Maria Callas: The Complete Studio Recordings (70 CD box set, APE)

Performer: Maria Callas
Audio CD
SPARS Code: A-D
Number of Discs: 70 CD box set
Format: APE (image+cue)
Label: EMI Classics
Size: 12.3 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes

CD 01
FIRST RECITAL (1 CD)
BELLINI: Qui la voce (I puritani)
BELLINI: Casta Diva (Norma)
WAGNER: Liebestod (Tristan & Isolde)
RAI Orchestra, Turin / Arturo Basile
(Recorded November 1949 in Turin)

CD 02-04
PONCHIELLI
La Gioconda (3 CDs)
Fedora Barbieri, Gianni Poggi, Paolo Silveri
RAI Turin Chorus & Orchestra / Antonino Votto
(Recorded September 1952, Turin)

CD 05-06
DONIZETTI
Lucia di Lammermoor (2 CDs)
Giuseppe di Stefano, Tito Gobbi
Chorus & Orchestra of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino / Tullio Serafin
(Recorded February 1953, Florence)

CD 07-08
BELLINI
I puritani (2 CDs)
Giuseppe di Stefano, Nicola Rossi-Lemeni, Rolando Panerai
Chorus & Orchestra of La Scala, Milan / Tullio Serafin
(Recorded March 1953)

CD 09
MASCAGNI
Cavalleria rusticana (1 CD)
Giuseppe di Stefano
Chorus & Orchestra of La Scala, Milan / Tullio Serafin
(Recorded August 1953)

CD 10-11
PUCCINI
Tosca (2 CDs)
Giuseppe di Stefano, Tito Gobbi
Chorus & Orchestra of La Scala, Milan / Victor de Sabata
(Recorded August 1953)

CD 12-13
VERDI
La traviata (2 CDs)
Francesco Albanese, Ugo Savarese
RAI Chorus and Orchestra, Turin / Gabriele Santini
(Recorded September 1953, Turin)

CD 14-16
BELLINI
Norma (3 CDs)
Mario Filippeschi, Ebe Stignani
Chorus & Orchestra of La Scala, Milan / Tullio Serafin
(Recorded April 1954)

CD 17
LEONCAVALLO
Pagliacci (1 CD)
Giuseppe di Stefano
Chorus & Orchestra of La Scala, Milan / Tullio Serafin
(Recorded May 1954)

CD 18-20
VERDI
La forza del destino (3 CDs)
Richard Tucker, Carlo Tagliabue
Chorus & Orchestra of La Scala, Milan / Tullio Serafin
(Recorded August 1954)

CD 21-22
ROSSINI
Il turco in Italia (2 CDs)
Nicolai Gedda, Nicola Rossi-Lemeni
Chorus & Orchestra of La Scala, Milan / Gianandrea Gavazzeni
(Recorded August-September 1954)

CD 23
Puccini Arias (1 CD)
Philharmonia / Tullio Serafin
(Recorded September 1954, London)

CD 24
Lyric and Coloratura Arias (1 CD)
Philharmonia / Tullio Serafin
(Recorded September 1954, London)

CD 25
Callas at La Scala (1 CD)
Orchestra of La Scala, Milan / Tullio Serafin
(Recorded June 1955)

CD 26-27
PUCCINI
Madama Butterfly (2 CDs)
Nicolai Gedda, Lucia Danielli
Chorus & Orchestra of La Scala, Milan / Herbert von Karajan
(Recorded August 1955)

CD 28-29
VERDI
Aida (2 CDs)
Richard Tucker, Fedora Barbieri, Tito Gobbi
Chorus & Orchestra of La Scala, Milan / Tullio Serafin
(Recorded August 1955)

CD 30-31
VERDI
Rigoletto (2 CDs)
Giuseppe di Stefano, Tito Gobbi
Chorus & Orchestra of La Scala, Milan / Tullio Serafin
(Recorded September 1955)

CD 32-33
VERDI
Il trovatore (2 CDs)
Giuseppe di Stefano, Rolando Panerai, Fedora Barbieri
Chorus & Orchestra of La Scala, Milan / Herbert von Karajan
(Recorded August 1956)

CD 34-35
PUCCINI
La boh?me (2 CDs)
Giuseppe di Stefano, Anna Moffo, Rolando Panerai
Chorus & Orchestra of La Scala, Milan / Antonino Votto
(Recorded August-September 1956)

CD 36-37
VERDI
Un ballo in maschera (2 CDs)
Giuseppe di Stefano, Tito Gobbi
Chorus & Orchestra of La Scala, Milan / Antonino Votto
(Recorded September 1956)

СD 38-39
ROSSINI
Il barbiere di Siviglia (2 CDs)
Luigi Alva, Tito Gobbi
Philharmonia Orchestra / Alceo Galliera
(Recorded February 1957, London)

