Maria Antouaneta

Maria Callas made this recording of La Gioconda, one of her signature roles, relatively late in her career after her vocal problems had begun, but this performance captures her at her best.

La Divina’s voice so captures popular imagination and exerts such an intense fascination that directors have frequently used her recordings to illustrate iconic movie scenes. This collection gathers the most famous uses of Maria Callas’ recordings in movies and series, from Philadelphia and Fargo to The Bridges of Madison County and Bohemian Rhapsody.

The character of Gioconda is one of the most tragic in the whole history of Italian opera: an altruistic cantatrice who sacrifices everything, to the death, to secure the escape of the man she loves with her rival. Who was better suited than Maria Callas to assume such a role? La Gioconda, the only opera by Ponchielli that has not fallen into neglect, is a stunning transitional work between Verdian romanticism and verismo. La Divina particularly liked this opera.

The character of Gioconda is one of the most tragic in the whole history of Italian opera: an altruistic cantatrice who sacrifices everything, to the death, to secure the escape of the man she loves with her rival. Who was better suited than Maria Callas to assume such a role? La Gioconda, the only opera by Ponchielli that has not fallen into neglect, is a stunning transitional work between Verdian romanticism and verismo. La Divina particularly liked this opera.

Maria Kubizek joined the Chamber Orchestra of Europe in 1992.

A famous backstage photo was taken in Chicago after one of just three performances that Callas gave of Madama Butterfly; it shows the soprano in her Japanese costume, snarling furiously at a bailiff who had served a writ on her – the very image of the tempestuous diva.

"We go to II barbiere for refreshment. Here the choice of conductor was as happy as it was unexpected. The veteran Serafin and man-of-the-moment Giulini were the obvious choices, but already critics and public were complaining about the predictability of cast-lists in this wonderful new age of complete operatic recordings.

Which cantatrice can claim she has embodied the character of Norma better than Maria Callas?

Since 2010 the Associazione La Cantoria has dedicated its energies to the rediscovery of unpublished musical compositions from Rome, transcribing, studying and performing these both live and recording them under the Tactus record label. This cd is dedicated to the musician, composer and organist Francesco Giovannini who was chapelmeister at the Church of Santa Maria in Portico in Campitelli in the 18th century, and whose works are conserved in the archives of the Order of the Clerics Regular of the Mother of God in Rome.