Tag: Vincenzo Bellini
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Very Best of Maria Callas
Maria Callas was the first true “jet age” diva. She was not only a great singer but a charismatic stage actress in operatic roles. Her headline-making, tempestuous life – including romantic entanglements with tenor Giuseppe Di Stefano and shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis and feuds with opera house managers – was often as dramatic as the…
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Maria Callas sings Bel Canto
“Mention the words bel canto (literally ‘beautiful singing’) to most opera lovers and they will think of the works of Rossini, Donizetti and Bellini ….when Callas was asked by Serafin to sing Elvira Puritani, her career achieved some stability as it led to a period of coaching in bel canto roles, and she made house…
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Soprano Assoluta
these are all very beautiful performances, which at times achieve a rapt inner quality… the big Sonnambula aria is exquisitely done… Freni manages what I call a ‘smiling tone–colour’ for O mio babbino caro and Suzels’ delightful aria from Amico Fritz is sung with charming effect and everywhere she takes special care over dynamic control.…
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Maria Callas sings Verdi Arias & Mad Scenes
(Verdi): “the great diva at her finest….the vividness of characterisation as well as the musical imagination….sad that Callas did not record MacBeth complete”(Mad Scenes) “this is the record which more than any other as Desmond Shawe-Taylor suggested, summed up the essence of Callas’ genius” (Penguin Guide 3 stars)
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Art of the Prima Donna
First released by Decca in 1960 as a two LP set, “The Art of the Prima Donna” created a sensation among critics and opera fans, brought soprano Joan Sutherland an international following, and became one of the best-selling opera recordings of all time. The young Sutherland took on some of the most difficult coloratura soprano…