CD 40-41
BELLINI
La sonnambula (2 CDs)
Eugenia Ratti, Fiorenza Cossotto, Nicola Monti
Chorus & Orchestra of La Scala, Milan / Antonino Votto
(Recorded March 1957)

CD 42-43
PUCCINI
Turandot (2 CDs)
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Eugenio Fernandi
Chorus & Orchestra of La Scala, Milan / Tullio Serafin
(Recorded July 1957)

CD 44-45
PUCCINI
Manon Lescaut (2 CDs)
Giuseppe di Stefano
Chorus & Orchestra of La Scala, Milan / Tullio Serafin
(Recorded July 1957)

CD 46-47
CHERUBINI
Medea (2 CDs)
Renata Scotto, Mirto Picchi
Chorus & Orchestra of La Scala, Milan / Tullio Serafin
(Recorded September 1957)

CD 48
Verdi Arias I (1 CD)
Philharmonia / Nicola Rescigno
(Recorded September 1958, London)

CD 49
Mad Scenes
Philharmonia / Nicola Rescigno
(Recorded September 1958, London)

CD 50-51
DONIZETTI
Lucia di Lammermoor (2 CDs)
Ferruccio Tagliavini, Piero Cappuccilli
Philharmonia Chorus & Orchestra / Tullio Serafin
(Recorded March 1959, London)

CD 52-54
PONCHIELLI
La Gioconda (3 CDs)
Fiorenza Cossotto, Piero Cappuccilli
Chorus & Orchestra of La Scala, Milan / Antonino Votto
(Recorded September 1959)

CD 55-57
BELLINI
Norma (3 CDs)
Christa Ludwig, Franco Corelli
Chorus & Orchestra of La Scala, Milan / Tullio Serafin
(Recorded September 1960)

CD 58
Callas ? Paris I (1 CD)
French Radio National Orchestra / Georges Pr?tre
(Recorded March-April 1961, Paris)

CD 59
Callas ? Paris II (1 CD)
Paris Conservatoire Orchestra / Georges Pr?tre
(Recorded May 1963, Paris)

CD 60
Mozart, Beethoven & Weber (1 CD)
Paris Conservatoire Orchestra / Nicola Rescigno
(Recorded December 1963 & January 1964, Paris)

CD 61
Verdi Arias II (1 CD)
Paris Conservatoire Orchestra / Nicola Rescigno
(Recorded December 1963 & February 1964, Paris)

CD 62
Rossini & Donizetti Arias (1 CD)
Paris Conservatoire Orchestra / Nicola Rescigno
(Recorded April, 1964)

CD 63-64
BIZET
Carmen (2 CDs)
Nicolai Gedda, Robert Massard
Paris Op?ra Orchestra / Georges Pr?tre
(Recorded July 1964, Paris)

CD 65-66
PUCCINI
Tosca (2 CDs)
Carlo Bergonzi, Tito Gobbi
Paris Op?ra Chorus & Paris Conservatoire Orchestra / Georges Pr?tre
(Recorded December 1964, Paris)

CD 67
Verdi Arias III (1 CD)
Paris Conservatoire Orchestra & Paris Op?ra Orchestra
Nicola Rescigno
(Recorded 1964 to 1969)

CD 68-69
The EMI Rarities (2 CDs)
Various Orchestras & Conductors

CD 70
CD-ROM containing Libretti And Maria Callas Picture Gallery (1 CD)

Remastering information and sound quality of this extraordinary set

After purchasing Maria Callas Live, a box set of 8 CDs, I knew I wanted as many Maria Callas recordings as I could get; I also knew that I wanted the best quality sound I could get (static and cracklings wear on me after awhile). I was trying to decide between this set of 70 CDs of studio recordings and two sets of operas (one with 52CDs and one with 64). This set is the only one that gave me any real information about remastering and that seemed conflicting: one reviewer wrote of EMI’s 1997 “black box” remastering while another wrote that the set was remastered by Abbey Road. Both are correct.

Browsing through the accompanying booklet, the CDs do list prior remastering, generally with a 1997 date. But each CD has since been remastered by Abbey Road. This is the description on the outside of the box: “Remastered at Abbey Road Studios and noise-shaped by the Prism SNS system for optimum sound quality.”

“Optimum sound quality” indeed! Abbey Road studios did a superb job of stripping away the years to reveal Maria Callas in her breath-taking and timeless glory. I’ve listened to about 20 CDs so far. The sound quality on most of them is so marvelous that to my ears, they could pass for contemporary recordings. There is NOTHING to remind me that I’m listening to recordings that are half a century old. On a few recordings so far, the voices are clear and beautiful and it is only a somewhat murky quality to the orchestration that reminds me, only for a fleeting moment, of the age of the recording. A fleeting moment only and then I’m once again immersed in the music’s beauty.

I’ve only had this set for a couple weeks and it’s already among my most treasured music. This music will continue to touch my soul and gladden my days for the rest of my life.