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1.The Very Best of Maria Callas by: Maria Callas February 12, 2002
Average Rating: >>More Details		List Price: $16.98 Off The Bookshelf's Price: $9.97 You Save: $7.01 (41%) Prices subject to change. Used Price: $6.06
I grew up on opera but not on Maria Callas. Joan Sutherland, Schwartzkoff, Victoria Los Angeles, and Mady Mesple (to name a few) crowded the airwaves of our home growing up. I had heard that Maria Callas was THE Diva of opera and bought one of her obscure recordings from a low budget bin while in Paris 10 years ago. It didn't impress me that much. Perhaps it was recorded during her voice decline. I could certainly tell she had a powerhouse voice but many of those arias were unknown to me and I didn't connect all that well with the CD. After reading some of these reviews I decided to give her one more chance. Surely 50 million opera fans can't be all wrong! So I bought this disc and listened to it the other day. There are plenty of pieces to listen to and her voice is a force to ... Read More

2.Bizet: Carmen (complete opera) with Maria Callas, Nicolai Gedda, Georges Pretre, Paris Opera Orchestra by: Georges Bizet, Maria Callas, Nicolai Gedda, Georges Prêtre, Orchestre de Théâtre National de l'Opéra de Paris, Choeurs René Duclos, Robert Massard, Jane Berbié, Andrea Guiot, Claude Cales August 19, 1997
Average Rating: >>More Details		List Price: $32.98 Off The Bookshelf's Price: $22.97 You Save: $10.01 (30%) Prices subject to change. Used Price: $25.77
I was looking for this play quite long ago, and finally I found it right at Amazon.

3.Puccini: Madama Butterfly (complete opera) with Maria Callas, Lucia Danieli, Nicolai Gedda, Herbert von Karajan, Chorus & Orchestra of La Scala, Milan from: EMI Classics August 19, 1997
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While working on the PARALLEL PERSPECTIVES Archives page, I started thinking about Maria Callas & her rather bizarre, non-singing role in the equally bizarre 1970's Pier Passolini film MEDEA--and noticed this CD of Puccini's MADAMA BUTTERFLY. I must admit that I was kind of turned-off to see that the CD was remastered from the original non-sterophonic LP (there's just so much even digital technology can do in salvaging pre-stereo operatic recordings) and I really only purchased it because I was curious hear Callas in one of her less notable roles (unbelievably there were only 3 performances). I was pleasantly surprised to find myself really enjoying the entire production. Of course director Herbert Von Karajan is a famous talent in his own right and tenor Nicolai ... Read More

4.Bellini: La Sonnambula (complete opera live 1955) with Maria Callas, Giuseppe Modesti, Leonard Bernstein, Chorus & Orchestra of La Scala, Milan by: Maria Callas, Bellini, Lsc, Bernstein November 05, 2002
Average Rating: >>More Details		List Price: $23.98 Off The Bookshelf's Price: $15.97 You Save: $8.01 (33%) Prices subject to change. Used Price:
1) Opera took years to "grow" on me. 2) I became an opera addict. Fullblown. 3) I "got" Callas. You who know, know what I'm talkin' 'bout. Like everbody, at first, her voice freaked me out a bit. Of course, I got over that as I came to understand the "big picture". Maria's soul pours through once again in this [grazie addio] performance of La Sonnambula. I have great respect for Mr. Bernstein and everybody else who worked on this beautiful performance. However, it's all about Maria. A friend of mine, not a real opera fan, but 100% Italian, whom I've introduced to "La Divina", remarked that once you hear Maria sing certain arias, you can't really listen to anybody else's version, no matter how ... Read More

5.Puccini: Tosca (complete opera) with Maria Callas, Giuseppe di Stefano, Tito Gobbi, Victor de Sabata, Chorus & Orchestra of La Scala, Milan by: Giacomo Puccini, Victor De Sabata, Maria Callas, Giuseppe di Stefano, Tito Gobbi, Orchestra e Coro del Teatro alla Scala August 19, 1997
Average Rating: >>More Details		List Price: $32.98 Off The Bookshelf's Price: $22.97 You Save: $10.01 (30%) Prices subject to change. Used Price: $4.48
For me this is the Tosca to get. In my view, no one comes close to the passion of Callas. Everything else is right too. Will probably never be done better. And this is a 1953 recording.

