Pagliacci/1954

Description

Exceptional reissue meticulously restored in 24-bit/96Hz, produced by Abbey Road Studios from the original tapes. While Cavalleria Rusticana (by Mascagni) had taken a good place in the career of the young Callas, the one-act opera by Leoncavallo, Pagliacci, a traditional companion to the former, never entered her stage repertoire. Gramophone wrote, however, about this recording: "As soon as Callas (Nedda, here) and Tito Gobbi (Tonio) take the stage, the drama takes an unforgettable turn... More insistent, even haunting, than Callas in the role of Nedda, we do not know (...) Only Callas expresses with real tension the idea that the character of Canio can read her thoughts (...) Callas also gives a deeply dramatic dimension to her character as the birds fly above her; Callas is (certainly) the only one... who welcomes her lover with such delightful joy."