Release Date: 12 January 2004
Label: Naxos - Historical / Naxos Historical
Packaging Type: Jewel Case
No of Units: 2
Barcode: 636943130025
Genres: Classical
Composer/Series: VERDI
Description
Giuseppe VERDI (1813-1901)La TraviataAt the beginning of October 1951 Callas stopped off inNew York, on her way back from Rio de Janeiro toMilan, and signed a contract with Dario Soria, Presidentof CETRA-Soria, an Italo-American company, to takepart in recordings of La Gioconda, La traviata, ManonLescaut and Mefistofele. By the beginning of 1953,however, Soria had moved to Angel Records and set upa new outlet for EMI in the United States (itsrelationship with RCA Victor having come to an end),and whither Soria went so went Callas. In September1952 she had recorded Gioconda for CETRA but wasstill contracted to make Violetta in La traviata thefollowing September. Like La Gioconda, La traviatawas recorded in Turin. It was published in Italy and theUnited States in September 1954, but as CETRA did nothave an outlet in Britain, the recording did not becomeavailable there for several years. I remember howdisappointing and frustrating that was.In the course of her career Callas sang Violetta 63times; it ranks next after Norma as the r?â??le she sangmost often. Through the eight years it was in herrepertory her interpretation changed and developed,rapidly and prodigiously. The first time she undertookit, in January 1951 at the Comunale, Florence, she was avery bulky lady and weighed nearly ninety kilos. Hardlysurprisingly there was nothing tubercular about herconception, and the emphasis then was all on voice.Zeffirelli, who was present on that occasion, recalled inan interview, 'how the audience went mad ... it wassensational, vocally and musically'. In September shesang it in Brazil in S?â?úo Paulo in company with whatwould later become familiar figures in EMI'srecordings: Giuseppe di Stefano (Alfredo), Tito Gobbi(Germont) and conductor Tullio Serafin. More thanthirty years later, in his autobiography, Gobbi had notforgotten her performance: 'I cannot believe anyoneever sang that first act as Callas sang it ... I find itimpossible to describe the electrifying brilliance of thecoloratura, the beauty, the sheer magic of that soundwhich she poured out then. And with it perfect diction,colour, inflection and feeling.' Then Violetta wasperformed by sopranos whose looks may have beenfitting, like Mafalda Favero (1903-1981), or had voicesof impressive size, like Adriana Guerrini (1907-1970)and Maria Caniglia (1905-1979), or of notable quality,like Renata Tebaldi (b.1922) and Antonietta Stella(b.1929); but for singers in those days, brought up in theage of verismo, it did not matter how Sempre libera wasexecuted, few cared what key they sang it in, or hadtechnique enough to cope easily with the floridmeasures.In the course of the next three seasons Callas sangVioletta at Bergamo, Parma, Catania, Mexico City,Verona, Venice and Rome. Elisabeth Schwarzkopf wasat a performance at Parma with her husband WalterLegge, EMI's record producer. 'We ... witnessed amajor victory for Callas. As everyone knows, there is novictory in Italy like being acclaimed in Parma in a V
Tracklisting
Various Artists
Various
Various
Various
Tullio Serafin
Soloists
Soloists
Soloists
Callas
Callas,M./Metropolitan Opera
