Giuseppe Verdi Victor De Sabata Maria Callas - Verdi Macbeth complete opera live 1952 with Maria Callas Enzo Mascherini Victor de Sabata Orchestra Chorus of La Scala Milan (46 tracks) +Album Reviews

Callas & Lady Macbeth: A Perfect Match

03/10/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is an opera that EMI should have recorded with Callas in the studio, but it never happened, so we are lucky to have this recording of the 1952 live performance from La Scala. While the sound is boxy, dry, and lacking in range, it remains listenable and the ear quickly adjusts. Callas is an Amazonian Lady Macbeth, and it's a thrill a minute. Her voice, as heard here, is huge, powerful, and completely steady as she spews venom at every turn. The effects achieved by Callas on this performance are easier heard and experienced than discussed. Not surprisingly, the Macbeth of Enzo Mascherini is not on this level, but he manages a creditable performance in a role that should have been cast with Tito Gobbi (the only Macbeth who would have met Callas on equal ground). Victor de Sabata conducts a dramatic and searing performance. For Callas fans, this set is an absolute must."

An Observation of Gino Penno's Macduff!

Impostazione | New York City Area | 09/16/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A great historical Macduff, Penno is available on two recordings in this role; very rare for this role and even more rare that his career lasted less then 8 years. I never "got" the role of Macduff, even though many famous tenors have spoken of its importance, they never have seemed to imbue this character with the excruciating pain and bereavement he endures. That was before I heard Gino Penno.

Penno's sound had been a mystery to me because it seemed too vacuous and throaty. I did not like it then, but I found out that he had one of the largest voices, if not the THE largest voice on the stage at that time, not just among tenors but all voices. Gruadually, I understood the unique timbre and grew to respect his tendency to hold back his voice and protect his musicality, which is quite careful and delicate.

In this performance, he brings Macduff to a Shakespearean level. His "innigkeit" is a surpassing experience. His plea "O figli, miei" is a sympathetic outpouring of pure pity and affection. He says it the way a real man and father would do. It is touching, of course, as it should be.

Penno is easy to ignore, especially when the Callasian volcano is erupting about him, but listen intently with a libretto in one hand and a hankerchief in the other ... to dry your tears."

Verdi�s Lady Macbeth!

07/09/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The opera should be called ?Lady Macbeth? when the Lady is Maria Callas! I?m not a huge Callas fan since I can never find much beauty in her voice but indisputably this role was written for Maria Callas. It needs a rough, ... sound with much coloratura and powerful both high and lower notes. This is, to me, Callas? greatest role! However besides Callas, the less famous Elena Soulioti is also great, even if her studio recording does not represent her Lady well. Back to Callas, it is really sad that the diva never recorded the opera in studio, though she did record the famous aria and caballeta. This is, therefore, the only complete testament we have with Callas in this role and despite the terrible sound it?s a must.Macbeth here is Enzo Mascherini who does a fine job but I much prefer others who have recorded the role in studio (Warren, Milnes for example). I also prefer sopranos in the title role, that?s why my recommendation for a studio version goes to the RCA: Warren/Rysanek/Bergonzi. Last but not least here, the underrated conductor De Sabata is superb! Concluding, even though the bad sound should prevent me from giving 5stars, I do give them because of Maria Callas: the definite Lady Macbeth."

Bone-chilling and Evil

The Cultural Observer | 01/25/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When Arturo Toscanini was making plans to conduct a performance of Verdi's Macbeth at La Scala, he had one singer in mind--Maria Meneghini Callas. For more than a hundred years, this Verdi opera was much neglected by hundreds of great artist because of the composer's demands for the voice--choked, evil, not even singing. Of course, with the passing of time, a great artist with the genius of bel canto singing, the ability to color each and every phrase accurately, and with the most powerful stage and dramatic presence, came along the scene. Such a soprano was Maria Callas. Of course, because of her disputes with the damned Antonio Ghirangelli, the head of La Scala at the time, the Toscanini Macbeth never took place. How fortunate we truly are, however, to have Callas sing the role in La Scala a few years later with the great Victor de Sabata conducting. Here, we hear a totally different Callas, an antiheroine bent on achieving her goals without care for moral justice. No other soprano or mezzo for that matter could have captured the Lady Macbeth that Callas poured out on La Scala for the audiences that she mesmerized with her ability to portray such a despicable character. What a brilliant artist she truly was! Her letter scene is undoubtedly the benchmark for any other letter scene read by successive ladies after her career. Her La Luce Langue is simply amazing. Her sleepwalking scene caused only her to gain more legions of fans. Her colleagues weren't too bad either. Enzo Mascherini was evil yet cowardly as Macbeth. Truly a great performance that night. Do not miss out on this recording."

The best Lady Macbeth ever

julius | Washington | 01/24/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Lady Macbeth was the role Callas was born to sing. The sound of her voice was so full, heavy, dark and evil, just like the way Verdi intended it to be. It's very disappointing that Callas never made a studio recording of this opera. It would have been a masterpiece.
...As for the reviewer who said that Callas is ruining Verdi's name, Toscanini who knew Verdi personaly, picked Maria to sing the role for La Scala. Verdi wanted a singer who possessed a big, dark heavy voice to sing the role not a light soprano who produced pretty sounds! Why do you think Macbeth is rarely performed anymore? Because Lady Macbeth is hard to cast. No singer from the past and today has the right voice to sing Lady Macbeth."

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