I have a Tosca recording (not early) with Di Stefano, and it sounds like she runs out of vocal energy sometimes. Also, compared to Renata Tebaldi, she doesn't make many musical choices-- or not interesting ones, anyway.
Some of the arias I've listened to here on youtube though are incredible and have convinced me she was TRULY incredible in her prime. Just saying. There were some other marvelous sopranos, too.
@angelamaria1944 sono d'accordissimo con te e con lochness, come è posibile che non ci siano riprese di maria calas, cioè dico MARIA CALLAS! Eppure all'epoca esistevano ed era anche abbastanza usata la telecamera............veramente vergognoso. Credo però che in questi anni qualcos'altro uscirà dagli archivi rai e da quelli di altre televisioni (almeno spero!)
I am sure RAI must have a lot more footage of Callas's performances. Some of them had been shown on TV at the time as I remember. What have they done with all the that film? I can't believe that they destroyed it. Or were they that stupid?!
There have been other great Violettas, great Toscas, great Leonoras, but onlyone Callas. 30 seconds of interview footage is more compelling than anything I have seen in my lifetime on opera stages in the western hemisphere, believe me. Nothing makes a better artist than constant practice. And when she decided to let go of the practice for a different life, the magic went with it. She was the greatest unfinished symphony of the 20th century. Practice is the invocation of God's will.
Why was I born so late ? Those who saw Callas perform live are so very lucky. 20th century opera singers were the best. They reached a level of glory that I think even 19th century and turn of the century singers could not - owing to the technology of recording sound and media coverage that made them stars. Callas was GLORIOUS and I never heard her sing live. I was born in 1980 and I'm 30 right now. All I have are today's lousy singers like Anna Netrebko
@MastersoftheOpera Mi spiace che lei sia giovane, non per l'età ovviamente, ma per aver perso voci che dal vivo potevano dare emozioni incredibili. Ma almeno esistono registrazioni di Maria e di altri grandi soprani e cantanti in genere... quanto a quel che resta, concordo con lei che la povertà dell'attuale panorama offre soggetti come la Netrebko che ai tempi della Callas poteva fare la corista...seppure!!! Sicuramente la pin-up!!
I feel so lame, as I caught onto Youtube so late, but this is just wonderful, as are all the other snippets we've received here. I suppose with this magnitude of talent the postwar culture was terrified of what she represented to the world of music at large, and that explains why there were so many vicious attacks on her character and voice; it was too much to handle for the period and the people who witnessed her one-woman revolution.
I don't speak any Italian nonetheless was mesmerised listening to her speak. She seemed to speak with a bit of an accent (an American twang) or is that just my ears?
yes, you would be right there - she was born in New York and lived there for some years before returning to her parent's homelan [Greece], then she came back to New York in her 20s - later she settled in Italy with her older husband - it often seemed that she spoke many many languages [english, italian, greek, french], but none of them perfectly and all of them with an accent!
So much for posting this rare and highly unusual footage of THE Medea of the XXth century after Ester Mazzoleni. So moving to see the great Callas in one of her best and most intense portrayals!
I've commented earlier,but I add it is a disgrace Callas was not filmed on stage in her great roles.The technology was available,BUT IT WASN'T USED! Didn't anyone use their brains?The greatest singing actress of the 20th. century,and no one bothered to film them,with a few exceptions towards the end---in recital,plus the Covent Garden Tosca act two.
You're absolutely right! I mentioned this problem already in another discussion! Imagine: There is a Don Giovanni-performance from 1954 (!!!!) filmed in very high quality, available on DVD with Furtwängler conducting! 1954!!!! If someone would have used his brain one would have film documents today of Callas as Traviata, Norma, Medea, Lucia, Anna Bolena, Tosca...
There is also a Forza del destino with Tebaldi, Corelli, Bastianini (1958!!!)... Soooo many wasted chances for Callas' performances..
