Maria Callas"Bel raggio lusinghier" Semiramide Berlin 1963

[jmiller05]

The way Callas rounded off her phrases and still maintained the sumptuous legato line was fabulous. A real technical masterclass in Bel Canto singing.

Her voice sounds rather elegant here, the high notes a tad sharp, but well supported.

[ferrykalos]

Not at her best of sure! Lovely.

[Toscarpia]

Was this REALLY recorded in 1963 ? Her voice sounds amaizingly fresh and flexible for that year...

[ciociosan]

@Toscarpia Have you heard of her "Ah perfido"? According to the book, the Unknown Callas, she accompanied herself in the piano. It was the most beautiful singing I have heard from Maria.

[tena2]

amazing

[distefano13069609]

and why are these people even talking of Sutherland on a Callas video comment page??

[distefano13069609]

i'm sorry for all those that say that Callas, or Maria because by 1963 had become Maria instead of La Callas, sings awfully in this are idiots, because for 1963 and in general, this is GREAT!! BRAVA MARIA!!!

[bigdigger87]

I am sad to say that this performance did not impress me. It was sloppy and her bottom notes were unclear.

[CumpariSparacino]

Such beautiful legato scales and wonderfully tapered phrases. Sutherland inserted more variations and added high notes but she did not sing it any better than Callas. Maria gets far more out of this aria with much less added. Rossini would have approved. Her high C at the end is just fabulous.

[mariagalvany]

Joan Sutherland had a clear,powerful coloratura. She did approach her characters differently than Callas. But there were unique and wonderful. Her high notes were clear and powerful and she had such a beautiful voice.I can listen to Sutherland for hours and still be impress. Many people as i did think that Sutherland started recording in the 1960's.But she had recordings from 1950's that revealed that the woman had a excellent diction and great middle register.

[mariagalvany]

I would recommened her 1959 version of Konstanze aria.Which can be found on Youtube,shows her well-developed middle register and impressive diction. And of course her dazzling high notes and superb trills. Her 1960 "The art of a Prima Donna" show arias,she performed. That are unsurpassable.

Even with her later horrible middle register and sloppy diction. She still remained a excellent opera singer and was still praised for her performances.

[mariagalvany]

Evern after Calla's vocal decline. She still had a great overall voice. She did not have extension to high notes. But she still had coloratura and it was still impressive. As proven here. She maintained a secure coloratura.

Also,Even after her vocal problems,she continued to record wonderful arias. Her Juliet's waltz,which was recorded in 1961.IMO is the best recording of that aria after Galli-Curci's 1917 version. And her 1960 "Norma" is best recording of that opera by most critics.

[mariagalvany]

I am a fan of botch Joan Sutherland and Maria Callas. But I must admit that callas's versatility is astonishing. From 1949 to 1954,Callas had a clear and amazing coloratura. She is not always recongnized for her coloratura.Which I think is one of the best in history.She had great diction and also a power with her high notes. I also love how she brought passion and emotion to each and every of her roles. She potrayed every charater vocally and dynamiclly.

[mariagalvany]

Her acting was superb. I disagree with many saying that she was perfered over her acting than her voice. She was the total package,beautiful voice,excellent diction,acting presence and great personality.

Correction I meant both,not botch

[quis178]

In fact,Callas' diction and coloratura became better after her weight loss.She certainly had great coloratura till 1959.

[mariagalvany]

Well,She still had coloratura even after 1959. As seen here. Many claimed she screamed,but this false. I have never heard callas screamed any of her highnotes. Some were harsh,but not creamed.

[distefano13069609]

@quis178 she always had the coloratura, check out the masterclass for il dolce suono....BRAVA CALLAS!!!

[vocalissimo1]

Firstly, I was reacting to the ONLY part of tonyantony1's comment. Secondly, of the operas I listed, Turandot is the only one Joan never sang on stage. Thirdly, what about Joan singing Norma over 30 times in 1970? How's that for vocal stamina? Lastly, Callas sang a total of 47 different operatic roles in her career, and Sutherland sang 49. As a footnote, Sutherland sang more Handel and Mozart roles than Callas, and Callas sang more Verdi and Puccini than Sutherland.

[quis178]

Oh come on Desdemona, Antonia, Giulietta and Mme Lidoine are lyrics roles.Adriana Lecouvreur, like Suor Angelica and Norma is not a role that lies kindly for her voice ,the middle register wasn't the best part of her voice.Sutherland wasn't really versatile her Amina sounds identical to her Norma, no matter the role she always sounds the same.

