Callas is of course heartbreaking. Bastianini's performance is so forceful and at the same time empathetic; you cannot hate the character. His voice is a flow of molten bronze. He was 33 here!
Something similar happens to me with his Rigoletto, it is the voice of a noble, not the voice of a jester. At the 10:10 minute "Ah! Dite alla giovine", the Callas Lab is a bit out of tune. It is one of the first times that I approve and embrace a detune, it is so according to what she is singing, it seems that she does it on purpose
Old School Singers I think like you that she did it not on purpose, she probably would never except such an effect, but it might also come for the type of recording which was certainly not very safe. Anyway willingly or not it's absolutely overwhelming !
@@Oldschoolsingers Callas isn't out of tune, the recording is slowed, a very common problem with older recordings when transferred to digital which makes the whole recording out of pitch.
These riches on RU-vid are stunning to me, age 70. I only just "discovered" Bastionini. Heard many greats in San Francisco back in the Adler days, but never either of these two.
Sono più propenso per madre natura. Da una parte un dio sarebbe stato troppo ingiusto nei confronti degli altri miliardi di essere umani, dall'altra sarebbe stato un vero sadico a toglierci così presto due creature sovrumane come Maria ed Ettore, e Verdi ecc. ecc.
Callas and Bastianini are beyond perfection, there's no word. But above all, what a scene Verdi wrote here, based on the French play by Dumas... There's one of the most heartbreaking and excruciating scenes of all the operas ever. I'll never get used to it.
This is such a masterfully composed scene by Verdi, I normally love to listen to its every detail, every note, every progression of the characters' emotions. However, with Callas and Bastianini here, I can't. It's too overwhelming, too real, too raw. These two legends have brought this scene to such a height, everything became real. I just can't deal with Violetta/Callas being so cruelly pushed to desperation by the calculating Germont/Bastianini. The following scene is equally painful. Simply legendary.
Now, there is the score... all the notes, everything, each dynamic Verdi wrote, each little point, accent, everything... and Callas SINGS IT ALL, each note, each indication, each accent... and she creates something UNIQUE, SUBLIME, INCOMPARABLE... and she achieves all that BY SINGING EACH OF VERDI'S INDICATION... already that places her ABOVE ANY OTHER SINGER, ANY!!! This capacity to sing every indication of a score, like a pianist or violinist does, is call TECHNIQUE... technique is not to have a beautiful, sweet, pleasant voice.... that is NATURE, the rest, all what you do with that voice, and the way one reads a score and sings it AS IT IS WRITTEN, now THAT is technique.... Callas is the only one who does it, maybe also Gencer, sometimes... most sopranos use their technical possibilities TO SERVE THEIR VOICES, to sound beautifully, to impress the audience with the beauty of their sound, ... well, not Callas: she gives us what Verdi wrote, plus her unique interpretative genius. It is for us to choose.
I would disagree, but it's all semantics. Knowing HOW to sing, to do all the things Callas did, was TECHNIQUE. One spends YEARS learning how to make the voice do as you wish. What you wrote here: "
@Moirbasso A bit more - but still, many of the notations are by the man who edited the score for the publishing house. Hence, Muti (and others) began in the 1980s researching, and performing, "the original " -- one that comes to mind is Rigoletto .....that was the big push (and has been) - to search for the Urtext and strip out the "improvements" that editors and copyists, etc have added over low the last many years
@@rugby8-Philadelphia I agree. The whole "Callas sticks closest to the score" thing is a bit overblown imo. She frequently takes liberties with rhythm and dynamics but what she does do imo is understand the harmonic structure of the composer and brings out her role completely through this, one detail at a time. In other words the heart of the piece. There's a greater depth of musical feeling and meaning and strictness with her than other singers.
These two must be the two greatest in their categories in operatic history!Callas gave so much and her voice is inimitable and Bastianini is God's example as how a perfect baritone sounds IMO
Così Verdi deve essere eseguito- passione nelle voci , loro bellezza interpretazione- si piange di commossa partecipazione- Ettore, sei una gloria della nostra Siena- grazie-
Che dire, ogni parola è superflua, si tratta "solo" di pura arte!! Meravigioso suono, sarebbe bello avere l'intera opera con questo suono, anzi tutte le opere della Csllas dal vivo..Aspettiamo con fiducia. What can I say, every word is superfluous , it's just pure art.!!!! What a wonderful sound. It would be nice to have all the opera with this sound, if is it possible all Callas operas 🙏
What’s to say but: amazing and iconic! She was one of a kind! Goosebumps and tears. She didn’t sing Violetta, she was Violetta! Ettore simply magnificent
This excerpt, I believe, is from the LIVE 1955 performance which I have complete. Even DI Stefano is on his best behavior here singing without spreading on his higher range, maintaining accurate intonation & rhythmic values. The duet here is among the finest I have heard both for dramatic expression & vocal beauty.
we can hear listen to two of the great voices in our time. Bastianini was enorm and loved by the Operaworld. But iven he are in she shadow beside CALLAS.
Ce duo est légendaire, exceptionnel et n'a jamais été égalé ni même approché depuis. Les voix sont somptueuses et à l'unisson elles se répondent magnifiquement et tant Maria qu'Ettore ne jouent pas leur rôle ils SONT Violetta et G.Germont. Le mérite en revient bien sûr à Maria mais tout autant à Bastianini dont la voix extraordinaire parvient à répondre on ne peut mieux à la diva, non pas par bravade mais au service de l'œuvre. Merci Maria, Merci Ettore on ne saurait vous oublier. On peut déjà être heureux de disposer de l'enregistrement audio mais bon dieu pourquoi n'y a-t-il pas eu d'enregistrement video. ? Il reste quelques splendides photos, instants fugaces mais ô combien précieux pour ceux qui peuvent les contempler.
