Callas & Di Stefano in duet from Verdi's Don Carlo

[Gerundinos]

este video demuestra que en el mundo lírico la expresión y el dramatismo es tan importante como la voz (o más), ya que si Callas no tenia voz en esa época, lo contrarresta de una forma brillante y más que efectiva con el dramatismo. Bravi!!

[PeterTrabaris]

I remember when Madam Callas was giving these performances. People traveled from all over the world to see, and hear her, and Mr. Di Stefano. I'm glad that performers of all types continue to perform, even in their elder years. Would that we continued to respect and honor each other's lives and contributions. The world would be a better place, I think. And much more beautiful. Thank you Onegin65

[21donbar1]

Thanks, as always, Onegin65, for a great clip! Callas, at any age, was a pleasure!! Sure, she and Di Stefano were past their prime here, but babydrane is correct......singers nowadays could learn a lot from these two, and not be so lackluster and reserved....afraid to "let it all out"....afraid to take chances, as they say. Too much of today's performers are too blah....lacking fire, spinto, brio, call it what you will. Too much of today's singing is just too plain humdrum!!! 

[Bigman240]

Poor Maria...Push the chest voice and this is what happens...a huge register break. Who cares about her voice here????? Anyone with knowledge of healthy singing which includes future generations of young opera singers and students of singing. It is necessary to know what is wrong here to avoid such future disasters. Callas was Callas even for what she did outside the opera theatre. Her great achievements and exemplary singing occurred before 1955.

[MariaCallasLegend]

@Bigman240 Her great achievements and exemplary singing occurred before 1955.???What you have then to say about her Scala 1955 Norma,Traviata,Andrea Chenier,Ballo in maschera(1956 &7 ),boheme in 1956,1959 Pirata,1955 Madama butterfly???

[zizeus]

Intemporel, out of time, she looks perfect. and gives her best, voice follows.she could look like this today and still be in.

[merloamor]

Pippo!!! Pippo!!! Tutto cuore!!

[aktony91]

They would have been better served by a larger accompaniment...several violins perhaps. But a good performance nonetheless. Thanks Onegin65 for posting this video.

[ferrykalos]

La voce non è più quella di una volta ma quel "nell'obliiiioooo" fa venire i brividi e il fraseggio è ancora così magico...

[Lindow]

This was actually transposed a half step down from the original key. Howver it is still better than anything we see these days. And interestingly the last high A that she sings is much better than any of the other high notes we can see in all of these clips. It is placed very well and has much less pressure on it than mayn other of her higher notes in that time. She still had it, no doubt. Compare this to the later clips of the tour (Tokio). The improvement is considerable by then.

[vnpei]

From 3.45 his love-declaring and the way she expresses her anxiety for this forbidden love are done most convincingly with total and believable commitment. This is Don Carlo in a nutshell.

[dorothy76]

Next to God was Pippo Di Sedfano. Callas did the best she could and using too much chest. Listen to Di Stefano's mezza-voce and phrasing. Voice students should see this video and learn about phrasing and diction and colors. Di Stefano's voice the most human of all tenors.

C.M.

[jrtrmish]

This is embarrassing--as well as that whole disastrous tour they made in a pathetic attempt to revive careers that were dead and buried. Ghastly! And so sad!

[chengducat]

She looks so young and beautiful

[LouisXIV85]

where can I buy this dvd?

[venetianformula]

Poverina! She should have quit while she was ahead.

[jmahlon]

Di Stefano is worse here than her.

[ceccopisa]

Un riverente omaggio al grande Maestro Di Stefano e alla divina Callas, saranno sempre presenti nel nostro cuore.

Due artisti inarrivabili, unici.

[wenarto]

whoah, thank you for posting! in wide screen also

[corellithebest]

Her acting is so tragically moving, AMAZING, INCREDIBLE, OTHERWORLDLY! And Di Stefano is extremely moving, too, with subtle nuances in phrasing.

[circuitboydaniel]

As one who is too young to have appreciated these sublime artists while they were alive (let alone in their prime), I treasure the ability to appreciate their artistry... in whatever form it may be uploaded here. Unfortunately, along with the art come bitchy, my-penis-is-bigger-than-your-p­enis comments, which only serve to debase this superior art form & artists. I know to expect Whitney-is-better-than-Mariah chatter when browsing those videos, but surprised at the childishness here. Grow up!

[eml1234]

:) right

[RabbitDeberry]

I agree Nose. Di Stefano was antimusical, and boring. Anyone can huff and puff all day long, just listen to my geo metro! He used her, when she was way past her prime to make himself seem more interesting. He still vomits phrases up like a stopped toilet, she does him shame!

[MyBeautifulNose]

Callas revolutionized opera. She was the first to introduce actual acting to the art. While traditional approches favored having the performers stand still and rely completely on singing to tell the story, we can thank Callas for making opera as theatrically dynamic as it is musically beautiful.

