2014 Maria Callas remastered series reissue. With this Abbey Road 24-bit 96kHz remaster, engineers returned to the original master tapes, bringing new clarity & brilliance to her legendary studio recordings. Callas did not make complete recordings of Donizetti's Anna Bolena and Bellini's Il Pirata, though, as the queen of La Scala, she enjoyed triumphs in both roles in 1957-1958. The vocally and dramatically demanding final scenes of both operas feature in this recital with Ophélie's mad scene from Ambroise Thomas's Hamlet, another coloratura extravaganza. When this recital first appeared in 1959, Gramophone wrote: 'This is a most remarkable record, not only for it's material, but for it's astonishing vividness and dramatic poetry, It has been a thing of much wonder for me.'
M**B
What the madness was all about!
Callas Mad ScenesWhat the madness was all about!Regarding the Callas Remastered series, in general the orchestra sounds sweeter and the voices are clearer... One has the impression of standing exactly next to the microphone... such is the brilliance with which the voice of La Divina is reproduced.The stereo Mad Scenes album has never sounded so sweet... In past CD incarnations the sound exhibited a harsh quality to the string section of the orchestra that was not exactly kind to Callas' unique vocal production either. In the new version the orchestra sounds much more natural and by extrapolation I would assume that extends to the manner in which the Callas voice is produced as well.Of all the classic Callas recital albums It is my contention that this particular set best represents the genius that was Callas. Has anyone ever sung with a more perfect sense of a legato line, articulated trills so lovingly, and created such a sense of character... and all at the same time? I doubt it... Yet listen to this disc... and especially the final scene from Anna Bolena... and it's all there. Yes, she was the consummate artist... Absolutely stunning!In summary, this album defines what made Callas so special and what the madness was all about!As a post script, it is worth noting that the disc is packaged in a cardboard sleeve with a paper insert and the disc is designed to look like miniature LP's. An insert with brief notes is included, but no libretto. The packaging takes up minimal shelf space... Not a bad thing...
G**L
Buckets o' blood and fun!
A heck of a lot of fun with opera that are only so-so to begin with! What more can you say?
J**O
Five Stars
Great CD and service. Thank you.
J**E
A Callas gem
I love this recording. It is a Callas Classic.
B**R
Five Stars
Sound is awesome. I own older CDs of the same recordings - no comparison.
A**.
I had the original vinyl of this disc and am thrilled to have this wonderful remastering.
Absolutely sensational performances. I had the original vinyl of this disc and am thrilled to have this wonderful remastering.
R**Y
J'aime Maria Callas...
... Néanmoins, j'ai nettement l'impression que je me suis facilement laissé attraper par la présentation de ce CD sur AMAZON. A mon avis, ce CD provient tout bêtement du coffret " l'intégrale des enregistrements studio de Maria Callas??!! Donc, je ne peux pas ne pas critiquer le revendeur, si attrape-nigaud il y a (?) et ce procédé que j'avais déjà à une époque signalé sur AMAZON. Erreur de ma part! Non ce CD, ne provient pas d'un coffret dépiauté, mais est bel et bien une façon de présenter le disque, autrement qu'avec ces affreux boîtiers en plastique!Autant pour moi...RG-TOMMY
H**L
La remasterisation
Le legs de Maria Callas est abondant et toutes les publications ont leur valeur, même les plus difficiles .Depuis quelqus temps, des ingénieux nous fabriquent des avatars de ces trésors.Les oeuvres ainsi rematerisées sont destinées aux oreilles sensibles et c'est un gain de l'EMOTION et de la PRESENCE.Merci aux ingénieux.
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