Maria Callas - La Divina torrent

If you want to know the reason behind all the fuss about Maria Callas, buy this CD. Callas's great gift was not purity of tone or emission, reliability, or sheer loveliness; it was, rather, her ability to change her vocal color and style to suit not only particular periods of opera but to get under the skin of the individual characters she portrayed. Here you will hear the 18-year-old Butterfly imagining the return of her beloved; the sultry, adult Carmen seducing all around her; the youthful Wally telling her cruel father that she will go off into the cold wilderness rather than give up her boyfriend; the sly Rosina planning to outfox her guardian; the priestess Norma performing a sacred rite; Dalila wrapping Samson around her little finger and more; Gioconda contemplating suicide when all hope is gone; Gilda recalling the name of the boy she's just fallen for; and the icy princess Turandot reliving the rape of her ancestor and swearing that no man will possess her. And you'll believe them all. At times Callas's vocalism is a bit wiry (Juliette sounds stressed, for instance); but, in all, this is like a visit with 16 women, all of them interesting, and all of them great singers!


Track Listing

1. Madama Butterfly: Un bel di vedremo
2. Carmen: L'amour est un oiseau rebelle (Habanera)
3. La Wally: Ebben? ne andrò lontana
4. Una voce poco fa from Il Barbiere di Siviglia
5. Norma: Casta diva
6. Samson et Dalila: Mon coeur s'ouvre à ta voix
7. Rigoletto: Caro nome
8. La Traviata: Sempre libera
9. Roméo et Juliette: Je veux vivre (Waltz)
10. La Bohème: Si. Mi Chiamano Mimì
11. Don Giovanni: Mi tradì quell' alma ingrata
12. Cavalleria Rusticana: Voi lo sapete, o mamma
13. La Gioconda: Suicidio!
14. Gianni Schicchi: O mio babbino caro
15. Turandot: In questa Reggia
16. Tosca: Vissi d'arte



--eixman