[mozzrt]

Someone should have talked them out of it..Birgit Nilsson did the same, continued singing until 1983 when she should have stopped in 1975...

I'ts degrading to these wonderful artists.

[arturo3164]

Qué flojera leer todos estos comentarios negativos sobre Callas!  Aprendan antes de juzgar, inútiles! y ya me callo... porque los perros comenzarían a ladrar

[claudiocp35]

La verdad. Todos los que critican a los cantantes son cantantes frustrados y no saben ni lo que es la clave de sol. Yo no soy fanático de la Callas, pero hay que ver que aquí, habiendo perdido voz, canta muy bien. Podrá gustar o no, pero música sabía.

[pianist527]

I'm sorry to say this, but is very sad when people debase a soprano like Callas independently of how bad her voice is at this stage of her life. She was unique and if for nothing else just for a question of respect for what she represented to opera and to millions of her fans one should have more sensibility. Besides although being quite different from her great singing of once, here it is still dignified and not that awful

[xafnndapp]

Come on...

I LOVE Callas and what she is for opera and music. But even if she still has an imposing stage presence and wonderful acting skills and musicality, her voice here is really shredded in pieces..

A pushed chest voice to unhealthy heights, a raucus middle and a wobbly and thin top...

No, I can't find her vocally dignified, I wish I could!

[Marinausbcn]

but is so sad to see and to hear Callas in this time, I prefer to don´t see and to remember she like she was....the best!

[Faust075]

Callas is Callas and will remain LA Callas forver. She will always be the best, in 1949 or in 1973.

Who cares about her voice here ! I could have killed someone or pay a forune to get a ticket to see only one of her perfermance, even this one !

[mozzrt]

Who cares about an opera singers voice? lol...

[Faust075]

In the case of Callas in 1973, Yes ! Who cares about her voice ? Again, everybody knew her voice was not anymore what it used to be in 1955. Nobody expected a miracle, though, her magnetic power was still there and as many person said, even with a "ruined" voice, she was magnificent ! Even in 1973/74, she was LA Callas ! and will remain remembered at such until the end of times.

[Buondelmonte123]

@Faust075 The odd thing was, on this night, you could buy a ticket at the last minute, because no-one thought it would take place, and even the scalpers were left holding tickets that no-one wanted. I remember coming across Hungerford footbridge in the rain and was astonished that there was no returns queue.

[Marinausbcn]

johan1938 why you speak so bad abour Callas? all people know in this time Callas was in not good time, please think about what you say , ok? don´t be so bad, thank you!

[johan1938]

callas is destroyed here .Terrible, no voice a cat mewing...

[mdellavalle]

You are horrible johan. And your comment is totally inutil.

I wish we could still listen at destroyed singers like Callas and Di Stefano today.

There are moments in this concert which are sublime.

You probably don't have the ears to listen at.

[xafnndapp]

I agree that johan1938 has been quite unpleasant, but I have also to say that I cannot find any "sublime" moment in this concert...

OK, she is here almost as musical and a great actress as she had always been, but her voice is a sad sad memory of her glorious past.

Only for Callas worshipers-no-matter-what.

(and, alas, I love watching her here too...)

[tena2]

well, i would understand if you said that johan1938 said that we ought to show respect to artist, and I agree there with you, however Callas here shows no voice at all, I hear a desperate sound and its weak and luck of register, Sorry but Callas here seems to be over 80 years old ans that shows that her voice was ruined as much as I am afraid to admit.

[jr1463]

Ohh.. that wasn't very nice.

Every singer has their time, and Callas may have been past hers here. But to say that she has "no voice a cat meowing"....

Then DAMN I'd pay all the money I have to hear a CAT that can meow like CALLAS here!!

Artists like her don't exist today. Or, they are RUINED by a pop-culture society which cannot appreciate the beauty of art.

I agree with ..drane in saying that I would LOVE to hear a singer who can do this today!

[vocalissimo1]

The cruel fact remains that the human voice is a fragile and finite instrument, and that it needs to be looked after, or you will ending up sounding painful. What a great tragedy for Callas, that such a great dramatic artist ended up sounding like this. If it wasn't for the fact that she had a magnetic stage presence, this clip would be too awful to watch.

[aquatiger1987]

Maria Callas is the best, but I hate anything underneath soprano

[iValkure]

This duet like many duets is hard to do in a recitel performance as singers are exposed/vilnerable with only a solo piano especially when the pianist is a minimalist (like this one here). Any tiny mistake will be blown up dramatically.

[babydrane]

Come on guys. This isn't that bad. I cry when people heavily criticize a performance like this and then praise the vocally lackluster performances we have the displeasure of hearing in the opera houses of today. This is obviously not their prime but the effort is admirable and the sound is pleasant. They could have done a whole lot worse and singers nowadays could do a whole lot better with even five of both these singers' prime years combined.

