half is simply great, the two voices harmonize perfectly with each other.

Ah veglia, o donna (duet) – Callas / Gobbi

 

For many, Callas was an unbeatable Gilda. Her “Caro nome” is great. Her technique is phenomenal, only hear her perfect trills. Her interpretation is dramatic and moving and brings great emotions into the aria.

Caro nome / Callas

 

Listen to an impressive narration by Maria Callas, which makes Gilda’s pain of her lost honour feel.

Tutte le feste al tempio – Callas

 

From Rigoletto: again a great, impressive performance by Maria Callas and Tito Gobbi with a climax at the end that creates goose bumps…

Si, vendetta, tremenda vendetta  –  Callas / Gobbi

 

Verdi never lets his beloved characters die without comforting melodies, so Gilda says goodbye to her father with ethereal sounds. A wonderful dying scene with Gobbi and Callas from Rigoletto.

Lassu in cielo  –  Callas / Gobbi

 

Norma was the opera she sang the most. Of her approximately 500 opera performances, 89 were dedicated to Norma. And Casta Diva was her signature aria. The Cantilena is expressive and flooded, and the high Bb is beautifully sung. There is hardly an aria in the professional world where there is such unanimous agreement as to who delivered the best interpretations as in this piece.

Casta Diva  –  Callas

 

A moving duet of the two priestesses from Norma. Musically especially beautiful is the a cappella ending of the two voices (from 10.09).

Oh rimembranza. Io fui cosi rapita  –  Callas / Simionato

 

We hear the great trio of the Act I finale from Norma with three great voices in the Callas recording of 1954. Listen to the glistening fireworks of the Callas from 2.30. It is a sound like a glowing arrow, unique as only Callas could do it. Listening, you can literally feel her voice burn.

Perfido! Vanne si, mi lascia indegno  –  Callas / Simionato / del Monaco

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We hear the another scene of Norma again in the Votto recording with Maria Callas and Giuliana Simionato. From a dramatic and musical point of view it is the counterpart to the Sutherland recording, the emphasis is on drama and less on beauty. The ending is electrifying, the applause frenetic. Kesting writes about this recording: “A climax brings the phrase “Ah si fa core, abbracciami”, where Callas takes a high C with perfect attack and lets it breathe in a diminuendo – the audience, at first breathless, literally breathes in at the end of the tone with the singer”.

Mira, o Norma  –  Callas / Simionato

 

Again Norma: We hear Maria Callas and Mario Filippeschi in this exciting scene. Maria Callas sings her part with a gripping almost aggressive energy. You only hear the beginning and the end of this duet.

In mia man alfin tu sei  –  Callas / Filippeschi

 

Callas has wonderfully captured the melancholy of the song from Gounod’s Faust. She can impressively sing the different mood changes Margarete goes through in this aria.

Il était un roi de Thulé  –  Callas

 

Next is Maria Callas’ Marguerite from Gounod’s Faust. It is fantastic what vocal nuances she can get out of the aria. “If ever the unity of diction and declamation, fine word nuances and eloquence of the performance demanded by Gounod was achieved again after the war, then it was in this performance” (Kesting).

Ah! Je ris de me voir  –  Callas

 

From Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi: Impatience and drama resonate in this recording of Maria Callas. Urgency is almost physically perceptible.

O mio babbino caro  –  Callas

 

This piece, the so-called willow song from Verdi’s Otello, has a peculiar harmony. The excessive pitch suggests an oriental origin. The voice is accompanied by a harp, beside it this piece has an economical instrumentation, which increases the urgency of this song.  In 1963 Maria Callas sang this scene in a recital in her comeback. The interpretation is impressive.

Mia madre avea una povera ancella  –  Callas

 

With a trembling voice Maria Callas sings this passage from Verdi’s ballo in maschera unforgettably. In Gavazzeni’s recording she can show all the colours of her voice and is at the height of her art.

Ecco l’orrido campo …  – Callas

 

Listen to Maria Callas in a gripping recording from I Pagliacci. She never sang Nedda on stage. Perhaps this is due to the fact, that Pagliacci is considered a tenor’s opera, where the tenor is standing in the limelight.

Stridono lassu  –  Callas

The recording of Maria Callas and Rolando Panerai in Pagliacci makes Kesting rave: “In the following duet we experience once more how intoxicatingly beautiful Callas can sing. Beautiful not only in the sense of dramatic correctness, but also in the sense of a flood of sound for the listener. Has a “Silvio” ever sung ths part as blessed, happy and passionate as Rolando Panerai here ? In the singing of both, passion is not expressed, as so often happens, but it becomes “music and form”. (Kesting, “Maria Callas”)

E allor perché di tu m’hai stregato  –  Callas/Panerai

 

 

We hear a difficult aria from Turandot. The sequences in the hight register of the second part are breathtaking.

