Search - Gioachino Rossini, Tullio Serafin, Bologna Community Theater Orchestra :: Rossini: Armida

Only for truly committed Callas fans

adam,lorenzetti | 09/30/1999

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Absolutely agree, Callas, E-flats and the like: five stars for her incredible performance, but you have to take into account the four tenors singing along, unable to follow the quick pace of Rossini's music, so they shout their way in the worst verismo manner; and almost unlistenable sound (obviously a pirate recording?, far, far below the only versions of, for example, Alceste or La Vestale we have with Callas). Unless you are a devoted Callas fan (as I am), interested in her entire output, development of her career and other aspects of her art, you will not be able to put up with the sound."

A musical revolution

adam,lorenzetti | Rome,Italy | 03/24/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The entire "Rossini Renaissance" initiated with this Armida do to Callas' immence talent in grasping the right style for each composer. In 1952 no one had ever heard the intire opera and had no idea of how a series Rossini opera had to be sung.
The role is extreemly difficult,the soprano is constantly running up and down the scale and the virtuosity is at it's peak few other sopranos have had the courage to sing it:Christine Deutekom,Cecilia Gasdia,June Anderson and recently Renée Fleming at the Rossini Opera Festival in 1992.
The story comes from Tasso's Gerusalemme Liberata and had inspired many musicians throughout the centuries.
Callas'voice in 1952 combined with her immence theatrical talent created a real masterpiece and despite the terrible sound,what we here is an absolute masterpiece.
Armida goes through hope,pain,anger,desparation and fury,and Callas is able to find the right intensity for each emotion, if you're a true opera lover you must not miss this recording it will be a flabergasting experience..."

Good Heavens!!!! What a great voice!

The Cultural Observer | 04/08/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Those detractors who ever thought that Callas was incapable of producing some fo the world's most beautiful sounds must look to this recording and eat mud. For one, this recording was captured during 1952, the year when Callas still had her great "fat" voice. Yes, Callas was fat once, and at that time, she was a vocal giant who could tackle Gioconda, Lucia, Norma, Armida, Lady Macbeth, Elena from I Vespri Siciliani, just to name a few of the many roles she sang during that period. Her high notes were impeccably placed, and everything, as she would say later in a 1968 interview with Edward Downes, within the middle of the note--finely placed and not overornamented. Armida is an opera in which there is only one lead female role and a supporting cast of tenors and basses. The legend of Armida was taken from Gerrusalemma Liberata, and this legend is retold in music through several operas, some of which are of the same name like Haydn's Armida, Gluck's opera of the leadn's name, and another one by Dvorak. Then you have Handel's Rinaldo, which is one of the best-loved operas of the great Messiah-composer's works, containing the famous aria "Laschia Ch'io Pianga". Then comes along the great bel canto composer Gioacchino Rossini, with his knack for composing some of the most exhilaratingly florid music in all of musical history. The vivacity of his works exceed even those of Bellini and Donizetti, and another detail that must be explored here is that Rossini favored a very unique voice--a soprano sfogato voice, one of a mezzo-soprano quality yet with the ability to ascend and descend his challenging scales and trills. He also wrote material of a similar style for the Rossinian tenor, one of which has been forgotten until the rise of the great Juan Diego Florez. Of course, back then, without great foundations such as the Rossini society, it was almost impossible to find rare and original material and to educate singers on the singing of this most challenging and emotional of repertoires. But then, in this 1952 recording, Callas' striking Armida stands out. From the moment she enters the stage and begins her declamations, one feels the enchanting aura of Rossini's mythical sorceress. What is most challenging about this role is that Armida must remain at stage for the large part of the opera, and it is because of this that the role is rarely--if not never performed by less-than-adequate singers. In the end of the quintet, "Per me propizio il fato", Callas sings Armida's coloratura with a voice that great legends are made of--it isn't senseless chirping like what tin-pot coloraturas would assume in their roles. (She sings an incredible high note, by the way, at the end of this excerpt!!!) This is real coloratura made by an immensely large voice with beautiful, rock-solid chest notes, and an amazing ability to do the trills and the scales demanded by the composer. The only singer in the past who could probably rival Callas in such a role would be Dame Joan Sutherland, but I dare say that she didn't undertake the role because of the immense difficulties associated with Rossini's music. You need a strong chest voice for Rossini, and since Armida's music is for the most part written in the middle of the voice, the role would have been inappropriate for her. I don't even want to go into Sills...



In the second act, you will encounter Rossini's famous aria, D'Amore al Dolce Impero, sung to perfection by La Divina. Each note is intelligently and passionately sung, never leaving one with a feeling of musical hunger. The performance is well conducted by Tullio Serafin, the greatest singer's conductor in history. His interpretations of the Ballo and the Symphony and the Ballet music, in my opinion, is unsurpassed even today. The last act of the opera is magnificently conducted, and Callas' brilliance in the last act aria "Se al mio crudel tormento" is simply breathtaking! The only drawback to this recording is the sounds and the tenors, none of whom are educated in the bel canto style, thus none of florid passages which Rossini wrote for their parts were displayed. But Serafin and Callas more than make up for this recording. The sound isn't fabulous. Understand that this is a live recording made during 1952, so it would be far from perfect. This simply should be heard for the miracle of Callas' Armida. Today, no other Armida comes close to Callas' interpretation of the role. I believe only Renée Fleming can sing such an amazingly demanding role, as exemplified by her 1993 Armida recording from Pesaro during 1993. I'm just quite disappointed that she didn't do the dangerous leaps that Callas did with her Armida, but her reading of the role is AMAZING! And the principal tenors in that recording are great singers too, with Rossinian skill that would easily make that Armida a landmark recording. Daniele Gatti conducts the performance well, but it is a pity that the recording is no longer in production."