The Three Callas Traviatas(转发)

In Italian opera, Maria Callas was one of the greatest singing actresses of the 20th century, in spite of vocal production that consisted of a uniquely dark and distinctive timbre that was sometimes flawed by excessive vibrato and noticeable register breaks. Her deep understanding and devotion to musical scores was legendary and her performances often revelatory. However, because of growing vocal problems, her recording career of complete operas was quite short (1951-1964). One of her most important roles was Violetta in Verdi’s La Traviata (which she performed 63 times over a seven-year period). There are three commercially available recording: Rome, 1953 (Cetra and then Naxos), Milan, 1955 (EMI) and Lisbon, 1958 (EMI and then Myto).

The generally accepted view of the three different recordings is that the first one (the only studio recording) was early in her career, unrefined as an interpretation, and supported by merely adequate male singers; that the second one was at the dramatic peak of her career, with a stronger male supporting cast, a better conductor, but inadequate sound; and that the third was late in her career, after the voice started to fade but the interpretation had deepened, with excellent male support but mediocre sound with annoying stage noises from a live broadcast tape.

It is a misconception that the first, Cetra recording was too early in Callas’ career or that her interpretation was unrefined. By the time of this recording in 1953, Callas’ Traviata had already been the talk of the opera world. After her sensational debut as Violetta in Florence in January 1951, as Franco Zeffirelli recalled, “the audience went mad.” Later that year, Tito Gobbi recalled the Sao Paolo performance as “electrifyingly brilliant and magical.” In Parma in December, the great soprano Elizabeth Schwarzkopf went backstage to congratulate Callas and tell her that there was no point in her (Schwarzkopf) singing the role again. In Verona in August 1952 it was hailed as an unforgettable experience and the thrill of the season. And by January 1953 she performed in successfully in Rome with the conductor and cast that would make the Cetra studio recording eight months later in Turin. This can hardly be considered too early in Callas’ career or that she was not ready to give a refined interpretation. Since her first performance in Florence in January 1951, she had sung the role 28 more times under eight different conductors in ten different cities before making this first recording. And the male singers were definitely more than merely adequate. The tenor, Francesco Savarese, sang with her in the Florence premiere three times under the great conductor Tulio Serafin, then again twice in Venice and finally three times in Rome under Gabriele Santini before the recording session in Turin. It is also a misconception that the interpretation had matured by the time of the second, La Scala recording in 1955 or that she was at the peak of her career. We are talking about a period of only one year and nine months between the two recordings. In fact, she only sang Traviata two times in Chicago prior to the second recording. Her voice may have changed somewhat between September 1953 and May 1955 because she lost over 60 pounds of body weight, but not her experience of the role. The greatest difference between the two recordings is the production and the cast. The La Scala performance in 1955 was directed by the filmmaker Luchino Visconti in an interpretation so controversial that the tenor, Giuseppe Di Stefano (who had only sung the role with Callas three times previously in 1951), left the stage before the final curtain call and withdrew from all subsequent performances (as would eventually the conductor, Carlo Maria Giulini). In all, there were 21 performances of the La Scala production, but only the first night was recorded for the EMI release. This is not a question of refinement or maturity; it is merely a different production, a different conductor, and a different (and dissatisfied) cast.

By the time of the third recording – Lisbon, 1958 – Callas had not sung Traviata for almost two years – with the exception of just two performances in New York in February 1958, the month before the Lisbon recording. The Lisbon Traviata was recorded from a live radio broadcast on March 27th. The conductor was Franco Ghione, the tenor was the excellent Alfredo Kraus and the baritone was a fine Mario Sereni. The Lisbon recording can be heard as evidence of a deepening of the emotional intensity of Callas’ interpretation of the role and finally, refinement and maturity after more than seven years since her Florence debut. It is also possible that the eventual deterioration of her vocal powers found its way into the interpretation of the role of a woman dying of tuberculosis. Regardless, the performance is regarded by many as one of the most poignant characterizations. There were only two performances in Lisbon and, following a difficult week in London in June and two more performances in Dallas in November, she never sang the opera again. In that sense, the Lisbon recording can be heard as somewhat valedictory.

The 1953 Cetra recording has recently been re-mastered by the award-winning sound restoration engineer Ward Marston for Naxos Historical in 2005. As a studio recording, it always had the best sound of the three and the performance reveals Callas at a very strong point in her career with a fine supporting cast in Albanese and Ugo Savarese. The conductor, Gabriele Santini, was a great Verdian and made a number of definitive recordings for EMI. This deserves 4 stars.

The 1955 La Scala recording was remastered by EMI in 1987 (and less satisfactorily in 1997) but has not been able to improve on the tendency for the sound to crumble at climaxes on the original master tape. Although Callas was comfortable with the Visconti production and sang well, with the conductor Giulini giving her plenty of encouragement, Di Stefano and Bastianini were not at their best. It is frustrating to listen to a great Callas interpretation in bad sound. This deserves no more than 3 stars. Finally, the 1958 Lisbon recording has recently been re-mastered in 2008 by Myto from an excellent newly discovered original broadcast master. Although there are still some stage noises (as in most any live recording), the prompter is less noticeable and the overall difference between this and the 1987 EMI remastering (and especially the weaker 1997 remastering) is considerable. Regardless of which other Callas version one might have, the Myto should now be considered the must-have version and deserves 5 stars.