Maria Callas sings "Suicidio" La Gioconda

Royal Festival Hall. London, 1973

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Opera
• Ponchielli
• La
• Gioconda
• Maria
• Callas

[pollione86]

Callas was Callas, the legen of belcanto but her voice here is destryed by years of silence and probably even because she had sung charachters too hard for her voice....but if she did't do it she wouldn't have been Maria Callas

[trumansf]

dark by nature???? Its called deep dramatic low notes and has nothing to do with the nature. By nature she was very week thats why always came out so string to the public, in order to protect herself.

[TheRachmaninofflover]

Even though her voice here is nowhere near her best, I would still give anything to sing like she can here.

[MrAndresaputra]

Callas in one of greatest diva in this world

[betweenyouandsky]

The first time I saw this video it made me cry that her lower middle notes sound like her voice without any operatic training. Since she didn't perform for so long she just lost the technique,I think. Her higher notes are still her voice I remember. I miss her very much.

[sommofabio]

wonderful :)

(but SUICIDIO is written with only one C) ;)

[sillyboydeux]

The lower middle notes from C to G sound haggard and do not resonate. The tempo is dragging, compared to the recordings, and the overall impression does not "sweep me away" as in glory day. But parts are superb, from "Perdei la madre" up to "fra le tenebre" in particular. After that, like her character, it's downhill. But to hear a real miracle, find her "Ah perfido" recorded at Théatre du Champs Elysée, a year before her death. She had worked another "Callas miracle", and was in superb form.

[camalane]

Quel merveilleux déclin !!!!!!!!

[lojundolo]

SUICIDIO, just one C in italian and in Ponchielli's title

[raaadja99]

Even though her voice is obviously far away from it's peak she still delivers a performance that 99 % of nowadays sopranos would kill for.

[astridsmid]

Because of this beautifull lady I started liking opera. But now after some years she is still the only one who can really touch me with her voice.

[unotenore]

more listening clarifies the problem with the topmost note near climax which is that she changes her body to accomodate the note, thereby taking the line off the breath. this is not new to Callas, but she's not as young, and she would have benefited from advice here. probably no one dared to give her advice in vocal matters at this stage in her life. She also looks anarexic which can take away the essential bouyancy needed for singing such demanding music. remember no recording studio.