Editorial Review:

Album Description:
Best Callas 100 (part of the Best Classics 100 series) features 6 CDs of the best and most popular operatic arias and duets sung by legendary soprano Maria Callas from her EMI catalog of complete operas and recital albums. Each CD contains approx. 16-17 tracks.


CD 1 The Operas of Bellini
CD 2 The Operas of Donizetti and Rossini
CD 3 The Operas of Verdi
CD 4 The Operas of Puccini
CD 5 French Operatic Heroines
CD 6 Dramatic Heroines









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Related Items:
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Related Items:

• The Very Best of Maria Callas
• 100 Best Opera Classics
• The Most Famous Opera Duets
• The Most Famous Opera Arias
• Maria Callas, the Voice of the Century
• see more

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Disc 1:

1. Bellini: La Sonnambula: Come per me sereno
2. Bellini: La Sonnambula: Sovra il sen la man mi posa
3. Bellini: La Sonnambula: D'un pensiero
4. Bellini: La Sonnambula: Ah! non credea mirarti
5. Bellini: Ah! non giunge
6. Bellini: I Puritani: Son vergin vezzosa
7. Bellini: I Puritani: Ah vieni al tempio
8. Bellini: I Puritani: Qui la voce
9. Bellini: I Puritani: Vien, diletto
10. Bellini: I Puritani: Ch'ei provo lontan da me?
11. Bellini: I Puritani: Vieni fra queste braccia
12. Bellini: Norma: Casta Diva
13. Bellini: Norma: Mira, o Norma
14. Bellini: Norma: Cedi, deh credi! Si, fino all'ore
15. Bellini: Norma: Qual cor tradisti
16. Bellini: Norma: Deh! Non volerli vittime
17. Bellini: Il Pirata: Col sorriso d'innocenza
18. Bellini: Quel suono...Oh, Sole!

Disc 2:

1. Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor: Regnava nel silenzio... Quando rapito in estasi
2. Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor: Chi mi frena
3. Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor: Spargi d'amaro pianto
4. Rossini: Il Turco in Italia: non si da follia maggiore
5. Rossini: Il Turco in Italia: Serva...Servo
6. Rossini: Il Turco in Italia: No, mia vita
7. Rossini: Il Turco in Italia: Credete alla femmine...In Italia certamente
8. Rossini: Il Barbiere di Siviglia:Una voce poco fa
9. Rossini: Il Barbiere di Siviglia: Dunque io son
10. Rossini: Semiramide: Bel raggio lusinghier
11. Rossini: Gugliemo Tell: Selva opaca
12. Rossini: La Cenerentola: Non piu mesta
13. Donizetti: L'Elisir d'Amore: Prendi, prendi; per me sei libero
14. Donizetti: La Figlia del Reggimento: Convien partir
15. Donizetti: Anna Bolena: Al dolce guidami castel natio
16. Donizetti: Lucrezia Borgia: Com'e'bello

Disc 3:

1. Verdi: I Vespri Siciliani: Merce, dilette amiche
2. Verdi: Rigoletto: Gualtier Malde...Caro nome
3. Verdi: Rigoletto: V'ho ingannato...Lassu in cielo
4. Verdi: La Traviata: Ah, fors'e lui
5. Verdi: Aida: Ritorna vincitor
6. Verdi: Aida: Qui Radames verra...O patria mia
7. Verdi: Aida: O terra addio
8. Verdi: Il Trovatore: Tacea la nolte placido...Di tale amore
9. Verdi: Il Trovatore: D'amor sull'ali rosee
10. Verdi: Un Ballo in Maschera: Ecco l'orrido campo...Ma dall'arido stelo
11. Verdi: Non sai tu che se l'anima mia
12. Verdi: I Lombardi: O madre, dal cielo soccorri
13. Verdi: Aroldo: Ciel, ch'io respire!...Salvami, salvami tu, gran Dio!
14. Verdi: Don Carlo: Non pianger, mia compagna
15. Verdi: Otello: Ave Maria

Disc 4:

1. Puccini: Manon Lescaut: In quelle trine morbide
2. Puccini: Manon Lescaut: Sola, perduta, abbondonata
3. Puccini: La Boheme: Si, Mi chiamano Mimi
4. Puccini: La Boheme: O soave fanciulla
5. Puccini: La Boheme: Donde lieta usci
6. Puccini: La Boheme: Dunque e' proprio finita?
7. Puccini: Tosca: non la sospiri, la nostra casetta
8. Puccini: Tosca: Vissi d'arte
9. Puccini: Tosca: senti, l'ora e' vicina...Amaro sol per te
10. Puccini: Madama Butterfly: Quanto cielo....Ancora un passo or via
11. Puccini: Madama Butterfly: Vogliatemi bene
12. Puccini: Madama Butterfly: Un bel di vedremo
13. Puccini: Madama Butterfly: Con onor muore
14. Puccini: Suor Angelica: Senza mamma
15. Puccini: Gianni Schicchi: O mio babbino caro
16. Puccini: Turandot: Signore, ascolta
17. Puccini: Turandot: In questa reggia
18. Puccini: Tu che di gel sei cinta

Disc 5:

