Maria Callas: Pure

Contents

Bizet: Carmen, Act 1: “L’amour est un oiseau rebelle” (Carmen, Chorus) [Habanera] Orchestre de l’Opéra National de Paris, Choeurs Rene Duclos / Georges Prêtre

Bellini: Casta Diva (from Norma) Teatro alla Scala / Tullio Serafin

Puccini: O mio babbino caro (from Gianni Schicchi) Philharmonia Orchestra / Tullio Serafin

Catalani: Ebben? Ne andrò lontana (from La Wally) Philharmonia Orchestra / Tullio Serafin

Verdi: La traviata, Act 1 “Ah fors’e lui” (Violetta) “Sempre libera” (Violetta, Alfredo) Orchestra Sinfonica di Torino della RAI, Coro Cetra / Gabriele Santini

Puccini: Vissi d’arte (from Tosca) Teatro alla Scala / Victor de Sabata

Puccini: Un bel di vedremo (from Madama Butterfly) Teatro alla Scala / Herbert von Karajan

Giordano, U: La mamma morta (from Andrea Chénier) Philharmonia Orchestra / Tullio Serafin

Puccini: La bohème, Act 3: “Donde lieta uscì al tuo grido d’amore” (Mimì) Teatro alla Scala / Antonino Votto

Cilea: Adriana Lecouvreur, Act 1: “Ecco: respiro appena…Io son l’umile ancella” (Adriana Lecouvreur) Philharmonia Orchestra / Tullio Serafin

Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor, Act 3: “Il dolce suono … Ardon gli incensi” (Lucia, Raimondo, Normanno, Chorus) Philharmonia Orchestra, Philharmonia Chorus / Tullio Serafin Maria Callas (soprano), Renzo Casellato (tenor), Bernard Ladysz (bass)

Verdi: D’amor sull’ali rosee (from Il Trovatore) Teatro alla Scala / Herbert von Karajan

Verdi: Otello, Act 4: “Ave Maria” (Desdemona) Paris Conservatoire Orchestra / Nicola Rescigno

Rossini: Una voce poco fa (from Il barbiere di Siviglia) Philharmonia Orchestra / Alceo Galliera

Gluck: J’ai perdu mon Eurydice (from Orphée et Eurydice) Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusion Française / Georges Prêtre

Saint-Saëns: Samson et Dalila, Act 2: “Mon coeur s’ouvre à ta voix” (Dalila) Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusion Française / Georges Prêtre

Bizet: Carmen, Act 2: “Les tringles des sistres tintaient” (Camen, Frasquita, Mercédès) Orchestre de l’Opéra National de Paris / Georges Prêtre Maria Callas (soprano), Nadine Sautereau (soprano), Jane Berbié (mezzo-soprano)

Maria Callas is still regarded as the opera icon of our time – even nearly forty years after her death in 1977. This September, all Callas friends (and those who want to become Callas friends) were able to experience the legacy of the Superdiva in a new way: all of the singer’s studio recordings were made between 1949 and 1969, are released for the first time in 24-bit / 96-kHz remastering of the original tapes. The album Maria Callas – Pure offers a representative cross-section of this unique new CD complete edition. The Primadonna assoluta in an unprecedented tonal purity: these are the advantages of this album, which presents the absolute Highlights of the Callas career documented: legendary documents like Bellini’s Casta Diva from Norma – a true hymn of all Callas followers. Also the aria La mamma morta from Giordano’s opera Andrea Chénier, which became a cult hit in Maria Callas’ moving interpretation. Further highlights are excerpts from the Puccini operas Gianni Schicchi, Madame Butterfly, Tosca and La Bohème. There are also tracks dedicated to the other great Italians Verdi, Rossini and Donizetti – also Glucks Orphée et Eurydice and Saint-Saëns’ Samson et Dalila. In addition, the album contains two arias from the famous studio recording of Bizet’s Carmen – a part that Maria Callas never sang on stage.