[vincitor]

TOTALLY agree!!!! Finally someone with taste!

[ilbacioditosca]

I agree with you , how many 21 century singers are famous and can't have a 10 minutes with the same quality. What is true is that they are far from their best, but we can get many good moments from this concert.

[vincitor]

@babydrane totally agree!! This was so freakin good!!! both of them! I'ld like to see the people who criticize this try and go up and do this.... 100% guarantee I'll like this WAY more then their version! :)

[nicksum29]

@babydrane It's actually only the chest register in Callas's voice that had faded. The top and middle are still rich, and what a glorious privilege to hear it. Had she wanted it, she could have gotten her voice back on track, but I suspect there was little desire left in her for the stage.

[babydrane]

@nicksum29 I agree nicksum. She made her contribution to opera and for personal reasons moved on. I'm not upset about this. I also don't think people should be singing into their 70s just because they can. Just a shame much of what came after her (after the 1970s generally! - esp in Europe). I wish she'd stayed alive to teach more and pass her knowledge on.

[operawhore64]

Bel Canto? right .. she never had it... she pushed from the very begining and Bing didn't even want her at the Met saying her voice was not Operatic...

[meinfb]

She looks so fragile and beautiful one just wants to protect her. However, during this tour she undoubtedly realized that the one thing that had made her unique was now gone. She had lost Onassis and now her voice. I think those two things combined caused her to lose the will to live. People can sometimes will themselves to die, and I think as tragic as that sounds, she did just that. As long as opera is performed and talked about, Maria Callas will always live.

[tenorojuke]

greatest artists for all time

[levante83]

Callas looks like a real Regina, so charming and beautiful!!!

Viva Diva eterna!

[brianmiles34]

Onegin65 - thank you thank you thank you for this clip. Callas is so fragile and dignified in these concerts. I just love the way she carries herself. I wish i could have seen her - she must have been just mesmerising.

[DanBarthy]

Great Singers!!!

Uniques!!!

Them history makes justice!!!

[CONTESTAR]

I started watching this curious to see how they cope... (by the way, I adore these two people).

However, I caught myself neglecting the music and was mesmerized by the sheer beauty of this woman!

SHE IS RAVISHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!­!!!!!!!!!!

[Elisabetta611]

What I'd GIVE to have this duet or the whole opera recorded by them twenty years earlier. It would be the definitive Don Carlo!

[Matt75003]

Considering that the whole point of this performance lies in what is seen rather than what is heard, what a strange idea it was to let part of the audience sit BEHIND the singers...

[mcknighty11]

I believe that the concert was sold out, and people could buy a limited amount of seats to be put on the stage behind the preformers. But most of the audience would be infront of them. I could be wrong though

[Matt75003]

Vocally, Callas is in dire straits here. She runs out of breath before the end of long phrases, she has trouble staying in tune, and her pronunciation of the "a" vowel is very strange indeed. But seeing her makes this clip worthwhile; she looks the part (what a lovely queen she is), and her acting is marvelously convicing, probably because she always lets the music guide her. On the other hand, Di Stefano's performance is a complete disaster: poor acting, TERRIBLE singing.

[riccardogrande699]

As well as the fact that her register breaks are hideous: she sounds like a beginning mezzo soprano. She was always a great singing actress, but never really had a great technique, which was why she was so inconsistent, even in her "good" days. flat

[josephlemon]

Ummm no.... her register breaks are rough true, but her technical facility were unheard of. She literally changed the way opera was interpreted on stage. She had TRUE bel canto technique. Her reviews from the late 40's and early 50's always raved about how all the trills and ascending scales could be heard perfectly. She WAS a dramatic soprano, and sang quite a bit of Wagner in her early years. Her voice sounds massive on record 1946-59.

[riccardogrande699]

You're quite right, but even in her glory days, she had MANY off nights. Listen to her opening night Vespri Siciliani from La Scala and hear her splatter the e-flat at the end of the bolero on opening night. It was truly hideous. And I've yet to hear a Lucia -- pirated or recorded - where the mad scene e-flats were good. Oh well, that's what makes horse racing................

[saverioorlando]

E natural,no written.Attack of amazing dofficulty.

[saverioorlando]

difficulty,of course.

[VivaMariaCallas]

That wasn't opening night La Scala... that was in Florence. The so-called 'splatter' on the E-natural was simply because E-natural was the highest notes at her range, and, sometimes, cracks happen- especially when you attack it head-on. Generally speaking, her E-flats at the end of the Lucia mad scenes are rock solid up until 1955/6. (The E-flats at the Mexico City premier are slightly insecure, but the subsequent performances were better).

