Why oh why isn't there more? As I listen endlessly to her recording of "Butterfly", I try to visualize her acting it too. I just wish I could go back in time to see her in it.
One of the musical TRAGEDIES ot the 20th Century: That so little of Callas' physical performances were recorded. 97% of the video that we have is from concert performances where she is under SEVERE vocal duress and KNOWS IT. We see jewels, tiaras, silk capes, flowing robes, but the voice is gone. An excess of DIVA can not make up for the true vocal greatness which had once stood behind them. These 33 seconds are a priceless view of the true Callas in ACTION/ACTIING
i hope more video archives of Callas can be found in the near future. sigh...if her prime was in 70-'s and 80's, i cannot imagine how many more treasures she could left for us. in that case, probably she will not only be considered as one of the greatest singers, but also actress!
in a few seconds you see how much dedication and complete devotion went into studying a role.
Every moment is a testimony to the artistry of a hard working woman of genius...
.
The additional risk to take one (unwritten) high note that one knows will please the public, is a present of the artist to her/his audience. Good manners say one should never complain about presents...
she worked with visconti, passolini, zeffirelli... WHAT WERE THEY THINKING???? why didin't they capture MARIA on film? they will burn in hell for an eternity for this oversight.
As always the emotion rules the heart, I think Callas in some roles was supreme but in my opinion never in butterfly she certainly had the voice but i always wondered about the feeling for the role
What a treasure ... I still pray that one day the televised "Anna Bolena" will surface somewhere!?! - My greatest operatic regrets, not seeing Callas in Bolena and Sills in Lucia ...
I was at this performance in Chicago and I can say she was sensational. Her entrance singing as Butterfly was beyond superb. Unforgettable. She also did I Puritani there that season; another triumph.
The sound is from Callas' recording of Butterfly, which took place just a matter of months before this Chicago performance. Callas' Butterfly recording is highly individual, and there are many moments of vocal beauty. True, the top D that crowns the entrance is a bit unsteady, but Callas' art was never really about individual notes. She was the complete package --- sublime, and a law unto only herself. We will not see or hear her like again.
I agree. She did pretty well for a role she didn't like. The acting is pretty convincing in this little snippet too. Sometimes a note can ruin a performance but this is not the case for Callas' entrance as Butterfly. Not sure why folks place so much emphasis on high notes.
I mean if you sing the note badly and everything else well - then you've failed. But (and I've seen this so many times) if you sing the big note perfectly with an otherwise mediocre/bad performance, you've somehow conquered the role in many listeners' opinion. Tenors and sopranos get away with that mess all the time. High notes are distracting sometimes.
babydrane: You are so right. In many small operatic minds, what a soprano or tenor does ABOVE the stave is considered more important than the what they do IN the stave. The hell with the fact that 95% of the role is centered IN the stave! Callas' singing was never about high notes unto themselves. She was the total package. If she was unsteady on a top note, the real experts and critics didn't really care. Callas' work rose to higth that a couple of insecure top notes cold never ruin it.
I wished you were right. But most of these excerpts were recorded r to be seen just at the news brdcast or the news that used to be shown before the main picture in the movies theater in the 50s
Her gestures are so precise and charming, they truly evoke the innocence, discretion and calm passion of Cio-Cio-San. Every time I see these short movies with Callas on stage I regret so much the fact that she was never recorded in an entire opera during her prime. Her Butterfly and Medea excerpts show what a great actress she was exactly because everything's so subtle and precise, without over-acting.
But Maria Callas recorded "Madama Butterfly" in the same year of this production (Chicago, 1955) with Nicolai Gedda as Pinkerton and with Herbert von Karajan as conductor. And this recording is one of the most beautiful recordings of this opera; maybe there are some notes which she didn't sing perfect, but all in all it's a wonderful, a very convincing studio performance; especially in the duet with Gedda, but also in general.
