A Great Recording To begin with, I will say that "Norma" is my favorite opera. I know that many opera-lovers would be surprised by that; this has never been a great favorite of the public. I have heard every studio recording (including Souliotis on LP) and quite a few "pirates". This does not make me an expert, but it does suggest that I have some familiarity with the score (which I play on the piano when I can get my friends to sing with me) and this style of singing. That said, if I could only hear one recording of "Norma", it would he this.
There is an elegance as well as authority in Callas' performance which is unique. When listening to her, you really feel that singing is as natural and normal a mode of communication as speech. This is especially true in the recitatives which are so important in this opera. Her Italian is, in the view of my Italian partner, practically perfect: clear, natural, and idiomatic. All I can say is that I really feel that I am hearing the voice of Norma, not a singer impersonating her. I know that some of you will think "another Callas fanatic", but that is not the case. I listen with a critical ear. Nor do I feel that Callas was the best in each of her roles, but as Norma, I think she is.
Clearly, there are some wobbly and hard moments on high for the diva. So what? It cannot be disputed that Sutherland, Caballe, Milanov, Cerquetti, and Ponselle have better high B's and C's: more secure, more rounded, more pleasant to hear. But Callas' uniquely supple phrasing, EXPRESSIVE and immaculate coloratura (yes, just as good as Sutherland and Sills, just in a much darker color), and singularly dark, & rich vocal color more than compensate. The subtlety of her interpretation always amazes me, despite having heard this record hundreds of times in the past 20 years.
Similarly, Serafin's conducting seems just right to me. Although it must be noted that the maestro uses the traditional Italian performing edition of the score, not the complete autograph which was first recorded by Sutherland and Bonynge in 1964 and has since become the rule.
Corelli is, to my ears, terrific. He really sounds like a very attractive man whom all the girls go for (as they do in the story!). The glorious voice rings out manfully & the words are clear as a bell. A cad, no doubt, but one whose appeal to Norma and Adalgisa is so clear.
I will say that I find Ludwig problematic. An intelligent artist with a vibrant voice, she just does not have the smoothness of production (Callas is very smooth throughout most of her range; you just have to accept the sound of her voice), ease of legato, nor facility in coloratura to be ideal in the role. Nor as the words ideally clear. Rita Gorr was slated to sing the role, but was replaced by Ludwig after having been hurt in a car accident; she would have been a disaster in my view: loud, graceless, & mature-sounding. By contrast, Ludwig sounds young and fresh, a nice contrast to the chesty, matronly mezzos who so often sing the part.
I recommend this recording over Callas's first, if you have to choose between the 2. In this role, Callas' only competition is herself, despite the many lovely and stylish performances by the likes of Cerquetti, Ponselle, Milanov, Sutherland, Caballe, Scotto, Verrett, and even Sills. Listen closely to this recording, read the words, and then sit back and soak up this wonderful performance in the best Italian tradition.
all-star cast This recording is exactly what you would expect from an all-star cast.
Owners of the Schirmer piano score, watch out for cuts from page 44 to 48, 76 to 80, and 106 to 107. The endings of bth acts are also different.
2 Callas Normas. Which to get. If you are trying to decide between the two studio recordings of Norma with Callas, I offer some advice. Get them both. The later recording is quite beautiful and better recorded. The earlier has a fresher sounding Callas but she does have more dramatic insight in that later recording. Ludwig is a nice treat in a bel-canto role. Overall, I highly recommend!
Greater Depth or Neccessary Caution? This is a strange recording for me. It features three all time favorite singers of mine, Callas, Ludwig and Corelli, and yet I had very mixed feelings about it. Some have called Callas's performance here more refined than the earlier recording and the famous live performances. I would characterize her performance as slightly cautious. Her Norma is older, wiser and a bit on the weathered side. I wonder how much of the refinement was her own sense of having to compensate for her voice which was in the final stages of decline. I expected a certain degree of the recklessness that she displayed in her second Tosca recording that was made a few years later. Here she seems to be carefully phrasing at times as to not hurt something. But, despite the vocal decline, not just the high notes but the tone, her mastery of the style and ease with which she handles the coloratura passages, is still a miraculous listening experience.
