Maria Callas - Ponchielli: La Gioconda (1952/2014) [HDTracks]

Although Maria Callas is perhaps most closely associated with the roles of Norma, Violetta and Tosca, Ponchielli’s passionate, generous, and ironically named heroine Gioconda played a major role in the diva’s life and career. Following the war, Callas came from Greece to New York in an attempt to launch a major career. After several setbacks, including the cancellation of a high-profile debut as Turandot, the 23-year old soprano auditioned for retired tenor Giovanni Zenatello, who was casting about for a Gioconda for the Verona Arena’s summer season. Callas landed the part, and made her Italian debut on 3 August 1947. Although Richard Tucker, the Enzo on that occasion, walked away with most of the reviews, this engagement effectively launched Callas’s career in other ways: she met and married Giovanni Battista Meneghini, who gave the penniless singer the financial security to pursue her art, and she first worked with conductor Tullio Serafin, who became her mentor and supplied subsequent bookings before Callas’ extraordinary gifts were recognised.
In July 1952, Callas returned to Verona in the role, and in August it became her first complete opera recording, before unveiling her Gioconda in December at La Scala. After 13 performances in total, she abandoned the role, returning to it only in the recording studio in 1959. But with two records of the opera, Gioconda became a ‘Callas role’, and a fascinating vehicle in which to study her artistic development.
This early Gioconda features Callas in enormous, free vocal estate, infinite colours pouring out of her with volcanic power. The chest voice is huge, employed with searing intensity – witness the definitive reading of ‘Suicidio!’ – the high notes secure and steady. Memorable phrases and definitive line readings abound and, partnered by Fedora Barbieri, Callas delivers a white-hot Gioconda/Laura duet, surpassing any on disc. Callas’s Gioconda is ablaze throughout with the spontaneity of a staged performance, transcending the studio surroundings, capturing her at her youthful best.