In Memoriam : Maria Callas

[Dec.2, 1923 – Sept.16, 1977]

“J’ai perdu mon Eurydice”, Orphée et Eurydice, Gluck

Milano 1958, SAMA/SIPA

Legendary roles:

1. Norma, Bellini 89 performances from 1948 (Firenze) to 1965 (Paris) One version to own: the 1960 EMI studio recording (for Franco Corelli).

“Casta Diva”, 1955 live recording, Antonino Votto conducting

2. Violetta, La Traviata, Verdi 63 performances from 1951 (Firenze) to 1958 (Dallas) One version to own: the 1958 Lisbon live recording, Franco Ghione conducting. One version to ban at all cost: the 1955 live recording with the unbearable direction of Carlo Maria Giulini.

Maria Callas as Violetta, RUE DES ARCHIVES

3. Lucia di Lamermoor, Donizetti 46 performances from 1952 (Mexico) to 1956 (Vienna) One version to own: the 1955 live recording, Herbert Von Karajan conducting (with the sound of a plane above the opera house during the mad scene). 4. Tosca, Puccini 46 performances from 1942 (Athens) to 1965 (London) One version to own: the 1953 EMI studio recording, Victor De Sabata conducting. 5. Aïda, Verdi 33 performances from 1948 (Torino) to 1953 (Verona) One version to own: the 1955 EMI studio recording, Tullio Serafin conducting, with Tito Gobbi, Richard Tucker and Nicola Zaccaria. 6. Medea, Cherubini 31 performances from 1953 (Firenze) to 1962 (Milano) One version to own: the 1953 EMI live recording (from La Scala), Leonard Bernstein conducting. 7. Turandot, Puccini 24 performances from 1948 (Venezia) to 1949 (Buenos Aires) One version to own: the 1957 EMI studio recording, Tullio Serafin conducting the orchestra and chorus of Il Teatro alla Scala, with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Nicola Zaccaria. 8. Amina, La Sonnambula, Bellini 22 performances from 1955 (Milano) to 1957 (Edimburgh) One version to own: the 1955 EMI live recording, Leonard Bernstein conducting the orchestra and chorus of Il Teatro alla Scala. 9. Leonora, Il trovatore, Verdi 20 performances from 1950 (Mexico) to 1955 (Chicago) One version to own: the 1956 EMI studio recording, Herbert Von Karajan conducting the orchestra and chorus of Il Teatro alla Scala, with Giuseppe DiStefano, Rolando Panerai and Nicola Zaccaria. 10. Elvira, I Puritani, Bellini 16 performances from 1949 (Venezia) to 1955 (Chicago) One version to own: the 1953 EMI studio recording, Tullio Serafin conducting the orchestra and chorus of Il Teatro alla Scala, with Giuseppe DiStefano and Rolando Panerai.