I'm glad I have the recording and the current edition is warmer than the original CD release. This was the only opportunity for Callas, Corelli and Ludwig to make a commercial recording together, and Corelli and Ludwig are wonderful, although too bad EMI was unable to get Simionatto. But if you're familiar with the earlier recording (which by the way is only available at the moment in an awful GROTC edition) and the live performances, you might miss the broad strokes, I do, but it is still a worthy listening experience. When is Callas not? Never as far as I'm concerned.
I would have loved to have rated this 5 stars, but 4 seems more appropriate. It's a fine but not a great recording.
CALLAS' ASTONISHING NORMA Well, I think there are two roles in the history of opera that after the interpretation of Maria Callas it would not be unwise to claim that they should not be performed again: Norma by Bellini (all recordings she ever made) and la Traviata by Verdi (the definition of the role lies in the London 1958 Traviata- unfortunately, her 1953 studio recording with Cetra is almost unacceptable considering how she developed the role of Violetta after 1955). Although I very rarely sit down to write a review at Amazon, after having read so much on Mme Callas, I feel it is my responsibility as a fan of this great art named opera to make the following points: a)Maria Callas was not an interpreter. She was a creator herself to be placed at the same rank as Donizzeti, Bellini and Verdi. Had it not been for her I doubt that opera would exist today and if it did it would be a sad, boring musuem exhibit. She recreated the whole of Italian Opera -not just bel canto- and modernised it in a way that will make it last for another 100 years aftet her death. I remind you that opera in the 50's meant German Opera. Italian opera before Mme Callas was something of a joke. Terribly abused by singers and a bad tradition of horrendus vocalising, the music of Italian composers had lost its drama, its sense, its meaning. b)why do people spend so much time judging the voice of this great artist? Why can they not just relax and enjoy this great artistry? No-one says that there no other great singers! But no matter how great, they are unfortunately just that:"singers". Caballe, Sutherland, Sills, Price, Fleming, Dessay all have amazing voices and great carreers. But, comparing them with a phenomenon that was for the opera what Mozart was for classical music simply does not do them justice. c)Whether we like it or not Norma is a dramatic soprano role! A very difficult one as well and it should be treated with some respect. Caballe and Sutherland, because they had these amazing voices, did manage to sing it and they sang it well. But, as they were not dramatic sopranos they conveyed a lyricism in their interpretation that simply does not suit the role and Bellini's intentions. Other attempts however (Sills and -alas- Gruberova recently)should really remain as textbook examples of how inflated egos can ridicule both theselves and a work of art. I repeat that Norma is a dramatic soprano role. In this sense the only singers that approached the Callas perfection are Elena Suliotis (Decca for reason of expediency or stupidity is not reissuing her marvellous 1968 recording with Del Monaco) and Jane Eaglen in the Sony Muti recording. The only singer that seems to have been taught by the Callas Legacy in Bel Canto is Mme Renata Scotto but she was as well inadequate as Norma and wasted much of her talent singing (for commercial reasons, I suppose) Puccini. d)Callas has been very unlucky as far as supporting cast is concerned. The 1960 Norma recording is the only exception. It features the amazing Franco Corelli. What a voice this man had! Pefect voice, perfect dramatic conviction, beautiful and clear italian diction. Can we imagine a Callas -Corelli partnership in Aida, Pirata, Manon Lescaut? e)Callas did not lose her voice even though she overworked it in the 50s. The 1964 Tosca recording is the best proof of that. But she did lose her confidence and emotional stability. This fact led her quit her carreer in 1965 and that is the real tragedy of opera. Had she managed to work as hard in the 60-68 period when all her worry was Ar. Onassis we would have been left with at least 10 amazing stereo recordings. And I say 68 because someone like Callas simply would refuse to play young soprano roles after the age of 45. She believed that opera singers are like ballet dansers or athletes (and they are!), they should retire early. Mme Sutherland had a voice till the age of 60. And so? Is it not ridiculous singing La Sonnambula at the age of 59? If Callas did that she would not be the legend she is!
This is all I wanted to note on a woman that achieved a fame in the world of opera (and beyond!!!) in a way that noone else had before and I am afraid no one else will do so in the future. People had to sleep on pavements for three days and three nights to get a ticket for this lady!
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Tony's Online Tips
Trevor