[riccardo699]

I'm not as enlightened as you about exact dates, but I know I heard a Lucia pirate from somehwere in Texas where the e-flats were just plain hideous. There's a story (I'm not sure if it's made up) that after the mad scene and the splattered e-flats, she returned to her dressing room singing one after another, and they all were supposedly fabulous. Who knows at this point.

[VivaMariaCallas]

I didn't think that the pirate you listened to existed (perhaps it is the final Dallas Lucias she sang in 1959?; I would love to have that recording, as the dramatic insight and colouring would probably be supreme- I can bear with the unsteadiness), but if it is indeed that recording or one of the later Lucias (1956/7/9), I completely understand you.

[riccardo699]

Did you ever hear the story about her signing the e-flat multiple times on the way to her dressing room? And in fact, I think you are correct that it was the Dallas Lucias we are talking about.

[VivaMariaCallas]

I've never heard of that story before, but I would not doubt it... after all, she did suffer from terrible stage nerves. However, I did indeed read about a horribly-missed E-flat. In fact, I question her trying it at that stage of her career; she had opted to omit both of them at her vocally-nervous 1956 MET performances which were recorded and at her successful 1958 MET performances (not recorded).

[riccardo699]

You mean no e-flat in either section of the mad scene at all? Not at any performance? That must have seemed strange: would have been like Sutherland not singing them, don't you think? So many people came to expect them in that repertoire......

[VivaMariaCallas]

When she first sang the role, she sang both (of her pirated performances, of course, she did so in Mexico City & La Scala- both audiences love high notes like crazy). In 1955 in Berlin (perhaps the best performances of the opera period- I could send you links for download it if you want), von Karjan suggested that she leave the first one for dramatic effect (completely justified... makes the already-cut mad scene more of a whole than two separate spectacles),...

[VivaMariaCallas]

...and she did so (she absolutely nailed the final E-flat). She continued to do this in Europe, as one can hear in her 1956 performance in Naples and her 1957 performance for radio, but, as one could hear, the purpose was probably based on saving up for the final E-flat (which were, admittedly, much weaker than the ones previously displayed). The MET, however, probably had a theatre bigger than those found in Italy...

[VivaMariaCallas]

...Thus, weak E-flats were probably going to be extremely exposed. In addition, in 1956, she was terribly nervous and in not-so-great vocal condition (it was a broadcast performance), not to mention her cracking the high D in the act two soprano-baritone duet. In 1958, while she was reportedly in fantastic vocal condition (while eating up the high D in the same duet in which she cracked two years prior), the E-flats were probably highly uncomfortable at that stage.

[riccardo699]

Please do send the links. I would LOVE to hear them. Thanks so much.

[VivaMariaCallas]

Her Lucias in her early-middle prime career were definitively terrific vocally. Search 'Callas Lucia 1954' and click on the first hit. It should be her 1954 Spargi d'amoro pianto live at La Scala. Her technique there is rock solid, the voice is in great condition, and the madness is legendary. Not to mention the great high E-flat at the end.

[fh040379]

Thank you very much.

Beautiful. I like it.

[saverioorlando]

Callas is no perfect,but her Elisabetta is a true queen.Di Stefano,more of voice,no style.

[courtneybaritone01]

It's not as bad as people on here are making it seem. Her voice is just out of line. There's a low, a middle, and a top. If you line it up, it sounds pretty good. Within each of those register breaks, her line is good, just riding the air for days, but then come those breaks and it throws it off balance. Her upper middle actually doesn't wobble here! I believe she had really been working to make a strong come back, but just couldn't pull it together. I still like this performance!

[Elisabetta611]

I quite agree. Granted, it's not up to par with their primes but the feeling, the emotions, the MAGIC......it's still there!

[alepeccia]

I love them, and I love this duet!

Is there anything more of Pippo around?

[michaud1]

I think Di Stefano has a bit more voice than Callas,

it is sad to hear them - well past their prime.

Even Tebaldi past her prime sang this better than Callas, Tebaldi had more feeling if you listen to her recording of Don Carlo with Bergonzi.

[ega1mann]

their both shadows of what they once have been... here and there you still can here the sweet di stefano timbre, but as soon as he goes for high notes... just so awful :-/ same for callas, just that the doesn't sound nice at all to me.

[Orfeus80]

These are the performances in London where John Ardoin and Elizabeth Schwarzkopf couldn't face Callas backstage. Just watch the earlier clips and you can hear what sort of sining destroyed her otherwise exciting voice. Such a loss.

[vkaminsky]

DiStefano is in better voice than Callas. Granted, both were past their primes, however, he still has a nice tone and range.

[caruso3]

She does not have much voice left, both of them.

It is sad to hear this.

[Joeleole]

She's so regal as Elisabetta

[MAPIAKALLAS]

OH damn look at Callas i love it so wonderful