Ops, I meant she wasn't captured in a video recording during her prime. I agree her 1955 Butterfly is among the most beautiful ever, incredibly powerful and yet so calm and introspective. And I think it's one of the recordings that best captured the vibrant sweetness of Callas' voice. Her critics may say what they will, but I'll always think Callas had a tremendously beautiful timbre, with very few exceptions in some notes.
callas ist einfach unerreicht - bei ihrem hohen des bekommt man " gänsehaut"-wie kann man nur eine netrebko mit ihr vergleichen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
MultiZahl 5 months ago
This is Gold !!!
Amazing image !
DanBarthy 6 months ago
i thought that callas never put madama on stage, good to see that i was wrong
heyhit 7 months ago
does anyone know what the song playing in this clip is called?
thanks
giovanni8149 1 year ago
@giovanni8149 It is Butterfly's Act I entrance, "Spira sul mare."
formersk8ter 11 months ago
Why oh why isn't there more? As I listen endlessly to her recording of "Butterfly", I try to visualize her acting it too. I just wish I could go back in time to see her in it.
vivelhistoire 1 year ago
One of the musical TRAGEDIES ot the 20th Century: That so little of Callas' physical performances were recorded. 97% of the video that we have is from concert performances where she is under SEVERE vocal duress and KNOWS IT. We see jewels, tiaras, silk capes, flowing robes, but the voice is gone. An excess of DIVA can not make up for the true vocal greatness which had once stood behind them. These 33 seconds are a priceless view of the true Callas in ACTION/ACTIING
filippovonreutter 1 year ago
i hope more video archives of Callas can be found in the near future. sigh...if her prime was in 70-'s and 80's, i cannot imagine how many more treasures she could left for us. in that case, probably she will not only be considered as one of the greatest singers, but also actress!
mingweicello 1 year ago
in a few seconds you see how much dedication and complete devotion went into studying a role.
Every moment is a testimony to the artistry of a hard working woman of genius...
.
The additional risk to take one (unwritten) high note that one knows will please the public, is a present of the artist to her/his audience. Good manners say one should never complain about presents...
MariaCaIIas 1 year ago
Her acting seems very interesting!!! Look at that video!!!!
LordMgls 1 year ago
lovely :')
spoletta0 2 years ago
she worked with visconti, passolini, zeffirelli... WHAT WERE THEY THINKING???? why didin't they capture MARIA on film? they will burn in hell for an eternity for this oversight.
nohaylamujer 2 years ago 23
@nohaylamujer
She worked with Pasolini only on film -- he never directed opera.
It's a wonderful performance by her but the film is equal parts genius and merely odd.
ATsarIsBorn 1 year ago
As always the emotion rules the heart, I think Callas in some roles was supreme but in my opinion never in butterfly she certainly had the voice but i always wondered about the feeling for the role
pangitbaboy 2 years ago 2
What a treasure ... I still pray that one day the televised "Anna Bolena" will surface somewhere!?! - My greatest operatic regrets, not seeing Callas in Bolena and Sills in Lucia ...
Ronizetti 2 years ago 2
@Ronizetti
I saw Sills as Lucia. She was okay. I've seen better. I've certainly heard better.
ATsarIsBorn 1 year ago
I was at this performance in Chicago and I can say she was sensational. Her entrance singing as Butterfly was beyond superb. Unforgettable. She also did I Puritani there that season; another triumph.
saagua1953 2 years ago 4
This has been flagged as spam show
I only see a nose and I listen , as always with Maria, a wretched, unsteady little scream in the final note.
Poor Maria, in spite of that she seems to me a funny creature, her acting is very amusing
bonanplu 2 years ago
Your ignorance is terrible !
DanBarthy 2 years ago
No...this was not so good..sorry..but I love her anyhow..Her Tosca is my favorite....
tobobba 3 years ago
The sound is from Callas' recording of Butterfly, which took place just a matter of months before this Chicago performance. Callas' Butterfly recording is highly individual, and there are many moments of vocal beauty. True, the top D that crowns the entrance is a bit unsteady, but Callas' art was never really about individual notes. She was the complete package --- sublime, and a law unto only herself. We will not see or hear her like again.
