Maria Callas - Norma Act 1 Finale Compilation

"Vanne, sì, mi lascia, indegno". I think this is all of them? I may be wrong. I hope there are more out there, unknown but waiting to be found.
The Paris clips are at a lower volume than the others, just a warning, i didn't want to amp them up for fear of distortion. The images don't match the performances in most cases, by the way :)
The entire scene is thrilling, but the wonderful trio finale is so spectacular, i decided to include each performance in full, instead of just using the last 30 seconds or so of each, which i would have usually done. Does this make the video too long, or is this the sort of thing you lovely viewers would prefer?
I'd love to know.
TRACK LIST
29/05/1965 Paris 0:00
21/05/1965 Paris 1:28
17/05/1965 Paris 2:57
1960 Studio 4:30
1955 La Scala 7:08
1955 Rome 8:46
1954 Studio 11:29
1953 Trieste 14:02
1952 London 15:47
1950 Mexico 17:31
The three Paris performances were provided by a friend, and i'm not certain of their origins or if the order i have them in is correct. I'm fairly sure it's right, but i could be wrong.
The two studio recordings are from The Complete Studio Recordings box set.
The La Scala clip is an LP rip i did from La Divina vol 1 (Gli Dei Della Musica DMC-02).
The 1950 Mexico is from Melodram 26018 (CD).
The Rome, Trieste and London clips are from FLAC sources i have found on the internet. I prefer them to the itunes AAC copies i purchased early on in my collecting career.
ITALIAN
NORMA
Vanne, sì, mi lascia, indegno:
figli oblia, promesse, onore.
Maledetto dal mio sdegno
non godrai d'un empio amore.
Te sull'onde e te sui venti,
seguiranno mie furie ardenti;
maledetta, e notte e giorno,
ruggirà d'intorno a te.
POLLIONE
Fremi pure, e angoscia eterna
pur m'imprechi il tuo furore!
Questo amor che mi governa
è di te, di me maggiore.
Dio non v'ha che mali inventi
de' miei mali più cocenti.
Maledetto io fui quel giorno
che il destin t'offerse a me.
ADALGISA
Ah! non fia ch'io costi
al tuo cor sì rio dolore.
Mari e monti sian frapposti
fra me sempre e il traditore.
Soffocar saprò i lamenti,
divorar i miei tormenti;
morirò, perché ritorno
faccia il crudo ai figli e a te.
NORMA
Maladetto del mio sdegno, ecc.
CORO
Norma, all'ara!
In tuon feroce,
d'Irminsul tuonò la voce,
Norma al sacro altar!
NORMA
Ah, suon di morte, va,
per te qui pronta ell'è!
ADALGISA
Ah, suon di morte s'intima, a te,
va, per te qui pronta ell'è!
Fuggi!
POLLIONE
Ah, qual suon! Sì, la sprezzo,
ma prima mi cadrà il tuo Nume al piè.
ENGLISH
NORMA
Leave me, yes, worthless man!
Forget your children, your promises, your honour.
Cursed by my disdain, you will find
no joy in your sinful love.
Over the seas, borne on the winds,
my burning hatred will pursue you.
Night and day my fury
will rage around you.
POLLIONE
Hate me if you will. Let your fury
invoke eternal anguish upon me!
The love which is now my master
is greater than you or I.
No god could ever fashion
greater suffering than mine.
Cursed was I that day
when fate gave me to you.
ADALGISA
Never allow that I may be
the cause of such pain in your heart.
Seas and mountains forever
will divide me from the traitor.
I shall stifle my cries
and swallow my anguish;
I shall die to bring back
this cruel man to his children and to you.
NORMA
Cursed by my disdain, etc.
CHORUS
Norma, to the altar!
The voice of Irminsul
has thundered.
Norma, to the sacred altar!
NORMA
Ah, the sound of death, go,
it is ready for you here!
ADALGISA
Ah, the sound of death calls you,
go, it is ready for you here!
Fly!
POLLIONE
Ah, that sound! Yes, I defy death,
but first your god shall fall at my feet.

[@natanaelgorrin9473]

La fuerza de la Divina es insuperable, se siente en su voz la decepción, la impotencia, la rabia, la desesperación y el ruego. Solamente Callas con o sin sobreagudo es capaz de transmitir eso. Callas eterna hacia la celebración mundial de su centenario de nacimiento.

