New Callas CD... Remastered Callas Classic

[whipped guy]

Pablo Berruti of Divina Records in Argentina has just released a new digital re-mastering of the justly famous La Scala production of Donizetti’s Anna Bolena from April 14, 1957 featuring Maria Callas and Giulietta Simionato as conducted by Gianandrea Gavazzeni. This performance has always been considered one of the high-water marks in the Callas career. This particular release is based on the original open reel master tapes used by BJR Records for their LP release… and that version has always been considered to be the best account of this Callas classic. Since the authorized EMI commercial release of this performance is a complete disaster as regards sound quality, and that is the version that many collectors have purchased, Divina Record’s new version is of great importance.

 

Not having the EMI for comparison, I immediately compared it with my copy of the Melodram CD release from 1987. While the basic quality of the sound is similar... Divina’s edition possesses a certain indescribable clarity as opposed to the slightly more diffuse sound of the Melodram version. As a result many details are heard much more clearly in the Divina incarnation... Even the applause seems more realistic as one can almost hear individual handclaps as opposed to a more muddled presentation via the Melodram release. However, the most important difference concerns the pitch of the Divina version which plays at a slightly higher level. As a result the Callas voice sounds much steadier and more in focus, if a bit brighter and leaner... and consequently more in tune with how the voice sounds on other more or less contemporaneous recordings. The same can be said for how Simionato's voice presents itself as well. As a result, Gavazenni's tempi have a bit more thrust to them... and this is quite evident in the the cabaletta to Percy's aria and the Stretta to the Act One finale.... not to mention that of Act Two as well.

 

That brings me to the enhanced CD data track on the first CD... My God... what a wonderful collection of photographs! This has always been my favorite of the Luchino Visconti productions featuring Callas and to be able to revel in all the details is indeed quite incredible... That alone is worth the price of admission!!! Not only do you get copious photos of the production itself, but rehearsal and post performance photographs as well. Callas has never looked more ravishing… There is even a scan of the original program, playbill, and contemporary reviews.

 

If you are a Callas groupie this release is de rigueur!

 

www.divinarecords.com

[Guest Chicagokok]

I have not gotten this release yet, but I do have the BJR LP, and I also have the EMI CD. There is no comparison as far as sound goes--the EMI is a disaster, and the LP is just a joy. I also picked up another LP of the Bolena, this time on Cetra, at a used record sale. The Cetra LP sound is quite muffled compared to BJR. But it did have a nice insert!

 

I was recently able to acquire 12 out of the 15 or 16 Callas BJR releases, and they all are superior to whatever has been produced on CD to this point. The real revelation, for me, was the Berlin Lucia. The CD versions I have heard have the mad scene marred by distortion, but on the LP there is barely anything a miss. And it almost seems like the singers are in the room with you. If you can find it, get it!

[whipped guy]

B J R and Divina

 

I have not gotten this release yet, but I do have the BJR LP, and I also have the EMI CD. There is no comparison as far as sound goes--the EMI is a disaster, and the LP is just a joy... Callas BJR releases, and they all are superior to whatever has been produced on CD to this point. The real revelation, for me, was the Berlin Lucia. The CD versions I have heard have the mad scene marred by distortion, but on the LP there is barely anything a miss. And it almost seems like the singers are in the room with you. If you can find it, get it!

 

I have a number of versions of the Berlin Lucia and all have distortion in the Mad scene. It will be interesting to see what happens when the BJR version is released on CD by Divina Records as it is the policy of Divina Records not to filter anything out that would affect the overall quality of sound. Unless of course the BJR master tape is from a different source.

 

Along those lines, I must must warn prospective buyers that the only drawback to the Divina Anna Bolena concerns the radio interference that occurs midway through Simionato's last act cabaletta and continues through a portion of the final scene. It is evident in all versions of this performance, but is usually filtered out much to the detriment of the overall sonic picture. It is actually more noticeable in the Divina release. However, so much additional detail is evident in the sonic spectrum that it is a small price to pay for revealing the finer points present in the master tape.