I would tend to agree, there were many missed chances in the respect of filming Callas on stage. However, there is footage out there that has never turned up, who knows if it ever will.
WHAT?????? This performance was filmed!!!! I can't believe it! How could the RAI do this? Were they totally crazy?!?!? It was one of Maria's greatest performances!!
At La Scala teh only filmed performance was Act 1 of La Sonnambula in 1955.
I have spoken with people in Italy who actually remember having seen this on broadcast TV (which at that time in Italy was just beginning). That was it. Plus of course this little footage from the dress rehearsal of Medea and the behind the wings at the prima.
don carlos was recorded (sound) but the quality is very bad (worse than Alceste) so will probably not be exposed. I even heard rumors that a small tape exists or existed of Medea 1958 dallas! O, what a loss.
and where did you hear about the rumor? i have friends who are experts of callas, who wrote books, founded clubs, etc.... i could talk about that to them if you want!
And there is also some footage... EMI and a lot of people themselves use them on their documentaries (like the one here) and I am always complaining bacause I want to know where they get it from, how come they have access to it, why don't they publich it already? and so on
the day Zeffirelli faces St. Peter at the Pearly Gates this is one sin he will certinly have to atone for. We are talking 1974 (and one of the most spectacular and expensive productions ever) and he never thought of documenting any of it with so much as a few polaroid snapshots. Vergogna!
its sure that some perfomances were filmed, for example the newly discovered traviata of lisboa, only, the callas legend disapeared and the videos were forgotten, one day they'll find them.
@Klassizismus Almost every opera you've listed here with Callas singing have been filmed, some many times... Someone just didnt have to brain to KEEP them....
@lochness11 Yes its awfulll. I have to admit, Im not a big Callas fan, but I am really curious how she was on stage. Really really curious! It must have been very epic.
@lochness11 -- I couldn't agree more. I'll never forget how exciting it was to hear Medea for the first time, the studio recording from my local library. I've tried to imagine the stage performance, & of course these precious snippets are better than nothing at all.
@lochness11 -If Maria Callas had been filmed even one Traviata or Norma, La Scala wouldn't be begging for money every year. One Traviata alone would still be paying everyone's bills. Scala resented her because she was a Greek invading their cathedral and sweeping Tebaldi out. But, they couldn't resist her talent, it was just too big to ignore. Zeffirelli I'm surprised didn't sneak a camera in and filmed her or Visconti, maybe they have films in vaults we don't know about! We can only hope!
@lochness11 Technology was available but extremely expensive to use. I agree that it's very unfortunate that she wasn't really recorded much BUT it's amazing that we have her in some of the best recordings around.
Thank you so much for this. I camped all night in Floral Street to get tickets to see Medea at Covent Garden and saw 1st 3rd & 5th nights. Her acting was powerful and completely riveting right from the start. But her voice, which seemed subdued on the first night, noticeably grew and blossomed with each performance. These stunning memories are as vivid as ever,
Thank you soooo much for this amazing document of the greatest singer ever!!! Only Maria could do justice to Medea, every other singer failed in this role!
Questo video è meraviglioso, magari più breve. Non l'ho mai visto, e mi piacerebbe moltissimo vederlo tutto, si esiste. Grazie tante per trovare questo tesoro della Callas in scena come Medea.
Purtroppo questo e` tutto cio` che esiste di questa Medea. Lo trasmisero alla RAI per i vent'anni dalla morte. Ci sono pochi frammenti filmati dalla buca dell'orchestra. Ce li ho in DVD. Se ti interessa ti faccio sapere il titolo.
I have a Tosca recording (not early) with Di Stefano, and it sounds like she runs out of vocal energy sometimes. Also, compared to Renata Tebaldi, she doesn't make many musical choices-- or not interesting ones, anyway.
Some of the arias I've listened to here on youtube though are incredible and have convinced me she was TRULY incredible in her prime. Just saying. There were some other marvelous sopranos, too.
leoniemikele 3 months ago
Ma santiddio, dove sono andate a finire le registrazioni? possibile che siano state riusate o perse o ...?