[@harpguy18]

I love the london one, just cause the conductor moves on to the next section as she is holding the D, LOVE IT! Cool effect!

[@Shahrdad]

It's fascinating to listen to these performances spanning 13 years. It supports what Bonynge and Sutherland said about what happened to Callas's voice as she became thin and glamorous. Of her 1952 Norma, Bonynge said, "But before she slimmed down, I mean this was such a colossal voice. It just poured out of her, the way Flagstad's did.... Callas had a huge voice. When she and Stignani sang Norma, at the bottom of the range you could barely tell who was who ... Oh it was colossal. And she took the big sound right up to the top." Of the same performances, Sutherland said, "[It was} was a shock, a wonderful shock. You just got shivers up and down the spine. It was a bigger sound in those earlier performances, before she lost weight. I think she tried very hard to recreate the sort of "fatness" of the sound which she had when she was as fat as she was. But when she lost the weight, she couldn't seem to sustain the great sound that she had made, and the body seemed to be too frail to support that sound that she was making. Oh, but it was oh so exciting. It was thrilling. I don't think that anyone who heard Callas after 1955 really heard the Callas voice." I would say 1953 or early 1954 rather than 1955, however. Here, you can hear how the voice slimmed down, lost power and plushness and ease in the highest notes as she went from 220 pounds to 130 pounds. In the later performances, one can almost hear her struggling for proper support, something that is also clearly visible in videos of her concerts. Phyllis Curtin pointed to the sinking chest and forward slumping shoulders in these videos as a proof of Callas's struggle for breath support after she became so thin. Callas herself pretty much said the same thing shortly before her death: "I never lost my voice, but I lost strength in my diaphragm. ... Because of those organic complaints, I lost my courage and boldness. My vocal cords were and still are in excellent condition, but my 'sound boxes' have not been working well even though I have been to all the doctors. The result was that I overstrained my voice, and that caused it to wobble." I just don't think there is any way for a singer with such a big and heavy voice who is singing the most demanding roles to lose 1/3 of their body weight in a year without paying a terrible price for it. She still gave some absolutely incredible performances while thin, but it was no longer the same voice.

[@conghoan1998]

No one can sing Norma better than Maria Callas !

[@jazzychazzy007]

Sometimes when I need a spectacular Callas fix, I play this scene over and over. Why? I can never fully comprehend how great she was - is. Like, every time I hear it, it still hasn't sunk in. Thank you for putting this together, now I don't have to hit the replay button again and again. I have it all right here in this video. Thank you!

[@manolis.799]

I think the 1955 in La Scala is the best. Colossal high D with Del Monaco and Simionato! Perfection!

[@RestlessTheRED]

But the Rome version has less cuts, and overall Callas is in a better voice there.

[@JimNickoloffMiami]

I don't agree, at least in terms of this final scene of Act 1. All of the recordings with Serafin--1954 and 1960 studio and 1955 Rome--are much less dramatic and exciting--and no high D in the two studio recordings, which Callas, obviously, understood as something the music of Bellini is building to. Besides, the 1955 Rome high D is cut short by Serafin. On the other hand, the two with Votto conducting--1953 Trieste and 1955 LaScala--are the most thrilling versions I've ever heard--unmatched by Sutherland (and the dull Bonynge), Caballe, or anyone else. I listen to the 1955 LaScala version over and over and just shake my head in wonder. Trieste is great too, but the sound quality is poorer.

[@ghostofyeats]

@@JimNickoloffMiami Serafin leaves me so confused. It's hard for me to judge the 1954 studio Norma because the sound is so stifled, but it sounds oddly dull and stentorian, especially compared to the 1955 Scala with Votto (who can be dull elsewhere). But I very much like what Serafin did in the 1953 Puritani with Callas, and I like even more those Norma excerpts from 1949 from Argentina. Serafin was quite old at this stage, maybe he was clocking in certain performances; you never know which ones you're going to be judged by!

[@jmiller05]

I still think this is the greatest scene in Bel Canto opera.

[@eberlinpascal2837]

Mes préférés : 1 Milan 1955 ,2 Londres 1952 ,3 Trieste 1953, Les contre ré bémols y sont stupéfiants !!! ❤️

[@goodbyenewyork]

Great compilation! Thank you so much for uploading. It's interesting that she'd bypass the interpolated high D even in some earlier versions contrary to popular belief. Miraculous singing!

[@baritonebynight]

I love this part of the opera!