 

As for the EMI release of Anna Bolena, I purchased it and returned it as being defective... I could not believe that a company of the size and scope of EMI could be so incompetent as regards issuing materls of the of person who is most likely their most famous artist... unbelievable indeed!

 

Incidentally, the entire BJR catalog of master tapes of Callas materials has been given to Pablo at Divina Records... and he plans to eventually release all of them on CD. Having removed my turntable long ago I eagerly await their appearance on CD.

[Guest Chicagokok]

Radio interference midway through the second Act cabaletta? I cannot recall hearing this on the LP. I will check it when I get home tonight, and report back. But I do agree with you that the BJR releases didn't filter any of the original tape hiss sound, because that does affect the quality of upper frequency noise on the recording.

 

As for EMI and their releases (the second batch is even worse than the first), I think Callas' sister had something to do with this, as I have recently read, and all were interested in making a fast buck.

 

I also saw that Pablo at divina acquired the entire BJR archive. BJR had a lot more than what they were able to publish on LP. I hope Divina gets to all of them soon, but I imagine the work is painstakingly slow, and to publish all of them will take many years. It is also interesting to note that BJR/Divina's archives include some performances not previously anywhere.

[whipped guy]

As for EMI and their releases (the second batch is even worse than the first),...

The London Norma is not pitched properly, the Berlin Lucia is missing the few measures of the timpani solo, etc. Actually there are also problems with the commercial releases as well and especially those issued as Great Recordings of the Century (GROTC). See the article at Divina's website by Dr. Robert E. Seletsky.

I imagine the work is painstakingly slow, and to publish all of them will take many years. [/Quote]I have been waiting patiently for YEARS... believe me!!

It is also interesting to note that BJR/Divina's archives include some performances not previously anywhere.

The second performance of the Cologne La Sonnambula from a couple of days later is one... and I have been waiting uncomplainingly... well almost uncomplainingly!

[Guest Chicagokok]

OK, I just listened to Giovanna's(Simionato's) Act 2 cabaletta "Ah! Pensate che rivolti..." on the BJR LP and I see what you mean by radio interference. I wouldn't call it that--to me it sounds like maybe there is something going on with the tape at that point and there is an increase in background hiss/noise. But this in no way mars the music or the voice. This also occurs in the mad scene for a bit as well. I suppose if you listend with headphones, it would be more distracting. But the voices have never sounded so present on any other recording.

 

I have the Legato London Norma CD that Seletsky recommends and it "suffers" form kind of the same thing as this small issue with the BJR Bolena--there is a background hiss thoughout, but the voices and music are always very present and not reduced.

 

I know that the BJR archive consisted of radio transcription acetate discs and reel to reel tapes. I wonder how age affects the tapes...? I can't imagine the discs would be very affected, as long as they were kept dry all these years.

 

As for the second Cologne Sonnambula, I have just located an old LP that claims to have this full performance. I should get it in about a weeks time. I'll let you know if I think it is authentic once I can study it. In the meantime there are excerpts of that performance that were released on Eklipse which I have. I know there was some question a while back if they were authentic, but I think it is pretty much established that they are. Who knows, I may have a find with this LP! After all, when Divina released the '53 Norma from Trieste they did not have Corelli's first act aria "Meco al altar di venere..." Only after the first release (the one I got) did they acquire it. Subsequent releases have the aria whose source was from an old LP.

[whipped guy]

Ditto on the Legato London Norma... also the Eklipse CDs of the Cologne Sonnambula... As for the Corelli aria on the '53 Trieste Norma... I was not aware of that!!!!! My copy is sans Corelli's aria! I feel cheated!!!! LOL! Incidentally, as I recall all previous releases of this performance had the aria from the '58 post Rome walkout Norma with Cirquetti spliced in!!!!

