Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor Berlin, 29/09/1955

Of the three commercial releases of Maria Callas as Lucia di Lamermoor -- Florence 1953 with Di Stefano, Gobbi, and Serafin; Berlin 1955 with di Stefano, Panerai, and von Karajan; and London 1959 with Tagliavini, Cappuccilli, and Serafin -- this Berlin recording with La Scala and the RIAS Symphony under Karajan is the best, especially in this most recently (2017) digitally remastered version by Parlophone for Warne. Of the three it is the only live recording and captures the magic of the special Callas-Karajan- La Scala partnership from 1954 to 1955 which also brings out the best of di Stefano and Panerai. In the 'Mad Scene,' Callas actually seems to come unhinged -- so palpable is her identification with the role. No matter how much you may like the other versions -- or even the three by Sutherland and a fine one by Sills -- this unique live Callas-Karajan version should be in any serious Lucia collection.

This live performance recording captures a night to forget!. Callas had her usual problems above the staff and is often off-notes, and whose only passable moments come in the third act mad scene (naturally). Di Stefano charms only in his two main arias. And while it's rare that one feels bad for Von Karajan and the orchestra, here they are battered by the considerable cuts in the score from pillar to post and required to survive the night without any support from the audience claques who are there naturally reserved only to support Callas and Di Stefano in their big moments.It must have been excruciating for Von K. & the orchestra who are spared any sonic focus or instrumental articulation even now by the microphones, which were only trained on the singers, and ignoring the orchestra pit, protecting them and perhaps us from any audible moaning by Donizetti possibly rolling over in his grave. If you have loved these great performing artists of the past, do your memories a favor, and ignore this recording which should never have been released. PASS.

This remastered of a superior analogue source is simply amazing. The sound stage is more spacious and warm, and the space around the voices is more natural. Some distortions here and there remain. However, this is a vast improvement over the previous CD incarnations of this legendary performance.

Based on the reviews, I assumed that I was finally going to hear Callas at her best. Alas! I hardly recognized her. The voice sounded thin and somewhat hoarse, and the vibrato was usually too fast except on some of the high notes where the well-known wobble was already starting to assert itself, and she was only 31 years old. The Mad Scene, of course, was very dramatic, as one might expect from Callas, but I could not get past the sound of the voice. Di Stefano, on the other hand, was a revelation. I have to admit that I had never heard a young Di Stefano before, and now I finally understand why he became famous. The applause following his big aria actually exceeded that of Callas after her mad scene, and he deserved it. His high note was glorious. I am going to give this recording to a friend. Any of the Lucia recordings of Sutherland or Sills exceeds this one, and for lack of space in my home, I will make do with them....

And now sounding even better. No more distortion on those highs. Mad scene is spine tingling. 1955 was Callas' year.

Callas is brilliant in this live recording of Lucia.It is her greatest performance of the role. And it is the greatest Lucia that I have ever heard. I own the Sills and the Sutherland recordings, and they are great. But Callas surpasses both of them. Her depth of feeling, her emotional portrayal, and the beauty of her voice are far above all others who have recorded the role. The recording is essential to any collector of opera recordings.

This is the first live performance of Lucia that I have ever listened to (except Opus Arte DVD /La Scala/1992).The atmosphere of the performance is captured very clearly even though the sound is clearly somewhat dated. The excitement compared to a studio recording is palpable.

This is considered by many to be Callas' greatest performance of any role at any time and they may be right. Warner tells us that they used a new analogue source for this and there are a few differences compared with the EMI release form 1997, so this is backed up by listening. Warner make the surprising claim that their source is warmer, broader *and* brighter than others, quite a claim! However, the proof of the recording is in the listening...Richard Osborne reviewed the first EMI CD release in Gramophone "offering those of us who weren't there the chance to sample a sensation and discover why some normally robust critics were robbed of sleep for a week by the experience." I have been listening to this Lucia constantly over the last few days, it's a wonder I've got any sleep either. I find Divina record's release of the same recording disappointing, it's muddy in a lot of places where EMI isn't and the best version would be a composite of EMI and Divina (Divina has better clarity in the mad scene for example). EMI's mad scene is incredibly flat with the flute on one level and Callas in the background in the opening section. Divina has a totally different soundscape here with Callas clearly heard without the muffled effect that mars the EMI and the flute swirls around Callas in a way that gives it a 3D character. Unfortunately there is some radio static and electronic hum during the Divina mad scene which isn't on the EMI. It's hard to choose between the two, swings and roundabouts.The Warner, however is a miracle. This remaster from an obviously superior source doesn't sound like a live recording from 1955, it could easily be mistaken for a 1940s studio recording. In fact there is something of a stereo feel to the sound. I don't hesitate to recommend the Warner it is indeed warmer, broader and brighter and every detail of the performance is there presented to us with the utmost fidelity.

This is a newly-sourced recording of a legendary live performance from Berlin in 1955. The combination of Maria Callas at the height of her powers and Herbert von Karajan is quite simply stunning. Karajan gives Callas the space and focus to make the part of Lucia entirely her own, and we remain spellbound throughout.The recording isn't perfect - there are lots of thumps, bumps and creak from the stage - plus audience noise. Somewhat ironically, we get less of the latter when we really need it, for example, much of the applause has been cut, which makes the repeat of one aria seem a little self-indulgent on the part of the performers, rather than a response to a clearly-ecstatic audience.Compared to the "original" EMI release of this recording there are certainly changes (as others have noted) - but it isn't all positive. Yes, the sound is fuller - the old EMI release sounds thin and constricted by comparison. However, no one else seems to have noted the absolutely horrendous tape print-through that permeates this release! We hear pre-echoes of almost every fortissimo, and this goes on and on and on. It would appear that, despite the superior technical quality of this tape, the tape itself wasn't stored very well, resulting in the very noticeable print-through. (I'm - frankly - rather amazed that the Abbey Road remastering engineers didn't see fit to expunge these effects - as they have done for street noises in the Maria Callas Remastered collection.)Finally, why, oh why, can't Warner include a physical libretto these days? I'd have thought that most collectors would be happy to pay extra for this - especially if it included historical photos and was nicely packaged into a hardback "book" edition (as Decca and Deutsche Gramophone have done for their Limited Edition CD/Blu-Ray releases).

This is a live recording from 1955 but has a good sound quality. There is a lot of rapturous applause and, inevitably, a bit of coughing from the audience. Whether you think this adds atmosphere or is just irritating is a matter of personal opinion: either way, the performance of Callas and Stefano is superb and, I think, well worth hearing despite the coughs.

Beautiful Music

What horrible tacky packaging Warner has managed to produce. No libretto and barely adequate protection for the discs. Surely they can do better than this, even if it is on a”shoe string” budget. Cheese paring!

A superb performance, which I expected, but also very acceptable sound. Warner is working miracles with their remastering. I wish they'd get their hands on the DGG Karajan recordings of the 60's. DGG still haven't learnt how to digitize them without losing the subtleties of the original vinyl issues.