Maria Callas VS Kurt Baum

An examination of the rivalry that developed during the 1950 Mexico tour.
Audio from Norma, Aida and Il Trovatore.
Do a google image search for Maria Callas. Then do one for Kurt Baum.
Callas wins :)

[@MARTIN201199]

The unanimous winners is: we, the audience.

[@-giakhanh--kayden-8337]

trueeeeee

[@marylambcarter]

THANK GOD FOR KURT ... HE MADE HER SING THE MOST SPECTACULAR NOTES IN OPERA HISTORY !!!!! DIVINA

[@beachfanatic2010]

Although Callas owned his ass as Callas was the biggest and most dramatic voice of history as a big woman, I admire Kurt very much, he hold his ground very well. I think he was one of the greatest dramatic tenors we have on record. If this would not be the case, he wouldn't have ever been with Callas on stage.

[@Operafiend22]

this is hilarious...too bad the mics didnt pick up what was said backstage

[@arnoldamaral7406]

Operaspia he was always tripping. Such a big ego the freak Show! Little did he know but he was saying what the greatest of all time Maria La Divina. Get out of my face you freak don't make me hit a high e and hold it for 6 seconds. We're going Friday night to see the Maria Callas Maria as Callas my dear friend who's like my son he's 47 years old is taking us to dinner before the documentary movie. He's such a good young man. My wife and I are 67 years old. We love him so deeply he looks like my daughter's older brother. He text me yesterday and said everything's in place I've made the reservations at the restaurant send us a copy of the menu. I ordered the tickets online make sure we weren't the 12 row so that you and Linda don't have to raise your your head to see the screen Etc. It tells me keep sending me all these performances by Maria Callas and leontyne price and Montserrat, ETC. Thank you for posting these great performances of Callas in her prime. Arnold Bourbon Amaral .

[@distefano13069609]

Best Callas video ever. This stuff is known to all, but it's GREAT to have it all in one video! Thanks!!!

[@davidnewton9496]

When I hear a lot of opera singers, I think of Anna Russell's comment that they had "resonance where their brains ought to be". Baum was one of those. Milanov had some choice comments about him as well (I can't remember them, but they were funny!). His voice wasn't attractive, at least to me, but his high C almost sounded like a middle it was so easy and free. He was the best Italian Tenor in Rosenkavlier I ever heard.

[@krollpeter]

They pushed each other to heights and that is not bad at all. I do understand that Mrs Callas won the battle overall. But that does not make Mr. Baum a bad singer. Someone who could keep up with her around the beginning 50's simply was among the best in the world.

[@VinylToVideo]

When opera was opera.

[@joseabraham8038]

Oh Kurt, you don´t play with Callas

[@arnoldamaral7406]

Shonky Macaroons he deserved it LOL don't mess with La Divina! He's such a freak! Maria and her prime get out of my face sucker fish LOL

[@cuaksitobabypollito6161]

Kurt la. Llenó a. María. Callas con ese poderoso. Re. Sobreagudo la dejó bien satisfecha !!!!!!!

[@raynardi2326]

Maria Callas UNA FURIA! Ma anche il tenore, che canna! Questi 'duelli" oggi ce li sogniamo purtroppo

[@CallasfanRecordings]

@VinylToVideo i daresay she offered her services for free to get her name out there. I wouldn't call that desperate, although i do know that in the beginning it was hard for her to get roles because her voice was so unusual. And yes, she was a diva (i disagree with you on the term "fucking cunt") Opera was her life until she met Onassis, so she ferociously defended her interests at times. Callas and Moscona overcame their past disagreements to get back at Baum who was trying to upstage EVERYONE

[@CallasfanRecordings]

@VinylToVideo Agreed, the Audience were the lucky ones.

[@Girellooperaballet]

I'm from México, and here still live Calla's magic, in the Palacio de Bellas Artes every Aida that we here we expect that Eb, i was in a performance where Amneris mede it. Thanks for your video is very exiting

[@jefolson6989]

This is the best I've heard Baum sing! In general, he is a second rate house tenor, needed because Richard Tucker needed an occasional night off.