1. Gluck: Orphee et Eurydice: J'ai perdu mon Eurydice
2. Gluck: Alceste: Divinites du Styx
3. Bizet: Carmen: L'amour est un aiseau rebelle
4. Bizet: Carmen: Pres des remparts de Seville
5. Bizet: Carmen: les tringles des sistres tintaient
6. Bizet: Carmen: Carreau! Pique!
7. Gounod: Romeo et Juliet: Ah! Je veux vivre dans ce reve
8. Thomas: Mignon: Ah, pour ce soir...Je suis Titania
9. Berlioz: La Damnation de Faust: D'amour l'ardente flamme
10. Massenet: Werther: Werther! Qui m'aurait dit...Des cris joyeux
11. Gounod: Faust: Un bouquet!...Ah! je ris
12. Saint-Saens: Samson et Dalila: Printemps qui commence
13. Saint-Saens: Mon coeur s'ouvre a ta voix
14. Massenet: Manon: Je ne suis que faiblesse...Adieu, notre petite table
15. Massenet: Manon: Suis-je gentille ainsi?....Je marche sur tous les
16. Charpentier: Louise: Depuis le jour

Disc 6:

1. Giordano: Andrea Chenier: La mamma morta
2. Cilea: Adriana Lecouvreur: Ecco-respiro appena. lo son l'umile ancells
3. Cilea: Adriana Lecouvreur: Poveri fiori
4. Mascagni: Cavalleria Rusticana: Voi lo sapete, o mamma
5. Leoncavallo: Pagliacci: Qual fiamma avea nel guardo...Hui!
6. Boito: Mefistofele: L'altra notte in fondo al mare
7. Catalani: La Wally: Ebben? ne andro lontana
8. Cherubini: Medea: Dei tuoi figli
9. Spontini: La Vestale: O Nume tutelar
10. Spontini: La Vestale: Caro oggetto
11. Gluck: Iphigenie en Tauride: O malheureuse Iphigenie
12. Mozart: Don Giovanni: Or sai chi l'onore
13. Mozart: Don Giovanni: In quali eccessi, o Numi!
14. Massenet: Le Cid: De cet affreux combat...Pleurez, pleurez, mes yeux!
15. Ponchielli: La Gioconda: Suicidio!
16. Verdi: Un Ballo in Maschere: Morro, ma prima in grazia
17. Verdi: Don Carlo: O don fatale

Rating: - Timeless Treasure
Cleverly organized into 6 sections:
1.Bellini
2.Rissini and Donizetti
3.Verdi
4.Puccini
5.French operatic heroines
6.Dramatic heroines

This 6 CD package is a must have for every classical music lover.
Who can,after all,resist the union of the most beautiful arias with the immortal voice of Callas.

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Rating: - Superb Music, Poorly Packaged
Wonderfuld music. Maria Callas at her prime accompanied by other greats -- and so much of it! What's not to like?

However (and this has nothing to do with the music) the packaging is poor. This CD's box format is one that has evolved over the years. Initially used for double CDs, it gave way a short while later to triple CDs and was modified subsequently to accomodate four CDs. This Callas collection now has 6 CDs, and the package simply doesn't work. I anticipate the plastic hinging will fail before a dozen uses, whereupon I will need to visit my local electronics store to purchase extra jewel cases to accommodate some of the six CDs. Doing this properly will mean, of course, making color copies of the insert and snipping to size. What a needless hassle.

Callas had a reputation for paying extreme attention to detail -- one of the characteristics behind her greatness. Shame on the EMI packaging geniuses, who couldn't see their way clear to packagaing such a wonderful collection more appropriately. (Might have cost the company an extra 15 cents per package -- heaven forbid!)

The music: 5 stars. The package 0.00 stars. Average: 2.5 stars, which rounds to three.

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Rating: - Breathtaking
There are scarcely any words to describe the exquisite vocals of Maria Callas. The performances you may hear on various websites simply do not reflect the full power, range and talent that Ms. Callas demonstrated during her too-brief career and life. I apologize for the brief comments, but in order to fully appreciate her, you must purchase this CD! A masterpiece!

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Rating: - Wonderful Callas Sampling
This is a great buy for someone looking to add this great artist to their collection. Maria Callas is a must for the serious classical music collector.

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Rating: - Six discs, great price, but... a few obvious choices missing.
EMI's spate of Callas re-issues and compilations in the past few years is more distressing than commendable. First, what does it say about the state of the classical music market today, when a label's marquee artist is a soprano who passed away thirty years ago, and whose recordings are a half-century old? Second, just how many ways can you re-package Callas?

Those quandaries aside, this is highly recommended to those with a passing interest in either Callas, or opera in general. With six discs tucked inside a standard double jewel case, offered at a bargain price, it's a no-brainer. So what if linear and biographical notes are missing? So much has been written about Callas, it's doubtful that anyone could come up with original essay about her life and artistic legacy.

Again, if you have no Callas or (gasp!) no opera in your CD collection, BUY THIS COMPILATION. However, those of us who already have both will find some glaring omissions.

In my mind, there are two pitfalls where a six-disc Callas retrospective is concerned. First, the need to achieve a balance in Maria's studio output produces something of a constraint. For example, there could have easily been two Verdi discs. As previously noted, Sempre Libera is missing. But there are other examples, such as Ernani, Involami, Tu Che Le Vanita(!), and arias from Nabucco.

Second, creating a balanced list of 100 Maria Callas excerpts inevitably includes some that expose her improper technique. Now, as rival diva Leyla Gencer once stated, Callas had the "sacred fire," which compensated for her imperfect techique (I'm paraphrasing here). That fire roars with life when it comes to dramatic verismo arias, such as La Mamma Morta, Voi Lo Sapete, and Suicidio. It doesn't crackle when it comes a Mozart aria like Or Sai Chi L'Onore, where her utter lack of Mozartean technique is laid bare. Callas just couldn't work her magic over it, like she did with Mi Tradi Quell'alma Ingrata.

These are minor quibbles, though, in the final analysis. You get double the content of the Callas La Divina collector's box set, for less than half the cost!