 

Also, I had loaded Bolena in my iPod and via ear-buds the hiss, etc. was indeed more distrcting...

 

Also, compared to my lower pitched Melodram version of Bolena... Rossi Lemeni's voice sounds much better ... steadier... well better but not really up to par with the best... perhaps his voice did not record well... but how I wish Siepi were really Enrico as in the non-broadcast performances of 1958!

[whipped guy]

Corelli Aria...

 

I located a "performance" of the Trieste Norma last night on the internet that includes the aria "Meco all' altar di venere" as sung by Corelli... it definitely sounds like Corelli even though the pitch seems to be somewhat high, but I am not sure as I was unable to check if the pitch was accurate... just my initial impression... and is not anything that I have previously heard... and is not form the series of Rome performances from 1958... as the short orchestral introduction to the cabaletta is included and that was cut in Rome. Incidentally the preceding recit "Svanir le voce" is not included.

 

Could this be the real deal???... I'm not sure... He avoids the high C in the aria proper as was his wont...

[Guest Chicagokok]

I found a big explanation of this on the web a while back, and will try and find it again for you. This "discovery" was checked against all other Corelli recordings of this aria. It is believed to be real. I can't imagine that Pablo/Divina would publish it if he thought it was fake. I will search for it myself, as I have not heard it before--I have the first release of the performance as well.

[Guest Chicagokok]

Here is the link to the history of how the "lost" Corelli aria came to be found: http://www.francocorelli.nl/reviews.htm

 

Where on the web did you find the aria? I am having no luck thus far.

[whipped guy]

Thanks for the link! Watch for a PM...

[+ Italiano]

Interesting thread, dear Callas-lovers!

 

I have the Verona CD of Bolena (released a good 15 years ago) , which so fare have been the best I ever heard. Curious to see what Pablo has done!

 

By the way, I heard from a friend in Italy that a broadcast (alas, as bad in sound as the Proch's variations...) of the Stradella' San Giovanni Battista live performed by Callas and Siepi exists.

Actually Callas talks about that 1949 broadcasting in one of her interviews.

[Guest Chicagokok]

I have never heard of that, but I know that it was broadcast.

 

Speaking of broadcasts in bad sound, just yesterday I received a big shipment of pirate Callas LPs, and I have been going through them. One which stands out to me, is the Andrea Chenier. In the CD versions I have, there is a lot of distortion, especially during "La mamma morta", and throughout the performance. To my suprise, when I played it last night, there is no distortion at all, nor any signs of it in the audio. When I compared it to the Opera d'Oro CD (which is what Seletsky recommends) the sound of the voice on the CD is clearer and more present, but with all the distortion thoughout; on the LP the sound is a bit muffled but no distortion. I think it is a good LP transfer, and a good alternative to the CDs.

 

Also in my treasure trove is an OMY LP of the 52 Covent Garden Norma. The notes in it are by BJ Saxon--this guy did the notes in the BJR LPs. Could this be the same people? The LPs sound like their work.

[whipped guy]

while we are at it...

 

By the way, I heard from a friend in Italy that a broadcast (alas, as bad in sound as the Proch's variations...) of the Stradella' San Giovanni Battista live performed by Callas and Siepi exists.

Now I really had completely forgotten about that... Still, I always dream that there are somehow tapes still sitting in someone's basement or attic of some of the great early performances such as her Turandot and the Italian "Brunilda" and Isotta.

 

Of course my dream is that someone recorded those 1958 non-broadcast performances (someone should have tarred and feathered that SOB Ghiringelli as I assume it was he who prevented them from being broadcast) of Anna Bolena with Siepi and Il Pirata with Corelli... I would love to hear her intone "Giudici ad Anna" and "La... vedete... il palco funesto" with real venom... and I always imagine what the audience response might have been!!! Incidentally there were rumors that Corelli's wife recorded Pirata from the wings, but the tenor always denied having a recording... Search that basement!!!!!!

