Music Lane

It's all about the music, dude! Sit down, relax and listen to some tunes.

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Question and a point

Posted by TGR on July 23, 2012 at 08:35:06:
John - first, how did you get a UK Columbia in Sacramento? There are lots of EMI recordings I would get if I had better access to them. It is quite frustrating that we are stuck with Angel pressings here in the UK (I am talking about vinyl, of course).

Of the big four Puccini operas (Boheme, Butterfly, Tosca and Turandot) I have to confess to liking Butterfly the least. I have heard Callas sing "Un Bel Di" on a set of arias I own, but I have never heard the complete set. I own, on CD, the Barbirolli with Scotto and Bergonzi, and I bet I haven't listened to it in at least ten years. However, as you normally do, you have made me curious to hear something that I hadn't thought about.

I can easily imagine someone not loving Callas' artistry - not a classically attractive voice, at all - really 3 voices in the quality of her voice in the low, medium and high registers, and those not perfectly integrated so there is an audible break as she sings. But...she had a way to make a character come alive like no other singer I have heard. Maybe, closer to our generation, Teresa Stratas had some of that, but Callas was unique.

One of her recordings that I plump for, because it is never listed as one of the top recordings of the opera, is her Turandot, with Serafin conducting. Serafin is terrific and the La Scala orchestra plays as though their life depends on it. Fernandi, as Calaf, is just OK - he won't make you forget Bjorling, Corelli or Pavarotti, but Callas sings Turandot like no other. Most sopranos give you a one-dimensional character - Callas gives you a passionate woman, not an ice princess. When you hear her sing "In Questa Reggia" you can understand how Calaf is able to melt her heart. No other soprano, in my experience, has been able to suggest the complex nature of Turandot's personality. Try it.

With respect to her Tosca, I have never even bothered with another Tosca since hearing Callas.....I have seen the opera a few times, and yes, I have heard other recordings - even own the Davis on Pentatone...but I hear everything I need to in this recording.