Maria Callas: on the 40th Anniversary of her death (16 September 1977)

[jserraglio]

Maria Callas: The Live Recordings (42CD/3BD) Live https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072MPKSJL/



- Nabucco 1949
- Parsifal 1950
- I Vespri Siciliani 1951
- Aida 1951
- Armida 1952
- Rigoletto 1952
- Norma 1952
- Macbeth 1952
- Medea 1953
- Alceste 1954
- La Vestale 1954
- Andrea Chenier 1955
- Lucia di Lamermoor 1955
- Anna Bolena 1957
- Ifgenia 1957
- Traviata 1958
- Pirata 1959
- Poliuto 1960
- Tosca 1964
+ video

Those who know the Callas recordings know that the best transfers of the live performances were issued by BJR records and they remain the best sound so far. The original tapes used for those records are now in the hands of a doctor in Brazil but Warner wanted to use them FOR FREE!!!!!!!Of course he refused so now they are using God knows what as a source and you can't turn a sows ear into a silk purse. Some may turn out OK by chance but they could have used the known very best source. Shame really.

[Lance]

I just received the set yesterday, haven't had a chance to hear anything yet, but it is a beautifully put-together set, individual booklets outlining plots and tracks, and a hardback book of "Notes" along with a set of DVDs of live concerts in Paris, Hamburg, and London. Funny, I see the price, in one day, is upword by $40 from the price I paid, $68, which is a bargain-and-a-half, and a nice sequel to the big red Warner box of EMI commercial recordings. At this point, I believe I am done collecting anything more by Callas unless it is of a non-operatic nature of which there is only one item I am aware of that is poorly recorded. A pity she did not leave us any songs, lieder or what-have-you.

[John F]

I would have thought the "original tapes" are in the archives of Radio Italiana, the original broadcaster of all these performances; if so, that would be the best source. But even if so, I doubt they would have given the tapes to Warner for free, any more than that Brazilian doctor.

[Lance]

I suppose that Radio Italiana, if they offered them to any record company back then, it would have been on the Cetra label. While I cannot recall right now, it seems some of them may have appeared on that label. But for a company the size of Warner Classics, who had the funds to secure the great EMI label among others, seems to me they could have paid handsomely for the original tapes knowing that Callas fans would ultimately make up more than the difference. As it is, this is a well-priced set. I still need time for serious listening to these operas to ascertain the sound, which, both, Warner says is the best from 'available' sources and even improved substantially in many cases. We shall see what the public critics (her fans) have to say about all this.

[barney]

Are any of these new recordings, Lance, as far as you know? by which I mean previously unreleased.
I imagine not, but it's not clear to me from the publicity.

[jserraglio]

FWIW, a YT viewer of this promo film disputes Warner's claims about the remastering quality.

It is fair to say that this remastering from the "best possible sources" is completely false advertising. I know several of the original tapes (or the copies closest to the originals) simply could not have been used for Warner's release, as these belong to Divina Records, and the inferior sourcing is completely audible. Compare the 1955 Lucia, the 1957 Ifigenia and Bolena, and the 1959 Pirata; the Warner remastering has a more constricted, less natural sound in all instances. Furthermore, the 1949 Nabucco sounds shocking compared to the Myto release. I'm glad they're paying more attention to Callas, but it seems that it is for all the wrong reasons: not for the preservation of her art, but instead for profit without delivering good product.