Such a touchy moment for me~~~Both of them were no longer in their prime when this recording was made~~~~But you can still feel the true and strong emotion in their performance. Callas is the diva divina forever.
I am haunted by this recording. Callas is wonderful as always; doing what a true artist does: giving the best of herself with the available resources of the moment. Excellent! We all know the voice it isn’t what it was 20 years ago, but what it it’s the so called vocal beauty, when we can enjoy the full range of emotions with which she vividly embodies Aida?
Una preziosissima incisione del 1973 di Maria e Pippo che ci aiuta a non dimenticare la loro unicità e ricordare Il segreto del loro successo artistico stava nell'assenza di ogni artificio vocalistico, d'ogni disumana facoltà formale: nello sfidare temerariamente la stessa loro natura per assecondare l'estro interpretativo del momento, l'irruenza del temperamento unica di Maria e Pippo. Mitici!
THEY BOTH SOUND GREAT. No justifications or excuses necessary here.......I guarantee that if you heard a performance half as good......you would have gone home happy!
This is actually quite fascinating - and for all that is lamentable about most of this singing, there are glimpses of greatness. For instance, I am astounded that Callas manages the slow climb up that high, soft "fuggiam" - and there are other moments where I'm impressed by Callas's efforts. Considering the fact that she had not sung on the opera or concert stage in 8 years, I expected this recording to be a complete catastrophe, and it's not. But she obviously comes to grief time and time again- and the last minute and a half are excruciating and tragic. But I am touched by her courage in attempting a comeback, even if that comeback was ill-conceived in so many ways.
Sorry to disagree big time but Callas is in the best voice of the later period than I have ever heard before. I heard her twice at Carnegie Hall with di Stefano in 1973 and the voice was very uneven. And let's not go back to 1965 when the voice had a wobble in it that you could drive a semi through. Callas has obviously worked hard on correcting the faults. There is hardly a trace of a wobble. The top seems easier and freer that it has in years. The beautiful ascent on "fuggiam" is thoroughly surprising! Sometimes the bottom seems weak but if that's at the expense of the secure top, then so be it! John Ardoin was living in the past or had cotton stuffed into his ears! Beava Maria AND Giuseppe for giving as good as he got!
From unreleased recording sessions made for Philips label. John Ardoin in The Callas Legacy is quite upset about the singing here and claims it should not be remembered as a part of Callas' legacy.
I'm on the fence on the topic of Ardoin and late Callas. He was so dismissive of the last tour of Callas and really threw the baby out with the bathwater, so to speak. Of course her voice was a mess in some ways, but her singing improved so much during the tour that I feel THAT should also be part of the story. Regarding these Philips recordings, yes there are awful moments in this duet, but the other duets had some lovely singing and the Elixer duet is quite good!
@@tenisfin good singing doesn't just consist of good moments or of improvements or of musical insights. It ALSO consists of consistently technical sound singing - correct support and projection of a correctly placed healthy voice, resulting in a beautiful timbre, sonority and a large range of dynamic and interpretational variety. All of this was Callas' to command when she was in her prime, and I honestly feel it is an insult to an artist of her immense magnitude to laud recordings like this with such feeble arguments.
kbh prinsesse I would hardly say I lauded this recording, simply that some of these Phillips duets were better than others. Anyway, just my opinion and I wasn't arguing, feebly or otherwise.
En effet, c'est étonnant qu'avec si peu de matière, on puisse tenter de chanter une montagne comme ce duo d'Aida. Mais avec la disponibilité quasi-infinie d'extraits audio sur RU-vid, il est difficile pour de très ardents défenseurs de l'art de Callas ne serais-ce que de résister à la tentation d'écouter un document dont l'existence même lui était totalement inconnue. Mais la question demeure: comment peindre une toile sublime sans avoir de pinceaux et de couleurs? Il ne restait plus pour Callas que de donner de l'intangible, des intentions, une intensité et certaines idées sur la musique. Le miracle, c'est qu'elle pouvait le faire même sans voix! Le concert donné à Londres en 1973 en est une preuve accablante; n'ayant littéralement plus accès à sa voix chantée, elle a réussi à certains moments et susciter des émotions d'une grande qualité artistique. Et puis il nous reste ses magnifiques enregistrements de la grande époque qui demeureront pour toujours des témoignages de son art et de son génie.
Aïda n'a jamais été un des très grands rôles de Callas. Bien sûr, il y a de très beaux enregistrements de ses premières années (Mexico, Londres sous la direction de Barbirolli), mais au fond ce personnage et cette partition ne lui convenaient pas vraiment (si on fait une exception pour Ritorna Vincitor qu'elle chantait comme personne, même à la fin). Je suis presque étonné qu'elle ait à ce point tenu à ce duo dont elle a laissé *deux* enregistrements où elle est à bout de voix (l'autre étant celui de 1964 avec Corelli). Bien sûr, il reste la musicalité, le style, l'idée, l'intention expressive; mais je décroche toujours au même endroit: su noi gli astri brilleranno...
@@Matt75003 That is not true. She sang it 33 times between 1948 and 1953, making it fifth on the list of her most performed roles, more than Medea for instance. She sang it all over Italy, in London and in Latin America, making quite a splash when she included a high E-flat in the triumph scene two years in a row in Mexico City. Back when she could actually sing, she was a great Aida!
Her EMI Aïda recording with Tucker is quite superb. This unpublished duet with Di Stefano and the unpublished one with Corelli should have remained unpublished. Her Juliet’s Waltz and her Depuis le jour should have remained unpublished also but unfortunately WERE released.
I choose to remember her with her pre-1955 EMI recordings, and her live recordings up to 1958. The Coloratura/Lyric and Puccini discs are among the greatest recital discs ever made. The Tosca, Lucia, I puritani, Norma, and Cavalleria are legendary.
This role was hard for Maria when she sang it in the 50s, let alone when her voice had deteriorated in 1973. The holes in the voice are everywhere, there's no varnish left on the voice. Di Stefano sounds fresh compared to Maria.
È un documento di Unici nella Storia dell'arte ..non si cerca la perfezione,ma l'emozione e la gratitudine a dei mostri sacri.....che perfetto sono stati...ho sempre pensato che i fan dell'opera sono persone pericolose.
Pippo già forzava molto per far una nota alta ma comunque il suo carisma vocale e la bellezza affascinano…a mio giudizio da ancora accenti molto belli(anche se da ricordare in un ruolo che non è il suo) purtroppo di Maria non si può dire lostesso…senza voce completamente,si ravvisa una parvenza di Calls quando gira quelle note con il suo suono inconfondibile però nulla di più…comunque ottimo documento grazie
@@giacomomaini3026 non è una precisazione utile e opportuna ,ne originale in qualcosa che è un ricordo,una commemorazione anche di se stessi,un regalo agli ammiratori ..e comunque la Callas sfoggia la solita musicalità e intensità ,come Di Stefano il leggendario fraseggio.Lo sanno anche i neonati che non sono quelli di vent'anni prima.