Zva26 3 years ago 14
I agree. She did pretty well for a role she didn't like. The acting is pretty convincing in this little snippet too. Sometimes a note can ruin a performance but this is not the case for Callas' entrance as Butterfly. Not sure why folks place so much emphasis on high notes.
babydrane 2 years ago
I mean if you sing the note badly and everything else well - then you've failed. But (and I've seen this so many times) if you sing the big note perfectly with an otherwise mediocre/bad performance, you've somehow conquered the role in many listeners' opinion. Tenors and sopranos get away with that mess all the time. High notes are distracting sometimes.
babydrane 2 years ago
babydrane: You are so right. In many small operatic minds, what a soprano or tenor does ABOVE the stave is considered more important than the what they do IN the stave. The hell with the fact that 95% of the role is centered IN the stave! Callas' singing was never about high notes unto themselves. She was the total package. If she was unsteady on a top note, the real experts and critics didn't really care. Callas' work rose to higth that a couple of insecure top notes cold never ruin it.
Zva26 2 years ago
Oh! Thank you so much! This is so moving!
leoperarm 3 years ago 4
poor cho cho san. . .
lonelygnome1 3 years ago
To ONERGIN65: WAS IT A SILENT FOOTAGE?
IS THE SOUND LIVE FROM THE CHICACO PRESENTATION ?
IF YES, WHERE CAN I FIND A RECORD OF IT?
CONGRATULATIONS, IRINE
irine2007 3 years ago
AMAZING!
Where did you find this lil treasure?
valsartdiary 3 years ago 4
where ydo you get such amazing videos? especially of callas since there's very little of her in performance.
JuillHope17 3 years ago 3
i was crying lookint at this video..ohh my good..
nievecuqui 3 years ago 5
this is a beautiful footage, even if it could only be seen in a short time... :(.... ^_^
oPeRa1923 3 years ago 5
Una joya para los fanaticos de "La Divina Callisima!
Axel23632 3 years ago 4
incredible, even 29 seconds of footage.....thanks
wenarto 3 years ago 7
you know maybe these operas are fully captured but never released becuase it is meaningless to record one part of an opera.
2nd by 1955 every one was recording his works
jad83 3 years ago 2
I wished you were right. But most of these excerpts were recorded r to be seen just at the news brdcast or the news that used to be shown before the main picture in the movies theater in the 50s
irine2007 3 years ago
ma quanto erano belli insieme?!? la coppia più grande dell'opera!
queenspersephone 4 years ago 2
Her gestures are so precise and charming, they truly evoke the innocence, discretion and calm passion of Cio-Cio-San. Every time I see these short movies with Callas on stage I regret so much the fact that she was never recorded in an entire opera during her prime. Her Butterfly and Medea excerpts show what a great actress she was exactly because everything's so subtle and precise, without over-acting.
Homoclassicus 4 years ago 9
But Maria Callas recorded "Madama Butterfly" in the same year of this production (Chicago, 1955) with Nicolai Gedda as Pinkerton and with Herbert von Karajan as conductor. And this recording is one of the most beautiful recordings of this opera; maybe there are some notes which she didn't sing perfect, but all in all it's a wonderful, a very convincing studio performance; especially in the duet with Gedda, but also in general.
Klassizismus 4 years ago 5
Ops, I meant she wasn't captured in a video recording during her prime. I agree her 1955 Butterfly is among the most beautiful ever, incredibly powerful and yet so calm and introspective. And I think it's one of the recordings that best captured the vibrant sweetness of Callas' voice. Her critics may say what they will, but I'll always think Callas had a tremendously beautiful timbre, with very few exceptions in some notes.
Homoclassicus 4 years ago 7
Sorry, it was a misunderstanding!
Klassizismus 4 years ago 2