In questa reggia 

 

We hear the finale of Turandot. She sang the opera on stage only in her early years. Her Turandot was extremely multi-layered and she could give the Turandot that certain extra. Listen to the gripping finale in the version of the 1957 Serafin recording.

 

Del primo pianto… So iltuo nome

 

This piece is also known under the name “Balatella”, meaning “a simple song”. But it is not. A look at the lyrics shows us that Nedda is afraid of the jealousy of Canio (brutale come egli è; brutal as he is). A swarm of birds is pulling on her and her mind brightens in the following “Stridono lassu”. Shimmering strings and harp music imitate the beats of the wings of the flock of birds. The notes are long at first, but become shorter and shorter, which has a dramatic effect. Nedda wants to do it like the birds and escape to freedom and the aria ends in a triumphal ending.

Listen to Maria Callas in a gripping recording. She never sang Nedda on stage. Perhaps this is due to the fact, that Pagliacci is considered a tenor’s opera.

Stridono lassu  –  Callas

 

This duet of Maria Callas and Rolando Panerai from I Pagliacci makes Kesting rave: “In the following duet we experience once more how intoxicatingly beautiful Callas can sing. Beautiful not only in the sense of dramatic correctness, but also in the sense of a flood of sound for the listener. Has a “Silvio” ever sung ths part as blessed, happy and passionate as Rolando Panerai here ? In the singing of both, passion is not expressed, as so often happens, but it becomes “music and form”. (Kesting, “Maria Callas”)

E allor perché di tu m’hai stregato  –  Callas/Panerai

 

With a trembling voice Maria Callas sings this passage from “un ballo in maschera” unforgettably. In Gavazzeni’s recording she can show all the colours of her voice and is at the height of her art.

Ecco l’orrido campo …  

 

This piece, the so-called willow song from Otello, has a peculiar harmony. The excessive pitch suggests an oriental origin. The voice is accompanied by a harp, beside it this piece has an economical instrumentation, which increases the urgency of this song.  In 1963 Maria Callas sang this scene in a recital in her comeback. The interpretation is impressive.

Mia madre avea una povera ancella

 

Impatience and drama resonate in this Puccini recording of Maria Callas. Urgency is almost physically perceptible.

O mio babbino caro

 

In the aria ” il était un roi de Thulé ” Gounod paraphrases the verses from Goethe’s Faust. Thule is an island in the Arctic Sea, perhaps Iceland, where a woman sings melancholically about grief, death and eternal love. Marguerite has lost her mother and her little sister. Now her brother is a soldier, whom she may never see again. She feels lonely.

Callas has wonderfully captured the melancholy of the song. She can impressively sing the different mood changes Margarete goes through in this aria.

Il était un roi de Thulé  –  Callas

 

Most of this opera is written for a lirico-spinto soprano, a dramatic soprano that can faithfully represent the entire spectre of feelings: She must depict the innocence of the young woman, then the lover of Faust, the faithful churchgoer, then the tragically abandoned and finally the insane, imprisoned. In this aria, the music of the coquettish young woman, spiked with ornamentation, is added. So this piece requires the voice of a lyrical coloratura soprano.

This wide range of requirements makes Marguerite one of the most demanding roles in opera literature and is therefore difficult to fill. The famous British singer critic John Stean wrote in 1971 that in the history documented by records only four female singers could cover this entire vocal spectrum: Lili Lehmann, Rosa Ponselle, Maria Callas and Montserrat Caballé. There are recordings of this opera by two of these singers.

It is fantastic what vocal nuances she can get out of the aria. “If ever the unity of diction and declamation, fine word nuances and eloquence of the performance demanded by Gounod was achieved again after the war, then it was in this performance” (Kesting).

Ah! Je ris de me voir  –  Callas

 

It is absolutely neccessary talk about the importance of Maria Callas’ Norma. Toscanini was of the opinion that it is impossible to adequately cast the Norma due to the many demands of the role. If a person succeeded in this in the age of recording, it was Maria Callas. More importantly, it was her interpretation that brought the Belcanto repertoire back into fashion. The subsequent renaissance of Bellini and Donizetti would not have been possible without her, and Norma is the most important title in this repertoire.