6.Verdi: La Traviata (complete opera live 1955) with Maria Callas, Giuseppe di Stefano, Carlo Maria Giulini, Orchestra & Chorus of La Scala, Milan by: Giuseppe Verdi, Orchestra e coro del Teatro alla Scala, Carlo Maria Giulini, Maria Callas, Giuseppe di Stefano, Ettore Bastianini, Silvio Maionica, Luisa Mandelli, Arturo La Porta March 17, 1998
Average Rating: >>More Details		List Price: $21.98 Off The Bookshelf's Price: $14.97 You Save: $7.01 (32%) Prices subject to change. Used Price: $11.87
Along with Armeda, Anna Bolena, here is a jewel from the past. Maria is wonderful. The supporting cast was very good for the time, but what a difference today with standards and supportive artists better and better rehearsed.

7.Puccini: Tosca (1953) with Callas, di Stefano, Gobbi, cond. by de Sabata from: EMI Classics December 02, 2003
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...if you are, and don't want to be offended/mad, stop here [but note the five stars]. Blessed with massive God-given talent, she had a defective technique that she wouldn't change, made bad casting decisions, and ruined her voice at a young age. Difficult to the point of being unprofessional, rude to fans and colleagues alike [What does a performer owe the fans? Ted Williams said he only owed his base hits, but he sure owed that. A singer at least owes showing up, and hitting the right notes], she was a terror. She got some bad cards in the game of life, but dealt a lot of them to herself. But. But. Sometimes the stars line up just right....this is the Tosca for the ages, and MAYBE the greatest complete recording of an opera ever made. Listen to Callas' "Vissi d'arte"...listen when she kills Scarpia, and later, ... Read More

8.Bellini - Norma / Maria Callas, Ludwig, Corelli, Zaccaria, Teatro alla Scala, Serafin by: Vincenzo Bellini, Tullio Serafin, Maria Callas, Christa Ludwig, Franco Corelli, Nicola Zaccaria, Piero de Palma March 17, 1998
Average Rating: >>More Details		List Price: $32.98 Off The Bookshelf's Price: $22.97 You Save: $10.01 (30%) Prices subject to change. Used Price: $12.08
There is not much more that can be said about this recording. It is one of the finest performances on CD. The pairing of Callas and Corelli is one for the ages and results in a performance that will not be bettered. The other singers, especially Christa Ludwig, all add to the magnificence of the proceedings. Tullio Serafin directs it all demonstrating his great knowledge and experience with the score and his performers. Norma is one of most dramatic operas in the literature and Callas and Corelli are inspired playing off of each other in their roles. Although an older recording, the sound is excellent. This is opera at its best.

9.Puccini: La Boheme (complete opera) with Maria Callas, Giuseppe di Stefano, Anna Moffo, Antonino Votto, Chorus & Orchestra of La Scala, Milan by: Giacomo Puccini August 19, 1997
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Although I grew up with many of M.Callas recordings, it wasn't until very recently that I listened in full to her Mimi, a role she never sang onstage, unfortunately, and only learned for this recording. There are many really wonderful recordings and performances of this popular opera and of this sweet and touching character, the tragic seamstress who falls in love with the poet Rodolpho, one of Puccini's most endearing characters, Mimi. In the last act, as Mimi is fading and her voice lovingly speaks to her friends gathered around her, I found myself weeping just by the sheer sweetness and love Callas had found to express this endearing character. She got me! Who would have known that this great singing actress who had sung Wagner, Bellini, Verdi, great dramatic roles around the world, could scale her voice ... Read More

10.The Best Opera Album in the World...Ever! from: Angel Records July 27, 1999
Average Rating: >>More Details		List Price: $18.98 Off The Bookshelf's Price: $14.99 You Save: $3.99 (21%) Prices subject to change. Used Price: $3.35
I'm not opera literate, so I was looking for some kind of introduction that had some familiar arias and that would connect me to others that I had not heard. I liked that the notes with the cd indicated where a new listener may have heard some of the music (in a commercial, during an important scene in a movie, etc). This was the source of a lot of 'Ah ha!' moments. It even inspired me to rent a dvd of a live version of Turandot and to put others on my Netflix queue. I owe my newly aroused curiosity about opera, believe it or not, to Il Divo. I had to know what these guys sing when they're not reinterpreting pop songs. I'm glad I started this journey and this cd was a good start.

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