[@bodiloto]

meravigliosi entrambi ! La Callas - divina ! Kurt Baum - accanto à lui tutti tenori odierni Kaufmann compreso fanno pallida figura. è ovvio che questi finali non hanno niente à vedere con la vera arte lirica. questi finali erano per il pubblico di quest'epoca chi era un pubblico fortunato !

[@massimocesareAnnaloro]

D'accordo parola per parola con te.

[@ReGremlin]

Pubblico fortunato ma privo di gusto.

[@Tkimba2]

@@ReGremlin perché oggi invece ha buon gusto pubblico, già...

[@ReGremlin]

@@Tkimba2 Certo che no, ma per voi relitti era sempre tutto meglio prima, meglio i cantanti, meglio i direttori, meglio il pubblico, invece non mi pare proprio AHAHAH

[@Tkimba2]

@@ReGremlin non ti pare proprio? Dimmi i bravi cantanti di oggi. E non uno o due... Voglio TANTI nomi, come tanti ce n'erano in passato.

[@mariamoavro8811]

Semplicemente Grande Superba Artista🙏🌷💙🧡

[@jorgealbertolettera4027]

Qué triste cuando el ego se antepone a la belleza.

[@gaytenor]

@RicharddtheStar Accoirding to the Met Archives they did an Aida in 1960 I believe. By then Baum was in the declining years of his career about 60 I believe.

[@fabianpersic4557]

Wonderful job! Thank you!

[@Faust075]

Who remembers Kurt Baum today ? Nobody. Callas will be famous and remembered as a genius until the end of time

[@downfromkentuckeh]

I mean, your literally watching a video with Kurt Baum in it. Sooooo, deal with it.

[@CallasfanRecordings]

@VinylToVideo Actually, she wasn't a nobody - she was a professional human being who was looking to make Good Opera - and it wasn't just her that Baum was irritating. I would be pissed off at Kurt Baum simply for being included in the cast - his high notes sound like the operatic equivalent of D'oh!

[@robertevans8010]

So terribly wrong

[@raffaeleviggiano4901]

Lei un mostro sacro della lirica che ha segnato un epoca e che ha rivoluzionato il melodramma, lui é il nulla di nulla... che ha lasciato nulla in quanto è stato un tenore totalmente insignificante

[@peggyeggers6268]

LOL!! She won!!

[@manolis.799]

Callas wins always.

[@OGrauMusic]

Great old school tenor with a powerful voice, passion on stage and elegant phrasing. He couldn't compete with Callas because the great Baum was 15 years older than Mrs. Callas, and 15 years in the life of an opera singer is a lot of difference. Callas was famous for her particular voice and her great marketing, she had a great technique thanks to her old school teachers, but there are other great sopranos from her generation and before her. Here the credit goes to Mr. Baum that despite the age difference, he was very brave and sang with dignity. Callas sang as always, in her role and specialty, nothing new ...

[@dgxgamesy3940]

The question is Kurt's arrogance

[@OGrauMusic]

@@dgxgamesy3940 Why?

[@dgxgamesy3940]

@@OGrauMusic Kurt in 1950 and 1951 was trying overpower everyone in stage with high Cs (Excellent notes, although), this enfuriate Callas, which release high Ebs in Aida in Mexico City.

[@OGrauMusic]

@@dgxgamesy3940 And that is bad? want to give everything on stage? I think it's generous of Kurt to sing his lungs out being much older than Callas (another arrogant one too) I don't know any opera singer who isn't arrogant (I mean famous people) because arrogance and divism are part of the profession . I don't see anything wrong with it. Few tenors at Kurt's age are capable of singing with great squillo ... Callas was not a goddess ... so much fanaticism is not good.