[babydrane]

Not sure of the frequency with which she sang non-coloratura roles so you might be pointing out exceptions to what I said I think is generally true. On a separate point I agree with quis and gimmeachallenge - she uses what my old vocal coach called the 'instrumental approach' - interesting for many musical reasons but lacking since opera is inevitably much more than music. This is not at all to justify Callas who had her own failings.

[vocalissimo1]

So, Sutherland sang ONLY coloratura roles? What about Adriana Lecouvreur, Suor Angelica, Turandot, Desdemona, Antonia, Giulietta and Mme Lidoine? Sutherland's repertoire was also vast, and it is a great credit to her that she sang so explosively for so many years and managed to keep her voice in pristine condition. Callas was also a great artist, but her personal flaws and reckless lifestyle led to an early vocal decline which, in the end, proved embarrassing.

[babydrane]

repertoire wise we have to agree that Callas takes the cake. I certainly don't recall Sutherland performing within the space of even one week, Wagner and Bellini. Some of what you have listed are also only things that she recorded in the studio. I think on stage, she really mostly stuck to coloratura roles. That's fine, she was really great at it.

[meltzerboy]

The only role listed that Sutherland did not sing in the opera house was Turandot. She performed Adriana, Suor Angelica, Desdemona, Antonia, Giulietta, and Mme Lidoine. Her best singing was in the bel canto repertoire--Bellini and Donizetti in particular, also Rossini. Some of those roles are dramatic coloratura rather than lyric coloratura. She also sang Esclarmonde and Traviata, not, strictly speaking, coloratura roles. Early in her career, she sang Marriage of Figaro and, at least once, Aida.

[tonyantony1]

In the mid 70's she developped a huge wobble in her middle voice.Besides,Callas had a vast repertoire while Sutherland sang only coloratura roles.Resticted repertoire preserved Sutheland's voice in good condition even in her 50's.

[tonyantony1]

Sutherland had problems with her diction,dynamic shading and chest voice.

[Iareto]

This is good. Very good for a late Callas. However, the idea that Sutherland imitated her is outrageous. Sutherland sang circles around Callas at an age almost twice as old as when Maria retired. Don't get me wrong. I like Callas as an artist, but vocally (as far as technique goes at LEAST) Sutherland is the superior singer.

[tonyantony1]

Well I don't think Sutherland had better technique than Callas ,maybe her trills were better and she had a seamless voice from bottom to top but she wasn't flawless.

[babydrane]

I like both too. Callas simply never had Sutherland's lyrically clear upper register or her trill. Sutherland's lower notes were a mess and her coloratura technique in general was not as good as Callas' despite what some of you might think. They are a lot of other points on which they differ but they were both such excellent singers - why compare when we can just have both.

[gimmeachallenge]

I'm glad to see someone else note the miracle of the Callas coloratura. Not to take anything away from Sutherland- I wouldn't dare deny that she was/is a vocal miracle. But I do think Callas was able to do more with her voice. Or at least, she DID more with her voice (which, arguably, may have cost her her vocal longevity while Sutherland sang into her 60's with reasonable success). Her coloratura in particular is more musical in nature than that of Sutherland's, eh--more "pragmatic" approach.

[saverioorlando]

beautiful,no spectacular,but fine performance.Great Rossini singer,at Colbran register

[Orfeus80]

she's being very careful and the moment she goes high things are shaky but I like her here. Rossini always suited her beautifully.

[SENAFOREVER]

I hardly think Dame Joan needed to imitate anyone.

[MisterSoprano]

@SENAFOREVER Oh, she needed to.

[ioSonoCallas]

Premier récital de Callas en 1963 après presqu'un an de repos -hormis une TV en novembre 62- sa voix semble étonnament fraiche et facile dans cet extrait alors qu'elle était tout à fait difficile deux semaines plus tôt lors de ses séances d'enregistrement de son second "Callas à Paris".

[andreasscholl]

This is a verry good LATER Callas.

With the cheecky jaw singing she did in her later years!

Nice!

(Joan tried to imitate this in her Semiramide recording and later Verdi Requiem!!!)

[mrrk]

Sutherland trying to imitate Callas? I dont think so. Sutherland had much the better voice.