The famous aria Casta Diva is set in a moonlit night. Bellini’s orchestral accompaniment is simple, each word is understandable by the restraint of the orchestration and gives a dramatic meaning to the text and thus to the ritual of the druids. The aria was written in close collaboration with Giuditta Pasta, the singer of the premiere. Bellini is said to have written no less than nine sketches. With Pasta he had already developed the role of Amina in “La sonnambula”. Bellini originally wrote the aria in G major. But Pasta wanted a little deeper. Since then it has generally been sung in the F major variant (i.e. one note lower). Bellini has written an accompaniment with a fixed pattern. A waving 12/8 bar allows the singing voice the freedom of the rubato, the voice floats above the orchestra and the singer can thus give the aria her own character. Verdi spoke of the “long melody” of Bellini. It is known that Bellini’s style inspired Chopin. Many of his nocturnes are written exactly in this way.

Casta Diva became one of the greatest and most important arias of the Belcanto. The combination of a broad crescendo and a melody constantly increasing in pitch moves the listener and, together with the magic of the moon night, results in a harmonious and gripping tone painting.

We hear a live recording by Maria Callas from a complete recording with the conductor Votto. The cantilena floods, and the high B flat is beautifully sung.

Casta Diva  –  Callas

 

Norma wavers between her two roles as lover and priestess. But in the end her actions are determined by her love for Pollione. She longs for him from the bottom of her heart and is willing to compromise the fate of her fatherland.

Donizetti took the aria “Ah bello a me ritorno” from his opera “Bianca e Fernado”. We hear Maria Callas in this demanding number peppered with coloratura.

Ah bello a me ritorno

 

It is a moving duet of the two priestesses. Musically especially beautiful is the a cappella ending of the two voices (from 10.09).

Oh rimembranza. Io fui cosi rapita  –  Callas / Simionato

 

We hear the great trio of the finale from Norma Act I with three great voices in the Callas recording of 1954. Listen to the glistening fireworks of the Callas from 2.30. It is a sound like a glowing arrow, unique as only Callas could do it. Listening, you can literally feel her voice burn.

Perfido! Vanne si, mi lascia indegno  –  Callas / Simionato / del Monaco

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We hear the famous duet from Norma. The ending is electrifying, the applause frenetic. Kesting writes about this recording: “A climax brings the phrase “Ah si fa core, abbracciami”, where Callas takes a high C with perfect attack and lets it breathe in a diminuendo – the audience, at first breathless, literally breathes in at the end of the tone with the singer”.

Mira, o Norma  –  Callas / Simionato

 

We hear Maria Callas and Mario Filippeschi in this exciting scene from Norma. Maria Callas sings her part with a gripping almost aggressive energy. You only hear the beginning and the end of this duet.

In mia man alfin tu sei  –  Callas / Filippeschi

 

“Poveri fiori” is a melancholic piece, even more Cilea writes the expression marks “andante triste” in the score. Two stylistic elements characterize this aria. On the one hand, the frequent octave jump of the voice (e.g. “Poveriꜛfiori”) creates the mood of despair of Adriana and dissonant chords in the orchestra on heavy bar parts (“primo”) in the middle part create a morbid mood.

One of the great arts of the Callas was to give voice colours to every single word and note. The octave leaps of this aria get under your skin.

Poveri fiori  –  Callas

 

The Eboli’s role is very diverse and none of the other characters in this opera shows so many facets and development. In her three great performances she first sings the courtly lady (the Moorish song) with coloraturas, then she becomes the dramatic intriguer (A mezzanotte) and in this aria she becomes the repentant and finally the light figure. In other words, the role of Eboli calls for a great voice. The musical highlight of the Eboli is undoubtedly this aria. Maybe this aria has been sung more lyrical, but none of them managed to create the timbres to draw the soul state of the Eboli.

O don fatale

 

Maria Callas never sang the Elisabetta (“Don Carlo”) in a complete recording. This is a pity in view of the recital recording from 1958 with the conductor and friend of her later years, Nicolo Resigno. She deserves the highest praise for the way she transports the Queen’s emotional drama. It is not an expressive performance but an inner kaleidoscope which she presents to the listener with the great stylistic means at her disposal.

Tu che la vanità … Francia nobile suol

 

Maria Callas has sung very little Mozart in her career. Konstanze from the Abduction was an exception, she has sung the role a total of four times in her career on stage. Mozart was alien to her, she even went as far as saying that most of his music was “boring” (dull). Anyway, she had the technical abilities for the Konstanze. Trills and scales are perfect, the euphony is debatable. Callas put drama above beauty of sound, only hear the breathtaking end of this aria sung in Italian language.

Tutte le torture 

 

“O malheureux Iphigénie” is a great Italian aria that Gluck presented to the French audience. It is the psychological drama of Iphigenia. We hear Maria Callas, who was an outstanding interpreter of Gluck’s works. She sang both Orfeo and Iphigenia on stage. Callas’ makes the despair of Iphigenia felt in the most painful way, a haunting interpretation.