[@dgxgamesy3940]

@@OGrauMusic Yes. But yes, I love Callas, but she is so underdeveloped socially talking, she was a VERY difficult person, i agree with you in question of give everything on stage, this is every artist must do (if the artist have a true passion). Although Callas had a lot of massive skills in vocals and drama, she could be bigger. Respect her biological time of maturing vocals is a good start. Alternate coloratura roles and dramatic is not healthly to voice (Is not because you can, you should do). Talking about Kurt, he is a tenor that builded his musical immortality. He is a true dramatic tenor, he is loud without even trying.

[@hectorhugomoyano9518]

ÙNICA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@BaroneVitellioScarpia1]

Baum is great but Callas is even better! Viva la Divina!

[@downfromkentuckeh]

you know the difference between a soprano and a tenor right?

[@dantewalston2755]

I love it!

[@CallasfanRecordings]

@gaytenor I don't like the sound of Baum's top notes, but saying that, I've only heard his performances with Callas, and a few other Di Quella Pira's. Callas may have been a show off, but she had the goods to show! I know about the 1956 Met incident, it was unfair of her to do that. As for her mother...well, their relationship was always bad, Maria saying that her mother stole her childhood. Maria Callas: The Woman Behind the Legend, by Arianna Stassinopoulos is a must read for any callas fan!

[@iTube22100]

Which Met incident ?

[@longlifeluke]

ahahahaha I Love the Prima Donna's voice duel! XD

[@panospoupou7834]

i think la divina was a tiger after that.... xd xd

[@hectorhugomoyano9518]

ÙNICA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@CallasfanRecordings]

@Remalia19 - i'll give it a red hot go!

[@Hexmeyer]

Kurt Baum - Lumpentenor

[@Poetxx9]

La vera Callas non è questa. Sarà quella della Scala, la raffinata fraseggiatrice che conosciamo. Non fu mai una voce di volume debordante, era una belcantista. Qui era giovane e il volume ragguardevole ma la sua natura era un'altra.

[@massimocassano2545]

Quanti Maradona, Pele 'Crujiff c erano un tempo...........!

[@Dunstlookalike]

What divas opera singers are! I would be focused on holding out the notes for their required time, not caring over who holds their note out longer, let alone feuding with another over it. Well, I guess performance careers attract these types of people. Did I mention I love Kurt Baum's voice? I wish we had more to see from him on here...

[@RicharddtheStar]

Wondered if Baum sang with Birgit Nilsson. That would've been wild.

[@oceans80]

Wondering the same thing. Nilsson was the tenor destroyer supreme from what I have read and heard.

[@lamier4419]

Steve Hugel Yep. Nilsson always overpowered Corelli in the duet

[@darklord220]

@@lamier4419 by her own admission she did not lol

[@SacredTemplar8]

Adelyte Gaelle Nope, there are recordings even here on KZbin where she clearly doesn’t

[@ZENOBlAmusic]

@@lamier4419 No, she did not constantly overpower Corelli. He was really the only tenor that could keep up with her. They were constantly in a duel on stage. But they were actually good friends off stage, they did over a 100 performances together. Despite the duelling on stage they understood that they brought out the best in each other. They wanted to perform together although it was often a fight on stage. The tenor is always at a disadvantage when they sing together with a soprano, their harmonic frequencies are masked by a soprano’s higher, and easier to hear frequency.

[@MOV1983]

These so-called feuds among singers are more myth than reality. I suppose people like to fabricate behind-the-scenes stories about singers for entertainment purposes. Best wishes.

[@CallasfanRecordings]

@distefano13069609 thanks :)

[@pericotenor]

The King of High C.

[@distefano13069609]

LOL great video, great ''jokes'' of opera, AND of course Callas wins.. ;) Thanks!

[@madorca8162]

But lower notes require more air flow, so it's not a fair comparison. Hilarious to listen to, nonetheless.

[@ashleythorpe7933]

Tenor gegen Sopran

[@gerardmignon700]

ce Baum, c'est un gros boeuf.

