Maria Callas: "Nacqui all'affanno" "Non più mesta..." Rossini, La Cenerentola, Prêtre Hamburg 1962

Maria Callas esegue "Nacqui all'affanno e al pianto..." / "Non più mesta" da "La Cenerentola" di Gioachino Rossini. Musikhalle, Hamburg 16 marzo 1962. Symphonieorchester des NDR, direttore Georges Prêtre.

Una forza travolgente, insita nel carattere del soprano greco-americano, tenta a tutti i costi di domare una voce ormai compromessa dalla malattia. Nonostante sforzi sovraumani per riacquistare il supremo ed assoluto controllo, tenuto negli anni d'oro della sua gloriosa carriera, la Callas si trova davanti la montagna insormontabile del limite fisico. Quella voce, la Sua voce, che tanto aveva dato al mondo intero, non risponde più come prima. Non lo farà più! Eppure, nonostante tutti i limiti che possono essere trovati ed addebitati ad uno strumento consunto e in declino, Maria Callas respira, ammicca, accenta, interpreta, sublima da par suo, in modo unico ed irripetibile. Il risultato è che il rondò di Angelina, nell'interpretazione della Divina, ha apposto, forse più di qualsiasi altra cosa, il sigillo indelebile alla Rossini renaissance.
Eterna riconoscenza alla Sua sublime ed indimenticabile Arte.

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[Makashi11]

That last vibrato trail was nasty, very sharp.

[belcantismo]

@Makashi11 Maybe, but and all the rest?

Is it possible to concentrate the attention on a small part of a wonderful and definitive performance, perfect for singing and acting examples?

[Makashi11]

@belcantismo Personally I think Callas is an over-rated Soprano. Her technique seems impeccable and her range is impressive but there is something fundamental missing from her voice. She just lacks a certain exceptional quality about the basic quality of her voice, it just hits me as rather bland and unexciting. For one, I would put Mady Mesple above Callas. Mesple had a wider range and superior technique; the timbre of her voice is wonderful, she sounds like a nightingale.

[belcantismo]

@Makashi11 Yeah, that is the problem! At least for me and for lovers of Maria Callas: she (Mady Mesple) "sounds like a nightingale".

Total opposite "conception" of Maria Callas' singing.

[diesis23]

no words.

[belcantismo]

@diesis23 I agree, it's enough to listen and to watch her to have the right response for all is opera acting and singing.

[belcantismo]

@moltoallegro19 It is a question of taste, and the taste is totally personal. But if you consider Callas' fans all over the World, you can understand why they are so many. So, you do start to think that the absolute Art cannot be consider only a question of taste or of personal preference.

[hammer55292]

The world-reknowned BBC got her art, naming her " The Greatest Soprano OF All Time ", in 2007.

[stefanodepeppo]

@Makashi11 Mady Mesple above Callas?...Oh God, God, where are you??

[MarcoCallas]

@Makashi11 I have a feeling you need to be musically trained to judge a singer's technique. Now, apart from the final note, not exactly in tune, and that does not matter in the least after such a brilliant show (we are in the sixties, when Callas had vocal problems, check her older recordings), if you can't appreciate the understanding of Rossini's score here delivered, in each detail of the score, then maybe music is not your field, who knows?

[galehout]

lei "sa" come deve essere cantato il pezzo, sotto tutti i punti di vista (anche pù del direttore d'orchestra). Quando aveva anche più suono a disposizione, la chiamavano Divina... ci sarà stato un motivo...

[Ariadne7710]

@Makashi11 Callas's did not have a conventional "pretty voice" but she had a voice of immense range, versatility and power. She had a formidable technique and exceptional interpretative instinct. I was lucky enough to see her perform during the years 1956-59 when I was studying music in Italy and her portrayals of Norma, Traviata, Medea and Anna Bolena which I saw were unique and unforgettable experiences. Conductors like Karajan, Bernstein, Serafin etc lined up to conduct her. Were they wrong?

[Ariadne7710]

@operasinger1981 In addition to what you say, Callas was first and foremost a musician and second a singer. Furthermore, she was a musician's musician. She is for those who can see beyond the voice (is it a "pretty voice" or not) and the technique - which is second to none - and appreciate her musicianship qualities, the voice colouring, the phrasing, the way she uses the text to formulate each phrase, and accentuate it, the use of rubato, ritardando, accellerando etc This is just for a start.

[Makashi11]

@belcantismo The rest was good in my mind but - perhaps this has something to do with the recording quality / today's - that's what we come for and expect in professional singers, isn't it? I see little reason to comment on a singer's good singing - had I thought this was an exceptional performance I would have commented and similarly when I pick up on something exceptionally awful I see fit to acknoweledge it.