Maria Callas - 100 Airs de Legende [6CD Box Set] (2006)

CD1 – THE OPERAS OF BELLINI
This CD contains extracts from four of the most important operas in Callas’s stage repertoire, namely La sonnambula, I puritani, Il pirata and Norma. These ‘bel canto’ operas represent the peak of Callas’s musical and dramatic achievement and are what set her apart from all other sopranos of her day. Norma was the opera Callas performed on stage more than any other and it was the one she found most challenging and most satisfying. The aria ‘Casta Diva’ has been heard in two recent films, most notably The Bridges of Madison County, and has also been used in several TV commercials in the UK.
CD2 – THE OPERAS OF DONIZETTI AND ROSSINI
Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor was another of Callas’s great stage successes and it includes the impressive sextet ‘Chi mi frena’ and the famous ‘Mad Scene’. The other Donizetti operas represented here are Anna Bolena and L’elisir d’amore, while the Rossini titles include the only comic operas that Callas ever undertook on stage, namely The Barber of Seville and Il turco in Italia. Also heard here are arias from Rossini’s Cenerentola and Semiramide.
CD3 – THE OPERAS OF VERDI
Callas performed a surprising number of Verdi operas on the stage and this album covers a wide selection from the most popular ones such as La traviata, Il trovatore and Rigoletto to the grander and more powerful works like Don Carlo, Macbeth and Aida.
CD4 – THE OPERAS OF PUCCINI
Callas made highly successful recordings of all the best-loved items from the whole canon of popular Puccini operas and they are all represented here, from Manon Lescaut, La Bohème, Tosca and Madam Butterfly, through to Suour Angelica, Gianni Schicchi and Turandot.
CD5 – FRENCH OPERATIC HEROINES
On the operatic stage Callas sang only in Italian, but in the recording studio she demonstrated a striking affinity for the French language and made a number of outstanding recordings of arias from some of the greatest French operas including Carmen, Manon, Faust, Roméo et Juliette, Samson et Dalila, Mignon and Louise, all of which are represented here.
CD6 – DRAMATIC HEROINES
To conclude this set, the final CD brings together some of the most powerful recordings Callas ever made, with such dramatic titles as ‘Suicidio!’ from La Gioconda, ‘La mamma morta’ from Andrea Chénier (used so memorably in the film Philadelphia), ‘Voi lo sapete, o mamma’ from Cavalleria rusticana, ‘Or sai chi l’onore’ from Don Giovanni and many others.