Maria Callas

Maria Callas as Lucia di Lammermoor
Opera in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti
Recorded in Florence, Italy, 1953
Seraphim, IB-6032, New York, 1968

One of the few truly great and historically significant performers whose records can be found real cheap at any thrift store is Maria Callas. I've gathered so many opera recordings over the years that I stopped collecting the genre, only for Maria Callas I make an exception. A whole shelve is dedicated to her records. One of the outstanding performances the soprano Maria Callas is remembered for is her role as Lucia in Donizetti's opera Lucia di Lammermoor. Her dazzling 1953 recording, directed by Tulio Serafin, made her the biggest star of classical music in the world. She was born in America in 1923 but didn't make her American debut until 1954, the same year as Elvis Presley's. I had heard Maria Callas as Lucia before but when I found this 2LP set by Seraphim, I had to play the whole opera right away. The aria I selected to share is called Il dolce suono...Spargi d'amaro pianto, it takes place at the end of scene one in act 3, when Lucia goes mad after after murdering her husband on the wedding night. The scene is known as the "mad scene" and is, according to the liner notes "the most famous, most challenging, most brilliant music ever written for the coloratura soprano". I'm not sure if it's my favorite scene from the opera but surely the most recognizable and iconic. I don't think it sounds all that "mad", maybe a little cuckoo, but not insane. The record I bought at a Goodwill store is in mint condition except for precisely the mad scene that has skips and scratches. The previous owner must have played that many times while leaving the rest as new. Lucia di Lammermoor was written in 1835 and premiered that year in Naples. You can listen to the full 11+ minutes of sheer cuckooness below.