[Guest Chicagokok]

I think there is more out there, people are just hoarding it or they have not been found yet.

 

Callas herself was a big collector of her own recorded performances. She had plenty of her own pirates. My guess is that she proabably had stuff which was never realeased commercially. Where did it go? I think Vasso Devetzi got her hands on most of it (there were something like 90 crates that disappeared) so when she died, her heirs got everything. They probably still have it all.

[Guest alanm]

I received the Divina "Anna Bolena" about 10 days ago. The sound is very good. Maria Callas's voice is astonishingly good. I would give anything to have been in that Milan audience.

 

I had never heard "Anna Bolena" before I put the CD in my player. I have listened to it often (ipod, sitting in the living room w/ speakers, and many time in the background while I am doing something else in the house). Usually by this time I am relatively familiar with the opera -- musical themes, etc. This opera seems more difficult, which is strange for a bel canto opera (my favorite right now). Is it possible that all the applause and curtain calls are taking me out of the opera -- as well deserved as the applause is on every occasion? I have even thought of buying the Sutherland studio version, and then going back to the Milan Callas.

 

 

Any thoughts would be very helpful.

[whipped guy]

Anna Bolena - Callas still rules!

 

I received the Divina "Anna Bolena" about 10 days ago. The sound is very good. Maria Callas's voice is astonishingly good. I would give anything to have been in that Milan audience.

 

Any thoughts would be very helpful.

It is ironic but this performance is still the best version, and even in spite of the opera being brutally cut... and that includes the overture (not really a great composition) and the tenor's last act aria not to mention a slew of internal nips and tucks too numerous to catalog. As for the opera being difficult… there seem not to be many um-pa-pa tunes and most of the arias are not comprised of tunes one would tend to whistle.

 

Callas has never been eclipsed in the title role and while the other Giovannas have been the equal of Simionato, none are ultimately her superior… It is in the bass and tenor department that the commercial recordings are superior… but one does not judge an Anna Bolena on the bass and tenor. Actually none of the commercially recorded versions have a totally satisfactory Anna... Sutherland under Bonynge on Decca is way past her prime and she transposes her act one cabaletta as well as the final cabaletta down a tone. The other Decca version has Suliotis in the title role and while she has a Callas type voice she is really no Callas and avoids all the important trills... Still Horne as Giovanna is a strong presence and Ghiaurov as Enrico is his usual buttery self. John Alexander is a fine Percy. This brings us to Sills in her least satisfactory portrayal in her “Donizetti Tudor Trilogy”. The voice is simply too light for the part, but she shows commitment and sings a dramatic Anna that unfortunately pushes her vocal means to the limit. As was her wont she tends to over embellish the vocal line as well and in a manner that brings the vocal line higher than Donizetti really intended. Shirley Verrett is a fine Giovanna, Stuart Burrows an effective Percy, and Paul Pliska a decent Enrico.

 

My recommendation would be either the Sills or Suliotis as a supplement… Sills does sing the part better and the opera is presented absolutely complete. There are a few minor cuts in the Suliotis version. Bonynge is more generous with the scissors in his version with Sutherland… he even cuts a few bars from Anna’s first act cabaletta… plus the way he recomposes a section of the final scene to achieve his downward transposition is quite irritating to my ears. This combined with the fact that Sutherland sounds tired obviates this version as being even a third choice.

 

Currently I have both Callas and Sills in my iPod. In addition, I have Callas’ commercial version of the final scene under Rescigno… and she is even better after having had a year of performances under her belt. Furthermore, the choral parts are included in the final section which makes the scene even more exciting. Plus, her legato is simply to die for!!! It makes me bitter that Walter Legge only allowed her to record the final scene and not the complete opera. Talk about a missed opportunity!

 

Still, I am grateful for what we have… and the Divina version certainly is as good as it is going to get… Also, I personally love all the applause and especially the way the audience explodes after Callas nails the high D at the conclusion of Donizetti’s original Act I… Priceless!

