Tullio Serafin Verdi Otello by Tullio Serafin

THE FIRST OF THE TWELVE discs in this collection of Anna Moffo’s RCA recital recordings begins with a 1960 performance of the jewel song from Gounod’s Faust, and that selection, along with the others on this disc, sets out the singer’s basic assets and liabilities. It’s a fresh lyric sound—Moffo was twenty-eight that year—even throughout the range, accurate in pitch and coloratura, with a good try at a trill. She phrases with musicality but not much nuance or variety of color. These qualities serve her and the music well in the coloratura fireworks of the shadow song from Meyerbeer’s Dinorah; “Bel raggio,” from Rossini’s Semiramide; and the bell song from Delibes’s Lakmé, all of which she tosses off with ease. Micaela’s aria from Carmen, however, demands more emotional thrust, while her Mimì and Liù are bland and anonymous.

EMI's generous compilation of 100 tracks from its archive of recordings by Maria Callas makes a fine introduction to her legacy. Callas' voice isn't consistent throughout, but when she's at her best, it's easy to hear the musical and dramatic power that made her the most legendary opera singer of the 20th century. She is impressive often enough that it's not hard to forgive the performances that are less than stellar. The six-disc collection is intelligently organized, with each disc dedicated to a particular composer (or several composers) or a theme: Bellini; Donizetti and Rossini; Verdi; Puccini; French operatic heroines; and dramatic heroines.

THE FIRST OF THE TWELVE discs in this collection of Anna Moffo’s RCA recital recordings begins with a 1960 performance of the jewel song from Gounod’s Faust, and that selection, along with the others on this disc, sets out the singer’s basic assets and liabilities. It’s a fresh lyric sound - Moffo was twenty-eight that year - ven throughout the range, accurate in pitch and coloratura, with a good try at a trill.