Maria Callas - O Patria Mia - Aida, Mexico 1951

Do you notice anything about this recording?
This is a sample of the work i have being doing the past week, restoring the amazing 1951 Aida. I have cleaned the recording up as best I can while maintaining the original sound.
The prompters are either gone or minimised.
Audience coughing and other noises are either gone or minimised.
Faults in the original recording have been fixed where possible (there were lots of tiny drop outs).
Stage noises, like heavy stomps and creaks are gone or minimised.
Compare this to the Warner "remaster" to see the difference.
The entire performance will be available on CD soon. More info to come :)
I will be giving as many of Maria's live performances (that I own on LP) similar treatment in future.

[@magicflute3]

listening to her records in the early 50ies, she shows a very powerful and almost almighty voice- but , from what i understand, she kept working a lot on her tone and ended up by being much more refined in the late 50ies- then her voice deteriorated ( whose voice wouldn't have, with such use of it), but, amazing!, she kept improving her refined interpratations- the French opera arias she recorded when her voice was almost gone are wonderful gems of musicality and , style- her Carmen has wobbly top notes, but magnificent rendition of the most intimate accents of the character

[@BaroneVitellioScarpia1]

This is the greatest recording of O patria mia. Viva la Callas!

[@beachfanatic2010]

This one is much better: m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/baGZcoCMdtKGjqM

[@antoniopedrolisboa]

Emmy Destinn, Ponselle and Tebaldi = greatest

[@beachfanatic2010]

@@antoniopedrolisboa No they are not. Callas has been by far the best Aida. Let’s put it this way. Once a soprano can sing MacBeth and Abigaille(By far far Verdi’s most difficult roles) as easy as drinking water like Callas did then singing Aida doesn’t present the slightest challenge other then easier than breathing for her so Callas was able to focus way way way more ob EXPRESSION than certainly Ponselle who was totally freaking out about the next high note. Naturally Callas was much more expressive than any singer of history period.

[@BaroneVitellioScarpia1]

@@antoniopedrolisboa Callas, Destinn, Ponselle, Tebaldi, Milanov - the greatest

[@rugby8-Philadelphia]

The C is wayyyyy at the bottom of the pitch. No ring, no freedom. It's a wonderful version of the aria, but clearly Not the best

[@hugoarmasaustria1732]

Wonderful!!! I admire the art of La Callas as the best opera singer ever... And I admire your devotion to La Callas as the best fan ever. Greetings from Mexico from an admirer of both.

[@laylavonmav2587]

I own cds of the Mexico Aida’s performances, which I almost never really cared to listen to. Extraneous noise, scratches and tiny acoustics were unbearable. You have performed a miracle. I now can truly appreciate and hear every note in glorious sound. Thank you!

[@ritapapiri]

The golden years of Maria. Magnificent Aida. Thank you.

[@vamar3459]

Thank you for bringing this to light .... She was truly divine. Regards from Athens. Edit : Just read description... The effort you put in these recordings is very much appreciated. Thanks again.

[@MrQbenDanny]

BRAVO!!!! You put the Rolls Royce thru the car wash, sparkling clean sound. Take a bow!!! The indomitable MARIA showing who's BOSS. DIVINA.

[@arnoldamaral7406]

The audio is incredible my friend. Grazie amechi. The pictures are fantastic & certainly show how dedicated your are in keeping our Mayas legacy alive. Thank you Arnold Bourbon Amaral

[@victoriagrapsidou3474]

Thank you for the amazing effort you put in restoring these gems of Maria's divine art!!! Looking forward to the rest!!

[@horstputz6957]

Unbelievable! Best Aida ever!

[@kfaarblum1]

Callas THE genius of color nuance elegance dignity

[@tdgvl]

The sound restoration is fantastic!!! Thank you so much for sharing 🙏🏻

[@dongiovanni6796]

When the CD is finished and available, I'm a buyer.

[@asklepios6780]

Simplement fantastique !!! Bravo et merci...

[@susannaricamo4647]

good job!!! the purity of the voice and the passion that excites are highlighted. Unique !!!

[@laetitiavisagie2632]

In this aria her voice reverberates through my body, mind and soul

[@Vogeln]

Thank you for posting this and for all your hard work!

[@mao1878]

Welcome back! Always thought of you when some new stuff was published! Best regards, Dana

[@aetion]

You have done an excellent job indeed! Thank you.

[@longmai6488]

Glad to see you come back

[@panoschytiris]

Such a treasure!!!!!

