Callas doesn't have the vocal power of earlier recordings, but her portrayal of the druid priestess is feminine and touching. Ludwig and Corelli make fantastic portrayals of Adalgisa and Pollione

This is, perhaps, the best Norma ever recorded. Callas combines power, beauty, anger, and tragedy into a scorching and hair-raising portrayal of the spurned druid priestess.

Another great opera with the Sutherland-Horne combo. Though the male singers are slightly lacking, the leading ladies make up for it. Horne's work as a contralto is spine-tingling; Sutherland pulls out all the stops with her stratospheric coloratura.

This recording, made in 1959, is like a who's who in the opera world. With Joan Sutherland as Donna Anna and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf as Donna Elvira you can't go wrong. This recording features all of EMI's best singers during the golden age of opera.

Though this recording lacks the spoken dialogs written by Mozart, as was the fashion during the recording of this set, it is a fantastic representation of the opera. Once again, EMI finds the best of the best to sing. Lucia Popp's queen of the night is frightful and terrifying.

Though Donizetti is more famous for his tragic opera, Lucia di Lammermoor, his comedy about a silly-girl in love is quite entertaining. Sutherland is lively and comical; Pavarotti is simply stunning.

Though she wasn't famous for her Aida, Maria Callas set the opera world ablaze in the early fifties with her portrayals of Verdi's heroine in Mexico City. This set, live in 1951, shows Callas with an endless voice and a staggering 10 second high E that sends the Mexican audience into a near-riot.

There are many differences between the Lucias of Callas and Sutherland. However it can best be summarized by the mad-scenes: While Sutherland's Lucia sweetly and serenely crosses the line into un-reality, Callas' Lucia simply goes stark-raving mad with hysterical and dramatic shrieks. Both are worth having.

It's unfortunate that Maria Callas never recorded Verdi's Violetta of La Traviata in the studio. Her assumption of the role is staggering and heart-breaking. This set, made live at La Scala in 1955, shows why Callas has become the most renown soprano of the twentieth century; her "Sempre Libera" is worth the price of admission.

Made very late in her career, Callas' Carmen is interesting because it is her only mezzo-role. The role was perfect because it didn't tax her voice like the dramatic soprano parts she had done for the last twenty-years, and her recording left some feeling that perhaps she was naturally a mezzo, as her particularly powerful chest range denotes.