O malheureux Iphigénie

 

Verdi demanded that the Lady Macbeth should declaim the content of the letter and not to sing it.  That the composer let the prima donna read a letter at her first performance instead of letting her shine with a bravura aria was outrageous at that time. In addition, Verdi demanded that Marianna Barbieri-Nini, the Lady Macbeth of the premiere, make his conception of the role consistently ugly (which is documented in a letter).

The year 1952 was perhaps Maria Callas’ most glorious year in her professional carreer. In this year she finally established herself as an assoluta. On 7 November 1952 Maria Callas sang one of the most important performances of her career. Macbeth was planned as the season opening of La Scala. Her Lady Macbeth was sensational and the hype about her turned into a Callas mania.

Karl Böhm once called the Greek woman “the greatest tragic actress in the world”. The interpretation of the following aria lets the listener experience the correctness of his statement. No other singer had the possibilities available to Callas to draw the Lady Macbeth dramatically and musically in every detail grandiose. It is thanks to her that this opera has returned to the repertoire.

Vieni! t’affretta accendere… Or tutti sorgete (1)

 

For those interested, I have also included the second great and vibrant recording of Callas, which she had sung in a recital 8 months earlier. The tempo is a bit slower.

Vieni! t’affretta accendere… Or tutti sorgete

 

The aria “la luce langue” is one of the passages that Verdi wrote for the second (Parisian) version and which found its way into later productions. The aria with its chromatisms helped to underline the demonic nature of Lady Macbeth.  In the words of Kesting (“Maria Callas”): “The way she sings ‘nuovo delitto’ and ‘è neccessario’ goes far beyond the dynamic contrast: it is the madness of political ambition transformed into a sound figure”.

La luce langue, il faro spegnesi

 

We hear the famous sleepwalking scene from Macbeth. Critics agree that Maria Callas’ interpretation of this scene is one of the greatest in the recording history of opera music. Ardoin spoke of “one of the most descriptive moments of singing ever captured on record” and Kesting said that “even when repeatedly listening to the astonishment, there is no end to the wealth of tonal, gestural details. Only one person, Verdi himself, could have dreamed of this”.

Una macchia è qui tuttora

 

No singer was able to put the desolation of Leonora (“La forza del destino”) in such an impressive way as Maria Callas. Kesting commented: “Me pellegrina ed orfana – these two verses of Leonora are, as text, at first nothing but a message. That in these words the whole coming drama of Leonora is hidden as if encapsulated, is something Maria Callas alone knows how to sing, with a tone that, because one of pain, almost suffocates the voice” (Kesting, Maria Callas).

Me pellegrina ed orfana

 

With “Madre pietosa Vergine” Verdi again writes a great, religious aria for this scene of Leonora. Leonora is in a state of highest excitement, which Verdi first creates with the introductory motif of the strings, which imitates the excited throbbing of her heart. Her exitment further increases with the tremolo of the strings and the background chorus of the monks.

Verdi created a particularly beautiful effect by composing the first section in a minor key, and by having the first heavenly and hymnic “Deh non m’abandonar” changed to the major parallel, thus giving confidence to Leonora’s supplication.

We hear this scene of Leonora in the interpretation by Maria Callas. It is unique how she can create the excitement of Leonora at the beginning with a slight tremolo in her voice and then how she changes into the “Deh non m’abandonar”. Grandiose how she shapes her voice in the duet with the choir of the monks.

Madre pietosa vergine

 

Pace, pace is Leonora’s prayer, her plea for peace, which she will not achieve on earth and longs for her death (“Oh God, let me die”). Hardly any other aria lets the desperation of a woman feel so directly, and it offers the singer many opportunities to captivate the listener.

Maybe Callas’ piani did not have the quality and beauty of Tebaldi’s in this aria, but none could portray the bitterness and supplication as credibly and bitterly beautiful as Maria Callas. And then at the end comes this incredible maledizione.

Pace, pace mio Dio

 

In this performance aria from “Samson et Dalila” we do not hear the evil Dalila, eaten up by revenge, but the young and honest woman singing about the beauty of nature. Saint-Saens writes a beautiful accompaniment with long chords that reveals the organ composer. We hear Maria Callas, who makes the beautiful colours of this aria sound.

Printemps qui commence  –  Callas

 

A restless introduction shows Dalila’s agitation, revenge is her goal. The challenge of this aria is to keep the beautiful prayer to the God of Love feminine, despite the vengeful text (“he is my slave”; “pour the poison in his veins”) and the deep and dark tonal range of this aria. None could make the supplication as insistent as Maria Callas.

Samson, recherchant ma présence … Amour! viens aider ma faiblesse!  –  Maria Callas

 

Peter Lutz, opera-inside, the online opera guide to Maria Callas