[@raybercse1]

You did a great restoration job. You enhanced the wonderful quality of La Divina's unique voice. I own the entire performance on Myto Records, and find their restoration superior to Warner's. Before I purchased the Myto version I did a test comparison against Warner.

[@beth_levin_piano]

Thank you!

[@tonsfocus]

Thank you.

[@juanloaezaviadas500]

I was listening to the Warner remaster a few hours ago. This is way better. Can't wait to have this one on CD. Keep up the fantastic work! BTW, as an observation, the cover of the album has a small typo. It should say "Bellas Artes" instead of "Bella Artes"

[@CallasfanRecordings]

Thank you!

[@Robbit76]

thank you!

[@nadideelmas6652]

Amazing♥️✌💪👏👏

[@danielintheantipodes6741]

Is this the performance where she held the high note forever in the Triumph Scene? I love it! Thank you for the video.

[@josemanuelvizcayalopez6103]

Yes

[@dayangtala]

yes, everything is much cleaner, clearer in your version. thank you. do you think you will get a chance to publish your version/s? hope you do. it's great work.

[@violinovoce]

For those who want it to sound like a studio set, more or less, this is fine. Personally, I prefer the live experience, with prompter, audience, etc. Also, it's not fair to compare to Warner, as that's appalling--taken from EMI 5 62678, which was itself stolen from a poor 1989 Melodram. If you want quality with all the live sounds, go to Myto 00150 or a private seller called ars-vocalis (really the best), both from the great BJR masters. Something that already sounds excellent in its original form does not need 'restoration'.

[@jonbaum]

Is this from Mexico?

[@brunopicaude3092]

Good job CallasFan. I regret that the Divina, here, sing the C forte...as it's written pianissimo.

[@ransomcoates546]

Sopranos tend to sing this treacherous note in whatever way they can manage. It drove Tebaldi from the part.

[@MrLuis85698]

Pianissimos were never her thing, she was not Milanov or Tebaldi, she did the best she could here

[@brunopicaude3092]

@@MrLuis85698 I don't agree. In many occasions, she demonstrates that she has incredible pianissimi (in Gilda, I puritani, even the famous Dflat in Lady Macbeth... E flat diminuendo in la Sonnambula). But not here...

[@MrLuis85698]

@@brunopicaude3092 you dont need to agree with me, you need to agree with yourself . I dont hear any pianissimo coming from Callas' voice ever , and she is my favorite Artist (not only singer) , and I am fully aware that in my own ears pianissimos are a rare quality , loosening the volume of the note to pretend to be or reprise the heavenly sound of the pianissimo is not always a pianissimo in my ears (may be in yours , but not in mines) I only subscribe these few singers when it comes to pianissimos with artistic meaning to me : Milanov, Caballe, Kabaivanska, and Flemming. There can be some others perhaps Gencer but "in my ears" thats pretty much about it. You hear pianissimos in Callas' voice ?? good for you ... I dont , never have

[@brunopicaude3092]

@@MrLuis85698 kzbin.info/www/bejne/jIPLc4xmjZmmrJo

[@Kalogeropoulos777]

I’d like to get the CD as soon as it’s out,let me know,please

[@alvenerio]

Estimado CallasFan , espero pudas leer este comentario ya que supongo que tal vez puedas ayudarme.Soy Fan absoluto de María desde hace casi 60 años y creo haber tenido acceso a todas sus grabaciones y su trayectoria musical pero ocurre que ayer, en una publicación de Facebook alguien postea una grabacion del aria de Medea "Dei tuoi figli" y comenta que es de una grabación de estudio de 1955 cuando ella estaba cantando Medea enLa Opera de Roma.Nunca supe de algo asi . Conozco las grabaciones de Medea de : Firenze 1953, La Scala 1953, Dallas 1958, Londres 1959 , Studio 1957, La Scala 1961 ,Grecia 1961no recuerdo que exista otra , te pido por favor aclares mis dudas ya que considero que eres un gran conocedor de su arte , gracias

[@mateusquasetuga]

Welcome back! Did my comment on Reddit spur you to start posting again?

[@CallasfanRecordings]

My return has been on my mind for a while, right now the timing is right. And yes, the reddit posts pushed me that little bit further :)

[@mateusquasetuga]

@@CallasfanRecordings well thank you for coming back, I appreciate the videos very much

[@despertardelaconciencia369]

Lo quiero comprar!

[@toy2day1]

2:11

[@thomasmbr]

I love Callas but Price..no comparison…non at all! Warm sensuous and no strain at all.

[@ransomcoates546]

It all sounds rather pressed to me. And the conducting is strange.