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Best way into Maria Callas box set?

217.44.63.29

I'm a complete novice when it comes to opera and classical music, and I have inherited a few CDs from a relative which includes an enormous 70CD set of 'The Complete Studio Recordings of Maria Callas'. When I first listened to jazz music, I was almost put off it completely at the time because I hadn't found what I consider to be my way into the genre (I rectified this after a few years), and I don't want to do the same with classical and opera too.

Can anyone who has this EMI box set, or who is familiar with the contents, suggest a starting point for someone who hasn't heard any of the music before but who wants to learn a bit more about it?

Many thanks.

Follow Ups:

Not every one will love her voice, but... - TGR 13:51:41 06/29/09 (0)
Or voices, since Callas had distinct low, medium and high registers in her voice. Not sure you could call hers a great voice, in a traditional way, but she could become a character like no other singer in my experience. I was exposed to her firs by some highlights from various operas and then the de Sabata Tosca.

Di Stefano was a great partner for her but it is a shame that she never recorded with Bjorling, my own favorite spinto tenor from that period.
Funny you mention her - mishmashmusic 12:31:39 06/29/09 (1)
I have been wanting to sample her work after recently seeing the Tony Palmer documentary "Callas" on DVD... I've run into a few of her LPs, but like you, I'm not sure where to start.
- RE: Funny you mention her - falidaho@hotmail.com 19:54:08 07/04/09 (0)
  seeing her sing is a unique and pleasurable experience (her showmanship was as stunning as her voice) :), Chuck
  always shoot from the hip
Aida, La Boheme. And.... will no one but I champion the tenor Carlo Bergonzi? nt - tinear 08:55:23 06/29/09 (5)
d
- RE: Aida, La Boheme. And.... will no one but I champion the tenor Carlo Bergonzi? nt - Brian Cheney 11:25:15 06/29/09 (4)
  Bergonzi needs no champion here. He was one of the great voices of his era, with a long career.
  
  Smooth, elegant, stylish, Bergonzi was a lyric tenor who could present a credible Radames in his youth. I heard him live several times during the 1960's and loved every note.
  
  Try the Pinkerton under Barbirolli for a prime example of his art.
  - I have several of his major opera recording: you heard him live? LIVE? Lucky, lucky fellow. nt - tinear 09:28:14 06/30/09 (3)
    d
    - That's why I'm here, to rub it in...(nt) - Brian Cheney 10:33:42 06/30/09 (2)
      nt
      - You made me scream like that last one from Don Giovanni, "Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....." nt - tinear 08:54:51 07/02/09 (1)
        
        In Reply to: RE: That's why I'm here, to rub it in...(nt) posted by Brian Cheney on June 30, 2009 at 10:33:42
        
        d
        
        RE: You made me scream like that last one from Don Giovanni, "Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....." nt - Brian Cheney 14:08:45 07/02/09 (0)
        
        In Reply to: RE: You made me scream like that last one from Don Giovanni, "Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....." nt posted by tinear on July 02, 2009 at 08:54:51
        
        Speaking of the "Don", I can thank BRO for selling me ($8 plus shipping) the 1942 Met Don with Pinza and Kipnis under Walter.
        
        Eight great singers, a conductor on fire, dire wartime circumstances, everyone sings and plays like their lives depend on it. Pinza is the only Don worth listening to IMHO (and that includes the young Siepi and John Brownlee).
        
        Check it out.
Rigoletto & Lucia di Lammermoor - Bob Stern 00:11:01 06/29/09 (1)
Tosca is her most famous recording, but two other superb operas in that set are Verdi's Rigoletto and Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor. Both include two stupendous singers whom Callas often recorded with: baritone Tito Gobbi and tenor Giuseppi di Stefano.

I particularly recommend Rigoletto as an introduction to Verdi, the greatest of all Italian opera composers. If you develop a taste for Verdi, I suggest you explore Leontyne Price's recordings on RCA.
- Rigoletto - jazz1 01:44:55 06/29/09 (0)
  As a start I would strongly recomend Rigoletto, so many beautiful arias
  and the icing on the cake is De Steffano and Gobbi.
  De nSteffano is still my favorite tenor.
second Tosca - Magpie 15:22:53 06/28/09 (1)
And you may also want to play Aida and the second disk of La Sonnambula
- RE: second Tosca - graciouslee 00:07:24 06/29/09 (0)
  Thanks for the suggestions. I've give the Tosca set a listen a bit later on today.
Tosca. (NT) - Kal Rubinson 10:57:10 06/28/09 (2)
- RE: Tosca - the De Sabata one!!! - Luciano,IT 03:12:52 06/29/09 (1)
  I assume you have two Tosca in the box. The former - mono, in excellent sound yet - under De Sabata, is the one all of us are (presumably) hinting at. The latter is a much weaker stereo remake under Pretre (if I recall correctly).
  
  The same applies also to other operas. For instance for Traviata you will again have an earlier mono recording (recorded in Turin with the RAI forces) which, albeit far from perfect, is a good testimony to Callas in her prime.
  
  L.
  - BRO has the De Sabata / Callas Tosca. . . - Chris from Lafayette 08:39:46 06/29/09 (0)
    . . . on one of those funky EMI DVD's which is mostly audio but which has the Royal Opera House video except from Act II (with Callas and Gobbi). But this disc is not a DVD-Audio, so you don't need a special player to play it (just a regular DVD player). The reason I mention this is that the audio portion (i.e., the De Sabata recording) is 16/48, rather than 16/44.1 (if that tiny bit of sampling rate extension means anything!). I've got it, it sounds good, and it was cheap ($7.99)! The BRO code is 130008.
    EDIT: And I forgot to mention - it's all on one disc!
    
    Edits: 06/29/09

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