[@ghostofyeats]

We're fortunate to have such a thorough chronology of Callas's Normas -- except, that is, for the lacuna between 55 and 60, which includes the Rome scandal, but also her Met Debut and a stupendous performance in London. A lot, then! So I'm glad you included what you did. The earliest of the '65 performances is the most surprising to me, because it's so effective. I don't know if it was the mic placement, but even then her voice rides over all the others!

[@gustopheles]

I swear, I was just praying you'd make this exact compilation. Thank you!!!

[@Tdvc]

8:20 is this the ocassion she had a fight with Del Monaco and both were trying to outsing eachother? cause boy, she almost mutted him there, hes barely audible and its freaking Del Monaco. I recall he saying she exploded one high note over him in Norma and they were screaming at eachother behind the curtains.

[@-giakhanh--kayden-8337]

And there was also Simionato, another monster voice on stage and that D6 just blew them out of the water

[@tutankamon1975]

La Scalla 55 best recorded piece in history...

[@joannilson2900]

MEXICO!!!!!!!!!! - For me that finale remains the best of them all - even after all these many years!! I love the Trieste and London excerpts too.... Also in London - Sutherland was the Clotilde!

[@gadenkrotis540]

Thankyou! I for one prefer a bit more than just the last 30secs. x

[@fabiocastro3011]

Perfection!

[@dadote1978]

Bravissima, insuperabile Maria Callas ❤️❤️❤️

[@MrStpendouslvforjo]

Excellent video. Thanks for posting these!

[@marylambcarter]

weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee love your videos CALLAS IS THE ONLY REAL NORMA BRAVAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[@CallasfanRecordings]

This has been in the works for almost a year, but i got side tracked! More compilation videos soon, including the Norma Act 2 Finales, a few sonnambula comps, and some Lucia comps. Busy Busy Busy!

[@adamolorenzetti9433]

Bravo 👏 👏👏👏👏👏keep up the great work💜💜💜💜💜

[@wilsonwatt9283]

here we see the foolishness of the Sutherland-Callas comparison. In her early performances [in the 60s before Bonynge ruined her dramatic instincts in favor of his pallid, pastel version of bel canto] she was quite spectacular in this scene [listen to the 67 Covent Garden live recording]. Callas had an entirely different voice which also dominates this scene but provides much greater emotional involvement. This is the ever-present argument in the history of opera. Singers with perfect voices [e.g., Sutherland] deliver the emotions solely through the music; singers with specially flawed voices [e.g. Callas= deliver much greater emotional impact but when that flawed voice is combined with perfect musicianship the emotive impact is always greater. I am happy to have heard both sopranos, as well as many others, and think that perhaps the arguments on this site have become irrelevant within the actual history of opera.

[@paullewis2413]

I agree with you they were very different artists. I think you are probably too harsh on Bonynge, after all Sutherland wanted to be a Wagnerian singer which may well have been a mistake. Sutherland gave us some truly memorable bel canto singing in the 60's but I think her greatness was short lived, as indeed with Callas as well.

[@kyleaustin7045]

To those who say Sutherland somehow "owned" this scene (or even somehow touched Callas level, not just in this role, but in any roles): No. Absolutely, positively no. Callas' voice was extremely developed and well-trained. Thanks to di Hildago, her chest voice was extremely powerful, which led to her head voice being powerful, too. Coupling with her artistry, made her almost incomparable in every roles she had ever sung. Sutherland, on the other hand, was badly trained and underdeveloped. Her voice was thin and weak (alone, she might sound big, but next to, say Pavarotti or Corelli or Hadley, who had developed voice, she was weak). Her chest voice was non-existence, and when she did use it, it was dry and weak, almost as if she was about to crack. Which led to her voice being thin and weak. It's a shame, since had she been trained properly (she actually was earlier, but apparently, Mr. Richard Bonyage, who was a pianist and conductor, and a bad one, knew better), she could actually have equaled Callas with her immense talent. But alas.

[@Dadacomero]

Great singer. This scene, however, is owned by Sutherland

[@Faust1979]

No! I mean: Sutherland is great but she just sing. Callas adds the feelings...

[@terrance7220]

What feelings? I'm sorry this is just three people shouting at each other, if anything Norma should dominate and Sutherland always dominate.

[@tjw2469]

team Sutherland!

[@tjw2469]

JuanMa Espinola yes

[@tjw2469]

JuanMa Espinola YES!