Un danno immenso all'arte e un'offesa all'intera umanità!
angelamaria1944 5 months ago
@angelamaria1944 sono d'accordissimo con te e con lochness, come è posibile che non ci siano riprese di maria calas, cioè dico MARIA CALLAS! Eppure all'epoca esistevano ed era anche abbastanza usata la telecamera............veramente vergognoso. Credo però che in questi anni qualcos'altro uscirà dagli archivi rai e da quelli di altre televisioni (almeno spero!)
vedovocallas 5 months ago
@vedovocallas
spero di arrivare a vederle...!
angelamaria1944 5 months ago
Amazing footage! She was just an animal on stage! Thanks for posting.
natashkk 5 months ago
One person is deaf/blind!
GABRISSIMA 7 months ago
Fantastico! What a feeling she had for the role . In everything she was marvellous.
I loved her so much. During many years she kept my singing alive.
prince2000ful 8 months ago
I am sure RAI must have a lot more footage of Callas's performances. Some of them had been shown on TV at the time as I remember. What have they done with all the that film? I can't believe that they destroyed it. Or were they that stupid?!
Ariadne7710 10 months ago 2
Thanks a lot for posting this rare video.
AllaBreve3 1 year ago
Her Italian is sexy, she is simple the best. No rivals.
CyprusHot 1 year ago 11
There have been other great Violettas, great Toscas, great Leonoras, but onlyone Callas. 30 seconds of interview footage is more compelling than anything I have seen in my lifetime on opera stages in the western hemisphere, believe me. Nothing makes a better artist than constant practice. And when she decided to let go of the practice for a different life, the magic went with it. She was the greatest unfinished symphony of the 20th century. Practice is the invocation of God's will.
sillyboydeux 1 year ago 2
Great quality of the sound. I have a recorded version but it doesn´t compare with this. Thank you very much for sharing!
YaelBerman 1 year ago
Why was I born so late ? Those who saw Callas perform live are so very lucky. 20th century opera singers were the best. They reached a level of glory that I think even 19th century and turn of the century singers could not - owing to the technology of recording sound and media coverage that made them stars. Callas was GLORIOUS and I never heard her sing live. I was born in 1980 and I'm 30 right now. All I have are today's lousy singers like Anna Netrebko
MastersoftheOpera 1 year ago
@MastersoftheOpera Mi spiace che lei sia giovane, non per l'età ovviamente, ma per aver perso voci che dal vivo potevano dare emozioni incredibili. Ma almeno esistono registrazioni di Maria e di altri grandi soprani e cantanti in genere... quanto a quel che resta, concordo con lei che la povertà dell'attuale panorama offre soggetti come la Netrebko che ai tempi della Callas poteva fare la corista...seppure!!! Sicuramente la pin-up!!
numetutelare 1 year ago
I feel so lame, as I caught onto Youtube so late, but this is just wonderful, as are all the other snippets we've received here. I suppose with this magnitude of talent the postwar culture was terrified of what she represented to the world of music at large, and that explains why there were so many vicious attacks on her character and voice; it was too much to handle for the period and the people who witnessed her one-woman revolution.
sillyboydeux 2 years ago
I don't speak any Italian nonetheless was mesmerised listening to her speak. She seemed to speak with a bit of an accent (an American twang) or is that just my ears?
Liwah 2 years ago
She has an accent, but definitely not American.
She has a sort of a mixture between Veronese and generic "Mediterrenean" not Italian.
Especially in the 60s (like here) she lost most of her "Veronese" that she picked up from her former husband, who had a very thick one.
Don't forget that she learned Italian when she was a young student in Greece, so her Italian is "filtered" by her mothertongue.
xafnndapp 2 years ago 2
yes, you would be right there - she was born in New York and lived there for some years before returning to her parent's homelan [Greece], then she came back to New York in her 20s - later she settled in Italy with her older husband - it often seemed that she spoke many many languages [english, italian, greek, french], but none of them perfectly and all of them with an accent!
lhrlyc 2 years ago
So much for posting this rare and highly unusual footage of THE Medea of the XXth century after Ester Mazzoleni. So moving to see the great Callas in one of her best and most intense portrayals!
