Maria Callas

Started by knight66, May 08, 2007, 06:16:02 AM

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Lilas Pastia

Quote from: James on September 22, 2008, 09:29:03 AM
"most of Mozart's music is dull." - Maria Callas

Quote marks are not enough. Source, please.

Lilas Pastia

QuoteAnd this, from Maria Callas (who should have known better): "Most of Mozart's music is dull."

Quotation marks again. No source.

Tsaraslondon

Whether or not that quote is directly attributable to Callas, her singing of Mozart certainly wasn't dull

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=eMXX2A5pIac


Interestingly enough Callas was La Scala's first ever Kostanze.


\"A beautiful voice is not enough.\" Maria Callas

Lilas Pastia

#203
I'm not disputing that Callas *may* have said that.  But that flies in the face of the many performances she gave early in her carreer of Konstanze, Elvira and Anna. Prima donna assoluta, she could have chosen to sing the national anthem or the phone book if she so wanted.

As any good singer, she knew whether or not a mozartian role suited her - none of them did IMO. But neither did it suit Flagstad, Tebaldi, Olivero, Caballé, Sutherland, Milanov or Nilsson (with the occasional exception, such as Caballé's Fiordiligi or Nilsson's or Sutherland's Anna).

But that's not the point. Again, she *may* have said that. But Callas biographies have become a cottage industry, so I'm not sure googling will provide the answer. More often than not Google will lead us to a relevant article, but if it's quoting someone who's quoting someone, we stray from the actual source and the alleged facts become rather suspect. I notice also that 'googling it' produces a couple of different 'quotes'.

Note, too, that Callas was an accomplished pianist. She may have ben thinking of all those 'sonate facile' that piano students have to go through to earn their grades.... In any case, dullness is certainly not something we can associate with Callas' singing of the fearsome Konstanze aria !

Sarastro

Well, what even if she said this? For us, she is, first of all, a singer, so, please, set aside her personal preferences and let's discuss her Art instead. What if she didn't like eggplants? Could she not have her opinions and preferences, is she denied to? I just don't get the point of posting this "quote" in the thread. It is just like coming to the Karajan thread and saying: "Hey, Karajan didn't like Rembrandt." Absolutely non-contributing remark.

Personally, I heard from singers that Mozart's music is good for the voice's "hygiene" (how they call it), but it is "dull" compared to highly dramatic Verdi or Puccini. ;) Besides, the musical structure of classical (i.e. written in the Classicism period which favored restraint) works is itself an argument for being dull for a passionate person.

Wendell_E

#205
Quote from: Lilas Pastia on September 23, 2008, 08:23:53 PM
I'm not disputing that Callas *may* have said that.  But that flies in the face of the many performances she gave early in her carreer of Konstanze, Elvira and Anna.

???  Konstanze was her only Mozart role.  But even if she believed his music was dull, I don't see what it matters.  No one's right about everything.   ;D
"Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience." ― Mark Twain

Lilas Pastia

Sorry, that was not clear. She sang arias from Elvira and Anna. Both late and early in her carreer. I was not aware she had sung Konstanze on the stage though. I thought it was only Martern aller Arten in recitals.

Wendell_E

Quote from: Lilas Pastia on September 24, 2008, 06:57:50 AM
I was not aware she had sung Konstanze on the stage though. I thought it was only Martern aller Arten in recitals.

Just four performances at La Scala (in Italian):  April 2, 5, 7, and 9, 1952.  Unfortunately, no recording.
"Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience." ― Mark Twain

Lilas Pastia

OK, thanks !

BTW I should have referred to her recordings of Constanze's Tutte le torture :D.

The Don Giovanni arias she recorded were Non mi dir (Anna) which was her EMI test recording (1953?) and she went back to it later in her carreer. She also sang Or sai chi l'onore and In quali eccessi (Elvira) in the sixties (at least on record - I'm not sure about recitals).

Tsaraslondon

Quote from: Lilas Pastia on September 25, 2008, 06:55:57 PM
OK, thanks !

BTW I should have referred to her recordings of Constanze's Tutte le torture :D.



I've already posted a youtube link to the recording above.

