Tosca - Callas (CD)
Price: $30.00 Members: $27.00
In-Stock
Item: 190295989378
Description
Tosca - Callas (CD)
This Tosca was Maria Callas’s final studio recording of a complete opera. In 1965, 12 years after her first recording of the opera (made in Milan Victor de Sabata) she was reunited in Paris with the Scarpia of Tito Gobbi. Both singers bring new dramatic insights to their roles.
These are the first five releases in a new line of premium releases of classic operatic recordings.
Each of these releases offers optimum sound quality. The four releases originally recorded using analogue techniques (Carmen, Die Zauberflöte, Don Giovanni, Tosca) have all been newly remastered in 24-bit/96kHz at Abbey Road Studios using the latest technology, while La traviata benefits from its stunning original digital recording.
In addition to the CDs, each of these releases includes a hardback, cloth-bound book of between 156 and 260 pages. This book contains: - the complete libretto (with translations) – a component now increasingly rare in opera sets; - an essay by the journalist and opera expert George Hall; - an impressive array of photographic material, with numerous pictures of the artists at the time the recording was made.
The CDs and book are contained in a glossy dustjacket featuring the original cover artwork for the release.
As George Hall writes of the series:“Although many other recordings of the same works exist, in each instance special factors are generally agreed to have given every one of these sets particular qualities that have continued to attract the highest critical praise, as well as the ongoing affection of generations of opera lovers. Having stood the test of time, the results can now be enjoyed by today’s listeners in their optimum sonic manifestations.”
History
Tosca premiered in 1900 at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome. It is one of the world’s most frequently performed operas and is known as much for its gripping drama as for its appealing score. The setting is Rome, where Tosca, a beautiful and famous singer, battles to save her lover Mario from the sadistic police chief Scarpia. The role of Tosca has been long considered a proving ground for great operatic actresses.
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Callas IS Tosca! Gobbi IS Scarpia!
This is THE most exciting recording of “Tosca” EVER! Though Callas and Gobbi are just as exciting and dramatic in the various live recordings that were made of their “Tosca” appearances together in 1964-65, this commercial recording (made in December 1964) boasts the outstanding (and realistic!) stereophonic sound that can only come in a studio recording! The high point is the death of Scarpia at the end of Act II! My God, it sounds like one has witnessed an actual murder! Walk, crawl, or roll to get this recording in your collection!
Uncle Harvey, August 2020Familiarity: More than 2 years
Age Range: 65 and up
