IDAGIO | Callas - Mad Scenes from Anna Bolena, Hamlet & Il pirata

Featuring

Nicola Rescigno
Maria Callas
Monica Sinclair
Duncan Robertson
John Lanigan
Joseph Rouleau

Philharmonia Orchestra
Philharmonia Chorus
Gaetano Donizetti
Ambroise Thomas
Vincenzo Bellini

Did you know?

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Recording & Production

The producer Walter Legge was not convinced that recording complete operas of "Anna Bolena" and "Il pirata" would be marketable, so he persuaded Maria Callas to record only their final scenes.

Interpretation

Nicola Rescigno, the conductor, was known for his adventurous editing of opera scores, making cuts and tightenings to help Anna's 'mad scene' work dramatically and musically when separated from the rest of the opera.

Performer Biography

Maria Callas, the soprano on this recording, had already achieved triumphs at La Scala with "Anna Bolena" and "Il pirata" in 1958.

Recording & Production

This recording was made on September 24-25, 1958, at Kingsway Hall, London, with Walter Legge as producer and Harold Davidson as balance engineer.

Composer's Artistic Vision

The three central figures in this recital — Donizetti's Anna, Bellini's Imogene, and Thomas's Ophélie — share aspects of a character type that fascinated Maria Callas: women pushed into a state of being unable to live by men they love or who have power over them.

Performer Biography

Maria Callas insisted on being accompanied by Italian-American conductor Nicola Rescigno for this recital, with whom she had worked regularly since 1954.