Track Listing

1. Anna Bolena, opera: Final Scene. Piangete voi? ... Al dolce guidami castel natio
2. Macbeth, opera: Nel d� della vittoria ... Ambizioso spirto ... Vieni t'affretta! ... Or tutti sorgete
3. Luisa Miller, opera: Tu puniscimi, o Signore ... A brani, a brani, o perfido
4. Un ballo in maschera, opera: Morr�, ma prima in grazia

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #360738 in Music
• Released on: 2004-10-12
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .12 pounds

Customer Reviews

Too Much, Too Soon
First off, let me say that I am in complete agreement with everything that has been said so far, and this disc should be owned by anyone interested in opera. In 1993 Decca issued this collection (with additional material) on its "Grandi Voci" series; that CD, now long out of print, ran just under 75 minutes. It included an eleven minute selection from the complete recording of NABUCCO (still the one to own), along with arias from CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA, UN BALLO IN MASCHERA, LA FORZA DEL DESTINO and LA GIOCONDA; if my memory serves me correctly, these last three filled out the fourth side of the complete CAVALLERIA (recorded in 1967, starring Suliotis, Del Monaco and Gobbi). The CAVALLERIA (without the arias) is now available on the Decca "Critics' Choice" series -- very ironic, since it was roundly panned by every critic on its initial release on LP.

I was lucky enough to be a teenager interested in opera, living in New York in the 1960s. Apart from performances at the Met and the City Opera, there were also wonderful concert readings of operas at Carnegie Hall; it was at one of these in 1966 where I first encountered Suliotis. All anyone really knew about Donizetti's ANNA BOLENA in those days came from the private recording of the La Scala production (starring Callas and Simionato), which was heavily cut. Imagine what it was like to sit in Carnegie Hall and hear the work complete, with a cast of Suliotis, Marilyn Horne, Placido Domingo and Janet Baker! (Baker was mainly known outside the U.S., and Horne and Domingo were still working towards international stardom.) The big news of the evening was Suliotis, who was only 23 at the time, and a stunningly gorgeous young woman. This performance, by the way, is currently available on the reasonably-priced Gala label, though it originally came out on CD in the early 1990s on Legato. Let me assure you that in a live venue, the similarities to Callas were marginal -- mainly in the size of her voice. Where Callas had natural power, Suliotis did not. It's not that she had a "tiny" voice, but quite a bit smaller than one would believe from hearing her studio recordings.

When I first bought this recital on LP, I was taken aback by the sheer strength of the Suliotis instrument. At first hearing I thought she was copying Callas, but more in-depth study on my part showed that she was definitely her own artist. She was being promoted as "the next Callas," as has everyone from Sylvia Khachadurian (anyone remember her?) to Malfitano to Netrebko. Whether Suliotis was pushed into singing the kinds of roles she did or whether she was a victim of believing her own publicity is something nobody will probably ever know. Yes, she pushed her voice, she gave too much of everything and at an age that shortened her career considerably, and there were definitely technical flaws. But who wouldn't want to hear someone like that today, as opposed to the bloodless "divas" we currently encounter (and shamelessly promote)?

The commercial recordings of Suliotis as Lady Macbeth and as Anna Bolena definitely came too late in her career to show off what she had been able to do just a short time before. However, this recital certainly proves the kind of excitement she could bring to certain roles. In addition, there are her live recordings of ANNA BOLENA, LORELEY (on Opera d'Oro), and LA FORZA DEL DESTINO (on Hardy, currently unavailable). There is also a live GIOCONDA, very difficult to find; none of these performances were later than 1967, and they definitely present Suliotis at the absolute best she had to give for the two or three years that she sang. There is also the complete NABUCCO on London and a live one on Opera d'Oro, both from 1965. It is worth searching for any and all of these recordings, since this is a voice worth hearing and remembering.

IN MEMORIUM
I agree wholeheartedly with the two reviews already here. I just wanted to add that Madame Souliotis passed away on December 6 of last year. She was 61, which by today's life spans is very young. I wondered if any music reviewers were aware of any details of her death, if she was ill or if this was sudden.

I wish that Decca had been a little less stingy with this album, and also included the arias that made up Side 4 of Madame Souliotis' recording of Cavalleria Rusticana with Mario del Monaco. (I believe "Pace, pace" among others were included). There was plenty of time left on this CD for more material. And even though they are extermely flawed, her studio recordings of Macbeth, Anna Bolena and Cavalleria should be more easily available.

[P.S.: Souliotis' recording of Cavalleria is due for reissue by Decca in the coming months.]

Diva: Flawed but Irresistible
Suliotis inspired more criticism than any soprano who sang in the 60s and 70s. She was often accused of being a Callas wannabe, but she demonstrated over and over again that she was Suliotis! To hell with wannabe! I suspect she believed herself to be better than Callas. I my opinion she was.

Suliotis had a flawed instrument-just as Callas did. They were both often criticized for their chest notes, but both understood the dramatic shiver that can accompany a properly executed chest note. I defy you to find more emotionally moving notes than the ones delivered by Suliotis in Ponchielli's "Suicidio" from La Gioconda.

This CD displays Suliotis at her best and her worst. She did not receive the kind of training that other great sopranos expected, thus she sang with a natural, unbridled talent that soared toward ecstasy and fumbled toward mediocrity-sometimes in the same musical passage. In this CD you will hear every missed note, chopped passage, and hollow delivery. But you simply won't care, because you will also be borne aloft by her utterly gorgeous high notes, her lush low notes, her perfect use of chest notes, her unmatched passion for the character. You will weep and cheer at the end of each song-happy for having had the opportunity to enjoy this incredible singer.

Such a loss that her breakneck style of singing destroyed her voice so quickly. She must have known that she was shortening her career by her fiery style, but she was Suliotis. There was no other way.