CD-Charts Position 1
Average Rating:

The Very Best of Maria Callas

by: Maria Callas

Release Date February 12, 2002
I grew up on opera but not on Maria Callas. Joan Sutherland, Schwartzkoff, Victoria Los Angeles, and Mady Mesple (to name a few) crowded the airwaves of our home growing up. I had heard that Maria Callas was THE Diva of opera and bought one of her obscure recordings from a low budget bin while in Paris 10 years ago. It didn't impress me that much. Perhaps it was recorded during her voice decline. I could certainly tell she had a powerhouse voice but many of those arias were unknown to me and I didn't connect all that well with the CD.

After reading some of these reviews I decided to give her one more chance. Surely 50 million opera fans can't be all wrong! So I bought this disc and listened to it the other day. There are plenty ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 2
Average Rating:

Puccini: Madama Butterfly (complete opera) with Maria Callas, Lucia Danieli, Nicolai Gedda, Herbert von Karajan, Chorus & Orchestra of La Scala, Milan

from: EMI Classics

Release Date August 19, 1997
While working on the PARALLEL PERSPECTIVES Archives page, I started thinking about Maria Callas & her rather bizarre, non-singing role in the equally bizarre 1970's Pier Passolini film MEDEA--and noticed this CD of Puccini's MADAMA BUTTERFLY. I must admit that I was kind of turned-off to see that the CD was remastered from the original non-sterophonic LP (there's just so much even digital technology can do in salvaging pre-stereo operatic recordings) and I really only purchased it because I was curious hear Callas in one of her less notable roles (unbelievably there were only 3 performances).

I was pleasantly surprised to find myself really enjoying the entire production.

Of course director Herbert Von Karajan is ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 3
Average Rating:

Bizet: Carmen (complete opera) with Maria Callas, Nicolai Gedda, Georges Pretre, Paris Opera Orchestra

by: Georges Bizet, Maria Callas, Nicolai Gedda, Georges Prêtre, Orchestre de Théâtre National de l'Opéra de Paris, Choeurs René Duclos, Robert Massard, Jane Berbié, Andrea Guiot, Claude Cales

Release Date August 19, 1997
I was looking for this play quite long ago, and finally I found it right at Amazon.

CD-Charts Position 4
Average Rating:

Verdi: La Traviata (complete opera live 1955) with Maria Callas, Giuseppe di Stefano, Carlo Maria Giulini, Orchestra & Chorus of La Scala, Milan

by: Giuseppe Verdi, Orchestra e coro del Teatro alla Scala, Carlo Maria Giulini, Maria Callas, Giuseppe di Stefano, Ettore Bastianini, Silvio Maionica, Luisa Mandelli, Arturo La Porta

Release Date March 17, 1998
No one should consider doing a performance of Traviata without checking in with this recording first. The Callas interpretation is riveting with detail and color that stands alone. Di Stefano is young, exciting, and half crazed a great match for Callas. Bastianini is on the same level with the best of them. This is a recording you can listen to from beginning to end without boredom.
The traditional cuts are welcomed. Had Verdi composed this work 20 years later there would have been no excess. I think the cuts add focus to this masterpiece by trimming the fat. And remember this is from the mid 1950s and live. Leave the sound alone. A nice complete recording, if it exists, with Magda Olivero could have been a second choice.

CD-Charts Position 5
Average Rating:

The Best Opera Album in the World...Ever!

from: Angel Records

Release Date July 27, 1999
I'm not opera literate, so I was looking for some kind of introduction that had some familiar arias and that would connect me to others that I had not heard. I liked that the notes with the cd indicated where a new listener may have heard some of the music (in a commercial, during an important scene in a movie, etc). This was the source of a lot of 'Ah ha!' moments. It even inspired me to rent a dvd of a live version of Turandot and to put others on my Netflix queue. I owe my newly aroused curiosity about opera, believe it or not, to Il Divo. I had to know what these guys sing when they're not reinterpreting pop songs. I'm glad I started this journey and this cd was a good start.

CD-Charts Position 6
Average Rating:

Puccini: Tosca (complete opera) with Maria Callas, Giuseppe di Stefano, Tito Gobbi, Victor de Sabata, Chorus & Orchestra of La Scala, Milan

by: Giacomo Puccini, Victor De Sabata, Maria Callas, Giuseppe di Stefano, Tito Gobbi, Orchestra e Coro del Teatro alla Scala

Release Date August 19, 1997
This is much more than the best opera recording ever: it is the true expression of perfection.

CD-Charts Position 7
Average Rating:

Puccini: Tosca (1953) with Callas, di Stefano, Gobbi, cond. by de Sabata

from: EMI Classics

Release Date December 02, 2003
...if you are, and don't want to be offended/mad, stop here [but note the five stars]. Blessed with massive God-given talent, she had a defective technique that she wouldn't change, made bad casting decisions, and ruined her voice at a young age. Difficult to the point of being unprofessional, rude to fans and colleagues alike [What does a performer owe the fans? Ted Williams said he only owed his base hits, but he sure owed that. A singer at least owes showing up, and hitting the right notes], she was a terror. She got some bad cards in the game of life, but dealt a lot of them to herself. But. But. Sometimes the stars line up just right....this is the Tosca for the ages, and MAYBE the greatest complete recording of an opera ever made. Listen to Callas' ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 8
Average Rating:

Bellini: La Sonnambula (complete opera live 1955) with Maria Callas, Giuseppe Modesti, Leonard Bernstein, Chorus & Orchestra of La Scala, Milan

by: Maria Callas, Bellini, Lsc, Bernstein

Release Date November 05, 2002
1) Opera took years to "grow" on me.
2) I became an opera addict. Fullblown.
3) I "got" Callas.

You who know,
know what I'm talkin' 'bout.

Like everbody, at first, her voice freaked me out a bit.

Of course, I got over that as I came to understand the "big picture".

Maria's soul pours through once again in this [grazie addio] performance of La Sonnambula.

I have great respect for Mr. Bernstein and everybody else who worked on this beautiful performance.

However, it's all about Maria.

A friend of mine, not a real opera fan, but 100% Italian, whom I've introduced to "La Divina", remarked that once you hear Maria sing certain arias, you can't really listen ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 9
Average Rating:

Verdi: Rigoletto (Complete Opera); Maria Callas; Tito Gobbi; Giuseppe di Stefano

by: Giuseppe di Stefano, Nicola Zaccaria, Adriana Lazzarini, Giuse Gerbino, Tullio Serafin, Chorus & Orchestra of the La Scala Theatre - Milan

Release Date August 19, 1997
It is an old recording, however to listen to Di Stefano and Gobbi is worth it.

CD-Charts Position 10
Average Rating:

Aria: A Passion for Opera

from: EMI Classics

Release Date February 15, 1994
This is a limited number of arias of the possible repetoir of opera. It is, however, a magnificent collection. It is worth all the time to listen.