GoldenAgeSunshine 3 years ago
Maria for ever !
werwarich 3 years ago 2
Oh,on hearing the first orchestra chords,I know Callas is about to sing one of the pieces which INDELIBLY belongs to her.
lochness11 3 years ago
Who conducted the orchesta in this version... ? The tempo was way way too slow.
kgarmaker123 3 years ago
I've commented earlier,but I add it is a disgrace Callas was not filmed on stage in her great roles.The technology was available,BUT IT WASN'T USED! Didn't anyone use their brains?The greatest singing actress of the 20th. century,and no one bothered to film them,with a few exceptions towards the end---in recital,plus the Covent Garden Tosca act two.
lochness11 3 years ago 23
You're absolutely right! I mentioned this problem already in another discussion! Imagine: There is a Don Giovanni-performance from 1954 (!!!!) filmed in very high quality, available on DVD with Furtwängler conducting! 1954!!!! If someone would have used his brain one would have film documents today of Callas as Traviata, Norma, Medea, Lucia, Anna Bolena, Tosca...
There is also a Forza del destino with Tebaldi, Corelli, Bastianini (1958!!!)... Soooo many wasted chances for Callas' performances..
Klassizismus 3 years ago
I would tend to agree, there were many missed chances in the respect of filming Callas on stage. However, there is footage out there that has never turned up, who knows if it ever will.
coloraturafan 3 years ago
well, the first act of Sonnambula at la Scala in 1955 was televised.
But guess what?
RAI ERASED (YES!!!) the tape of it.
It's a mortal sin, they should hang RAI responsibles!!
xafnndapp 3 years ago
WHAT?????? This performance was filmed!!!! I can't believe it! How could the RAI do this? Were they totally crazy?!?!? It was one of Maria's greatest performances!!
Klassizismus 3 years ago
fuck u rai, maybe someone made a copy, its IMPOSSIBLE that at least one whole pêrfomance wasnt filmed!
distefano13069609 2 years ago
At La Scala teh only filmed performance was Act 1 of La Sonnambula in 1955.
I have spoken with people in Italy who actually remember having seen this on broadcast TV (which at that time in Italy was just beginning). That was it. Plus of course this little footage from the dress rehearsal of Medea and the behind the wings at the prima.
xafnndapp 2 years ago
yes, terrible, but I wish they had filmed her ah non credea and ah non giunge!...
velazquez2009 2 years ago
of course! did you know that act one of sonnambula was filmed but erased by the rai! shocking!
distefano13069609 2 years ago
don carlos was recorded (sound) but the quality is very bad (worse than Alceste) so will probably not be exposed. I even heard rumors that a small tape exists or existed of Medea 1958 dallas! O, what a loss.
velazquez2009 2 years ago
do you have the recording of don carlos?
and where did you hear about the rumor? i have friends who are experts of callas, who wrote books, founded clubs, etc.... i could talk about that to them if you want!
distefano13069609 2 years ago
by a small tape, you mean some footage or music? because there are cds of dallas 58!
distefano13069609 2 years ago
And there is also some footage... EMI and a lot of people themselves use them on their documentaries (like the one here) and I am always complaining bacause I want to know where they get it from, how come they have access to it, why don't they publich it already? and so on
AOG93 2 years ago
Really!!! My God.... I need a moment...
