Callas Live in Amsterdam 1959

Maria Callas’s recital discs occupy a central place in her recorded legacy, alongside her complete opera recordings. The Verdi featured three roles she had sung in the opera house: Abigaille, brimming with youthful and impressive vocal grandeur at the San Carlo in Naples in 1949 (her earliest complete live opera recording to have survived); Lady Macbeth at the opening of the 1952–3 La Scala season, one of her greatest triumphs (the live recording was reissued by EMI); and Elisabetta (Élisabeth de Valois) at La Scala in 1954 (of which we have no recording), a character whose aria ‘Tu che le vanità’ would become a central feature of the concerts she gave between 1959 and 1962.

The legend of la Divina comes of course from her amazing discographic legacy, with dozens of iconic studio operas and recitals, but even more from her stunning stage presence, which left a lasting mark to the privileged attendees of her live performances. Spanning all the greatest works of the operatic repertoire, this collection revives the electrifying Callas nights in the most prestigious venues. It includes concerts from no less than ten distinct locations, from Paris and Amsterdam to London and San Remo, with such distinguished partners as Malcolm Sargent, Georges Prêtre, John Pritchard and Nicola Rescigno.