Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Act 2. Un bel dì, vedremo
2. Act 1. L'amour est un oiseau rebelle (Habanera)
3. Act 1. Ebben? ne andrò lontana
4. Act 1. Una voce poco fa
5. Act 1. Casta Diva
6. Act 2. Mon coeur s'ouvre à ta voix
7. Act 1. Caro nome
8. Act 1. Sempre libera
9. Act 1. Je veux vivre dans ce rêve
10. Act 1. Sì, mi chiamano Mimi
11. Act 2. Mi tradì quell'alma ingrata
12. Voi lo sapete, o mamma
13. Act 4. Suicido!
14. O mio babbino caro
15. Act 2. In questa reggia
16. Act 2. Vissi d'arte, vissi d'amore

Disc 2:

1. Act 1. Divinités du Styx
2. Act 2. Les tringles des sistres tintaient (Chanson bohème)
3. Act 1. Surta è la notte... Ernani! Ernani, involami
4. Act 2. In quelle trine morbide
5. Act 1. Ritorna vincitor
6. Act 4. J'ai perdu mon Eurydice
7. Act 5. Bolero: Mercè, dilette amiche
8. Act 3. Depuis le jour
9. Act 3. Donde lieta uscì
10. Act 2. Ah, pour ce soir... Je suis Titania (Polonaise)
11. Act 3. Teneste la promessa... Addio, del passato
12. Act 3. O don fatale
13. Act 1. Printemps qui commence
14. Act 1. Compagne, teneri amici... Come per me sereno
15. Act 1. Ecco: respiro appena... Io son l'umile ancella
16. Act 3. Spargi d'amaro pianto

Disc 3:

1. Act 3. La mamma morta
2. Act 2. O Nume tutelar
3. Act 2. Je ne suis que faiblesse... Adieu, notre petite table
4. Act 2. Oh, sarò la più bella... Tu, tu amore?
5. Act 1. Près des remparts de Séville (Séguedille)
6. Act 1. Dunque io son
7. Act 2. Dov' è l'indiana bruna?
8. Act 3. Qui Radamès verrà!... O patria mia
9. Act 1. O soave fanciulla
10. Act 1. Signore, ascolta!
11. Act 1. Qual fiamma avea nel guardo... Hui! Stridono lassù
12. Act 4. D'amor sull' ali rosee
13. Act 1. Vogliatemi bene, un bene piccolino
14. Act 2. Ombra leggiera

Disc 4:

1. Well, Madame Callas -- even though I've been looking forward to it for so long -- it's a surprising
2. And the same thing seems to me to apply to your career in general...
3. But -- you know -- you are speaking of not being traditional and so on...
4. You were speaking a moment ago about your "first" career
5. There is always a certain limit, even in "corone," as they say -- in long held notes...
6. Tell me -- one thing that I would have thought would have taken a lot of will-power -- you were at
7. You know -- there's another question that I want to ask you very much, and that is: in this enormou
8. You said that you have had to struggle and yet it seems very hard to believe...
9. I'd heard so many stories about you before you came to this country...
10. Well -- now tell me -- when you're singing the bel canto roles...
11. Music has to be well performed

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #60168 in Music
• Released on: 1995-11-14
• Number of discs: 4
• Format: Box set

Amazon.com
In case there was a moment in your life when your suspected that Maria Callas was not a driving force in opera in the last half of this century, pick up this set. Apparently unable to give a dull performance, here we get Callas in La Divina as Rossini's flirty Rosina; Verdi's emotion-torn Aida; Catalani's unbelievably sad Wally (a classic performance, by which all others are measured); Bellini's Norma (ditto); Puccini's lovely, youthful Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi; the same composer's frigid, furious Turandot as well as his confused, desparate Manon Lescaut; Verdi's Loenoras--each noble; Meyerbeer's ditzy Dinorah and Delibes's loco Lakme (in some fabulous, high-flying coloratura singing); and at least a dozen more roles. While it's true that her control over her voice varies--the French coloratura arias, from Gounod and Thomas operas, can be pretty acidic--there's never an uninterested reading, never a once-over read-through. You'll get to know the characters as well as their music by hearing Callas as each heroine--indeed, this collection is like a who's who in opera. No music lover should be without it. --Robert Levine

Customer Reviews

Simply beautiful
I do not pretend to be an expert but I love her singing. It's beautiful, dramatic and brilliant. Esp. her middle-range is fantastic. My favourites are Callas as Norma, Aida and Tosca.

CALLAS: THE SUPREME ARTIST.
People who don't understand opera cannot appreciate Callas. Opera is much more than a "pretty voice". Opera is drama, passion, and musical coloring. In this realm, Callas reigns supreme. To compare Callas with other sopranos, one must understand differances in vocal types. Sumi Jo is a COLORTURA SOPRANO, very high, lighter roles. Bartoli is a MEZZO SOPRANO, lower,a deeper voice. Callas was a unique voice type, a "DRAMMATICA AGILITA", a dramatic soprano with the agility to sing a very wide range of roles. This type of soprano comes along once in a century. This cd is the best of Callas. It shows to anyone of intelligence and taste why Callas was the supreme operatic artist of the 20th century.

A great collection of Callas
Maria Callas is, with no doubts, the best soprano of the 20th century. Many people say she didn't have a beautiful voice, but this collection shows how wrong this opinion is. Callas is one of the few singers that can show us what is happening during the aria she is singing: you don't have to understand Italian or French to feel the emotions she passes with her voice. Her versatility is shown by the great number of different arias she sings - from arias for mezzosoprano to soprano coloratura ones. Besides, the CD with interview is a wonderful class - a "Master Class", I would say - for people who take singing classes.
DIVINA is the right word to name Maria Callas!