AOG93 2 years ago
Klassizismus
the day Zeffirelli faces St. Peter at the Pearly Gates this is one sin he will certinly have to atone for. We are talking 1974 (and one of the most spectacular and expensive productions ever) and he never thought of documenting any of it with so much as a few polaroid snapshots. Vergogna!
filippovonreutter 3 years ago
its sure that some perfomances were filmed, for example the newly discovered traviata of lisboa, only, the callas legend disapeared and the videos were forgotten, one day they'll find them.
distefano13069609 2 years ago
what do you mean disappeared? the attention for Callas has never been bigger since she stopped singing, don't you think?
velazquez2009 2 years ago
@Klassizismus Almost every opera you've listed here with Callas singing have been filmed, some many times... Someone just didnt have to brain to KEEP them....
distefano13069609 1 year ago
@lochness11 Yes its awfulll. I have to admit, Im not a big Callas fan, but I am really curious how she was on stage. Really really curious! It must have been very epic.
spenzur 6 months ago
@lochness11 -- I couldn't agree more. I'll never forget how exciting it was to hear Medea for the first time, the studio recording from my local library. I've tried to imagine the stage performance, & of course these precious snippets are better than nothing at all.
danawinsor 4 months ago
@lochness11 -If Maria Callas had been filmed even one Traviata or Norma, La Scala wouldn't be begging for money every year. One Traviata alone would still be paying everyone's bills. Scala resented her because she was a Greek invading their cathedral and sweeping Tebaldi out. But, they couldn't resist her talent, it was just too big to ignore. Zeffirelli I'm surprised didn't sneak a camera in and filmed her or Visconti, maybe they have films in vaults we don't know about! We can only hope!
Qbendanny 4 months ago
Comment removed
Scarpiadossi 1 month ago
@lochness11 Technology was available but extremely expensive to use. I agree that it's very unfortunate that she wasn't really recorded much BUT it's amazing that we have her in some of the best recordings around.
KitanaiBaishunfu 1 day ago
Thank you so much for this. I camped all night in Floral Street to get tickets to see Medea at Covent Garden and saw 1st 3rd & 5th nights. Her acting was powerful and completely riveting right from the start. But her voice, which seemed subdued on the first night, noticeably grew and blossomed with each performance. These stunning memories are as vivid as ever,
CharlotteinWeimar 3 years ago 5
My God! That`s amazing! I like so much!
La Callas always be the Better Medea. Her look as Medea is so Powerful and Beautiful!
I wish be there!
DanBarthy 3 years ago
Rare footage and a real find! Thank you coloratura fan for a brief glimpse not only at a Callas performance at one of a number of great artists.
sospello 3 years ago 2
Wow! Thank you so much for this!
Fanome 3 years ago
Thank you for this. I thought she was a mrvellous Medea.
lagnaha 3 years ago 2
Thank you soooo much for this amazing document of the greatest singer ever!!! Only Maria could do justice to Medea, every other singer failed in this role!
Klassizismus 3 years ago
Oh,to have the greatest singing actress of the 20th century on screen singing 'live'.
Many thanks.
lochness11 3 years ago
OK, Ignore that. I typed before it got far enough to show me what I wanted to know.
BeauTenor 3 years ago
So where was this? (Same Cast I think as Dallas, 1958)
BeauTenor 3 years ago
Thank you coloraturafan for making this available for us all on YouTube.
tHEnOOSEsWINGS 3 years ago 2
Questo video è meraviglioso, magari più breve. Non l'ho mai visto, e mi piacerebbe moltissimo vederlo tutto, si esiste. Grazie tante per trovare questo tesoro della Callas in scena come Medea.
MusicaParola 3 years ago 3
Purtroppo questo e` tutto cio` che esiste di questa Medea. Lo trasmisero alla RAI per i vent'anni dalla morte. Ci sono pochi frammenti filmati dalla buca dell'orchestra. Ce li ho in DVD. Se ti interessa ti faccio sapere il titolo.
sevoflurane 3 years ago
M'interessa moltissimo, ho cercato in vano questo DVD. Ti ringrazio.
MusicaParola 3 years ago
I will never tire of hearing Maria's voice. Be it speaking, or singing. Great footage! Thanks for the post.
magicmonkichi 3 years ago 3