[+ Italiano]

Well definitely the 1957 production of Anna Bolena is a mile stone in the history of opera. Notwithstanding the huge success of the all evening, it also proofed that without Callas (or at least a superstellar Anna) the opera itself risks to be less then fantastic.

 

In 1982 La Scala decided to revive the production after 24 years (in 1958 they gave a second run of Callas/Bolena) with a Caballe past her prime and supposedly sick, Obratszova and Plishka. BIG mistake! I remember that I stood on line 5 hours in a cold afternoon of February to get a standing ticket, I was (as everybody else) SO excited to see those sets that looked magnificent in priceless dozens of pictures of Callas, but I have to say that the sets were the first big disappointment. The music has very nice moments but I think I couldn't call it a masterpiece. Caballe was obviously past her prime, and looking at her moving on stage with that same costume (few sizes more) against those sets that I had seen so many times in pictures was a bit cruel and bizarre. I also think that even 10 years before when she could have given some fantastic vocal moments she could have never compare the thousands of feelings that Callas was able to portray.

On top of that, the night itself was charged with tension that could have been cut with a knife, she had canceled 2 nights before for being sick (and the announcement was given with full theatre 1 minute before the supposed ouverture which never was played because the enraged audience's boos and shouts caused the lowering of the iron curtain and the cancellation of the show!!) and the packed theatre was mostly waiting for THE moment.

Even if she had sung a wild but very effective high D (definitely not an usual note for Caballe!) at the end of Act 1 which was cheered, during the mad scene she cracked a high C and I had never experienced before and after such a horrible reaction from part of audience (alas, mostly Callas-widowers...) when they booed and mocked her. I don't know how she was able to go on, but she eventually sang a very beautiful "Al dolce guidami". The rest was less than mediocre. On top of that Obratszova gave the same grace and elegance to Giovanna and belcanto as an elephant walking in a glass store could give. She was booed too.

 

I also saw live Maria Chiara, Joan Sutherland, Dimitra Theodossiou and Krassimira Stoyanova sing the role.

 

Callas was really unique!

[whipped guy]

Yes, Callas still rules

 

Well definitely the 1957 production of Anna Bolena is a mile stone in the history of opera. Notwithstanding the huge success of the all evening, it also proofed that without Callas (or at least a superstellar Anna) the opera itself risks to be less then fantastic.

 

In 1982 La Scala decided to revive the production after 24 years (in 1958 they gave a second run of Callas/Bolena) with a Caballe past her prime I also saw live Maria Chiara, Joan Sutherland, Dimitra Theodossiou and Krassimira Stoyanova sing the role.

 

Callas was really unique!

 

Xaf...EXCELLENT assessment of that Caballe Bolena.. I have a copy of that live performance and the tension in the theater probably could have indeed been cut with a knife!! It must have been surreal to see those sets with a singer pretending to fill the shoes of the one who came before! There is/was a commercially available live version with Theodossiou, but while she gets through the notes she is another pretender to the throne. I have heard a live recording of Stoyanova and she is quite decent if a bit bland... Sutherland (as did Caballe) simply got there too late in her career to be effective... compare her "Al dolce guidami" with Callas' version and you will hear slurred notes vs. a true legato! Every singer should study Callas singing this aria to hear how legato should be done!

[+ WilliamM]

Perhaps it is time to revive this thread with "Anna Bolena" opening the Met season on 9/26/2011 starring Anna Netrebko. She would not have been my first choice, but I still am interested to see & hear this new production. I would appreciate knowing if others are also anticipate the Met's "Anna Bolena" enough to see it at the Met, rather than at the HD theaters. Frankly, I think the HD, while better than nothing, do not compare with see the operas live at the Met.

[whipped guy]

Well incredibly Donizetti's Anna Bolena is indeed opening the new MET season. As a long time Bel Canto enthusiast I would never have believed that such a day would come when I first got interested in things operatic.