\"A beautiful voice is not enough.\" Maria Callas

Sarastro

Just got Nabucco; the sound quality is poor, Callas is terrific, so is Bechi.

Tsaraslondon

Quote from: Sarastro on October 09, 2008, 11:10:17 PM
Just got Nabucco; the sound quality is poor, Callas is terrific, so is Bechi.

Yes it's a shame about the sound, but you are right Callas and Bechi are terrific, their duet being a particular high point, Callas sweeping up to a ringing Eb in alt before Bechi joins her on a top Ab. Of course opera is not all about top notes, but it's undeniably exciting.

\"A beautiful voice is not enough.\" Maria Callas

Sarastro

What about Lady Macbeth? Indeed threatening; the role is dominated by Callas. I usually do not like to write extensively about great interpretations...there is nothing to add - just listen and enjoy the glory of Opera. The public there seems to be raptured to their hairtips. I wish I were there.

rubio

Quote from: Tsaraslondon on September 25, 2007, 04:37:50 AM
For anyone interested in this thread or anyone just getting the Callas bug, EMI have just released a 70 disc set of all Callas's studio recordings, including those she did for Cetra. HMV in Oxford Street are selling this for a ludicrously cheap £70, which works out at £1 per disc. It certainly cost me an awful lot more to collect all these sets!



This Callas box for 30 Euro from Amazon France must be an amazing offer even if the Euro is strong! :o

http://www.amazon.fr/Maria-Callas-LInt%C3%A9grale-enregistrements-1949-1969/dp/B000TIO4Z0/ref=reg_hu-wl_list-recs
"One good thing about music, when it hits- you feel no pain" Bob Marley

Tsaraslondon

Quote from: rubio on January 12, 2009, 11:49:46 AM
This Callas box for 30 Euro from Amazon France must be an amazing offer even if the Euro is strong! :o

http://www.amazon.fr/Maria-Callas-LInt%C3%A9grale-enregistrements-1949-1969/dp/B000TIO4Z0/ref=reg_hu-wl_list-recs

That's a fantastic bargain! I almost feel like getting them all over again.

\"A beautiful voice is not enough.\" Maria Callas

Lilas Pastia

It is so ordered.  :D

In order to get free shipping I sent it to Belle-Maman in Belgium. She's coming here next September. It'll be a while, but it's really worth it.

Sarastro

Quote from: Lilas Pastia on September 25, 2008, 06:55:57 PM
BTW I should have referred to her recordings of Constanze's Tutte le torture :D.

I was quite cautious about her Mozart (after those Elvira and Anna's arias in the recital), and never listened to this single aria Tutte le torture (which Tsaraslondon posted the link to)...until right now....and I really liked it. Just flawless.

Tsaraslondon

Quote from: Sarastro on March 20, 2009, 12:28:29 AM
I was quite cautious about her Mozart (after those Elvira and Anna's arias in the recital), and never listened to this single aria Tutte le torture (which Tsaraslondon posted the link to)...until right now....and I really liked it. Just flawless.

This 1953 test recording of Donna Anna's Non mi dir is also superb. Note the prodigious breath control and impeccable legato line. There is no doubt that, in her hey day, she could have sung Donna Anna.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyxmsIc6Gf0

\"A beautiful voice is not enough.\" Maria Callas

matti

#218
Quote from: Tsaraslondon on March 20, 2009, 02:09:57 AM
Note the prodigious breath control and impeccable legato line.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyxmsIc6Gf0



Ok, but don't you think she's painfully flat? I adore Callas in general, but this one was far from top-notch.


Tsaraslondon

Quote from: matti on March 20, 2009, 05:35:26 AM
Ok, but don't you think she's painfully flat? I adore Callas in general, but this one was far from top-notch.



Actually no I don't. Maybe it's the youtube compression. I have this recording on CD and she doesn't sound flat at all. And, if anything, Callas was a singer who tended to sing on the sharp side of the note, rather than the flat side. We all hear voices differently of course. Jessye Norman often seems flat to me. Ditto Regine Crespin.

\"A beautiful voice is not enough.\" Maria Callas