Maria Callas Live in Copenhagen, June 9, 1963

HIGH RESOLUTION TRANSFER FROM ORIGINAL LIVE TAPE

Maria Callas (1923-1977) remains an indelible icon in the world of opera today. Despite passing away 45 years ago at the age of only 53, interest remains strong in her recordings. The present release of a live 1963 concert with an orchestra in Copenhagen is not entirely new—portions of it were released on CD in 1998 on a small label, in poor sound, pitched quite sharp. The present high-resolution release, based on the original tape of the concert, is the first high-quality release of this concert, which has been transferred and restored in high resolution. The tape of the concert is almost complete, and it includes previously unreleased vocal portions, plus the well-played unreleased orchestral pieces, allowing HDTT to provide the listener with a better sense of “being there” at a Maria Callas concert in 1963. It is fortuitous that this good-sounding live tape features a fine orchestra, the Danish Radio Symphony, plus the fact that the concert was taped in a concert hall with excellent acoustics, Falkoner Centret. An advantage of the live recording made in a hall is that we can get a better sense of just how generous in tone Callas’ voice could be and how wide her dynamic palette, things we do not hear accurately in many of her commercial recordings.

These recordings are monophonic. For the Copenhagen tape, transfer of original tape at 352.8 kHz, 24 bits by Robert Witrak, HDTT (2022). Restoration and mastering of all tracks by John H. Haley, Harmony Restorations, LLC (2022). Grateful thanks to Richard Copeman, Karl van Zoggel and The Maria Callas International Club http://www.callasintclub.com for valuable information about the Copenhagen concert and to Pablo Berruti of Divina Records. We also wish to acknowledge the use of Frank Hamilton’s excellent Maria Callas research materials.

01. Rossini: Guglielmo Tell: Overture (10:58)
[Rossini: Semiramide: “Bel raggio lusinghier” and Overture occurred here—see notes.]
02. Bellini: Norma: “Casta diva” (7:17)
03. Bellini: Norma: “Ah! bello a me ritorna” (2:06)
04. Verdi: I vespri siciliani: Overture (9:26)
05. Verdi: Nabucco: “Ben io t’invenni … Anch’io dischiuso un giorno” (7:38)
06. Mascagni: Cavalleria rusticana: Intermezzo (3:45)
07. Leoncavallo: Pagliacci: Intermezzo (3:16)
08. Puccini: Manon Lescaut: Intermezzo (5:07)
09. Puccini: La bohème: “Quando m’en vo” (2:31)
10. Puccini: Madama Butterfly: “Tu? tu? Piccolo iddio” (2:50)
11. Puccini: Gianni Schicchi: “O mio babbino caro” (encore) (2:28)
Bonus tracks:
Live concert of June 5, 1963 at Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Paris, with the Orchestre
Philharmonique de la Radio-Télévision Française conducted by Georges Prêtre.
12. Rossini: Semiramide: “Bel raggio lusinghier … Dolce pensiero” (5:43)
13. Rossini: La cenerentola: “Nacqui all’affanno … Non più mesta” (6:11)
14. Massenet: Manon: “Je ne suis que faiblesse … Adieu, notre petite table” (3:18)
15. Massenet: Werther: “Werther! Qui m’aurait dit …Des cris joyeux” (Air de lettres) (7:12)
Total time: 79:46

Copyright © & ℗ High Definition Tape Transfers 2022, including all compilation, transfer, remastering, and restoration aspects

Play Sample Tracks