 

As for Netrebko she would not have been my first choice. However, based on a recording of her performance of the role at the Wiener Staatsoper this past April she has potential and with any luck that trial run will lead to a greater understanding of the part from both a vocal and dramatic point of view. To sum things up, she was decent, but is not quite ready for prime time. Still, it was her first stab at this difficult role and she might just be able to pull it off. Incidentally, the Callas recording documents the first time she sang the part in public... and later commentary plus the commercial recording of the final scene conforms that she indeed improved.

 

As for myself, I'm covering all my bases. I got tickets for not only a Netrebko performance, but also for a later performance in which Angela Mead will take over the part. Mead is a promising singer about whom I have heard good things. I have never heard her live, but have heard her in a pirated recording of Rossini's Semiramide and she has a better coloratura technique than Netrebko... but I am not sure if the voice is huge and dramatic.

 

My prediction: Netrebko with the more luscious voice will act the part better from a dramatic point of view and will get through it if only by the skin of her teeth. Mead will sail through the role, but will lack the last ounce dramatic bite necessary to pull it off perfectly. In my view neither Sills nor Sutherland had the right voice for the part so it will be interesting to see what the end result will be.

[+ Italiano]

Exactly yesterday I watched parts of Netrebko's Bolena (with beautiful Garanca and handsome d'Arcangelo) on youtube, and really wasn't convinced at all.

Netrebko really looks BEAUTIFUL, her voice is also beautiful, she sings some pretty beautiful lines, but I find her almost totally lacking of all the many little nuancees that the troubled Anna should exude!

I know, I know, one should sometime forget how Callas made our ears and soul used to all those emotions, but it was not only a matter of a fantastic interpreter, she also had the voice and the technique to make justice. Just listen to Netrebko's stretta "Giudici ad Anna!" and the burning fire is totally missing. She doesn't have the right tecnique to sing those electrifying moments (same thign for the final cabaletta), and also her coloratura is sometimes sketchy.

Yes, a pretty nice (but definitely not fantastic) high D at the end of the 1st act, but.....

 

She indeed will have at the Met a success anyway, people love her, she has a creamy voice and she is (on stage) very beautiful, and the Met audience gets happy and content very easily.

[whipped guy]

xaf... I only have a recording of the audio from Vienna... but what you say is right on target... The "Giudici ad Anna" simply goes for naught... Ditto for the final cabaletta as well!!! At least she is attempting the trills (something she has avoided in the past) even if they are not perfectly executed. So in that respect she is at least trying to master the details.

 

Now when I mentioned that the Callas version documents her first time in the role I should have emphasized how close to perfection she came. She was a singer who mastered the details and almost all of the details are there. Sure, the following year when she repeated the part at La Scala the "Guidici ad Anna" was probably sung with even more bite based on contemporary accounts... and as the commercial recording of the final scene reveals she sings that ethereal aria "Al dolce guidami" with an even finer sense of legato... simply breathtaking... not to mention the exquisite trills... and even the final cabaletta has more fire... and again those perfectly executed trills... simply trilling... I mean thrilling!!!

[+ Italiano]

xaf... I only have a recording of the audio from Vienna...

 

Caro whipped, the whole opera is in sections on youtube.

[whipped guy]

Bolena on Youtube

 

Xaf... Thanks for the heads up, but I more or less knew that... though I am sure others might want to view this particular performance, so again thanks for mentioning it. However, I personally decided not to watch/listen for several reasons. First, I was disappointed with Netrebko. I really did not care for the tenor. However, most importantly, I really did not want to immerse myself overly in Anna Bolena, as when I intend to see something live I like to experience it in a fresh manner. I certainly will never be able to get Callas out of my mind regarding this opera... that is an impossibility... but I am trying my best and want to give all the performers the opportunity to convince me that they have something positive and perhaps even something fresh to say about the piece. As I said above I am hopeful that Netrebko considered the Vienna performances as a dress rehearsal for the MET's production and has learned form her experiences...