[@keatonstaz7658]

Am I the only one who can't believe the assessment that Callas won!? Any of those notes? Baum's offsets were clean. Callas sounds as if she had exhausted her supply of air. And whose career lasted longer?

[@tita4359]

He’s just as audible as her even on the high notes..what a stupid video. People eat up this stupid drama

[@SilfredoSerrano]

What. Ever. I like him, but did he really have to be an asshole with Maria Callas?

[@sugarbist]

Callas is my favorite soprano, but she was an A -ole with every tenor she sang with.

[@downfromkentuckeh]

callas' ego made her a dread to deal with. not a good colleague to work with.

[@Kibouo]

I don't like Baum's top notes either, they sound pinched and whiny - I have heard much better Tenor High Cs and High Ds

[@jackoconnell9428]

Baum was one of the best!

[@Feisenbach]

What childish behavior on both parts. Callas should have been above that.

[@gemmadestate3216]

Ahi,ahi...la divina litigò praticamente con tutti compreso il pubblico:solo lei doveva primeggiare; peccato che anche qui Baum,classe 1908,se la beve tranquillamente...

[@juliadigirolamo9442]

Ma che dici neppure del monaco poteva contrastarla

[@AulicExclusiva]

Cheap circus.

[@Anduril919]

Kurt Baum overpowered Callas often.

[@lamier4419]

Nope

[@gaytenor]

@turnipoverlord Perhaps you should read the reviews included in the Met Archives on line for Baum. In 1950 he was a leading tenor at the Metropolitan Opera house renown for the brilliance and power of his stentorian top notes. And while I admire Callas a great deal she was a well-known showoff and trouble maker to such an extent that she got a very good baritone sacked by the Met for holding his high not too long.And her treatment of her mother speaks volumes as to her being a bitch.

[@morganchan2465]

Despite all these dramas, Baum high note is bad, the tone is canned and stuck in the throat~

[@jackoconnell9428]

Listen to his Arnold in Guilluame Tell before saying that

[@johnfalstaff2270]

Callas was an egoistic and jealous singer. She thought that the whole applause and popularity belonged to her. I like her voice and acting, but it is necessary to recall that she tried to bury a few great partners singing with her just being afraid of losing the top spot of public interest. Besides Kurt Baum, we remember her rivalry with Mario del Monaco. Leonard Warren did not like to sing with her either. The late author Jane Philips Matz described that fact with details in her book "Leonard Warren, American baritone". In later years, Franco Corelli could easily cover her voice with his beautiful noble sound. After famous 1960 broadcast of Poliuto at la Scala, Callas spoke to media without allowing her two marvelous partners Corelli and Bastianini to open their mouth. You can see in on KZbin video. In the 1950’s, the noted young Italian baritone Enzo Sordello was even fired for extending his last note in Norma. Nevertheless, I enjoyed her voice more than all other sopranos. Anita Cerquetti and Magda Olivero also were goddess. Talking about Kurt Baum, he was perfect figure on MET stage between aging Martinelli and upcoming Mario del Monaco. I do not remember anybody else. Kurt Baum interpretations were full of power and excitement. He deserved his position in history…

[@Cuteo05]

I understand your point, but Maria Callas is a goddess, the one and only queen of opera, and Kurt Baum is nothing besides her.

[@CallasCarey]

John FAKEStaff: Hun, it seems that you are the one jealous here..you could never have the career Callas had..nobody will remember you in 50 years. Callas will be remembered for eternity...you sound bitter and angry. Take several seats dahhhhling!

[@alioffe4321]

@@CallasCarey Screw Warren and Baum! They did not want to sing with her bec. they were not secure with their masculinities and couldn't cope with a woman overpowering and outsinging them. Callas continued to sing with the greatest tenors and baritons of all time, such as Bjorling, del Monaco, Bastianini, Taddei, Corelli etc. They all adored her!

[@sugarbist]

Very nice comment

[@johnfalstaff2270]

@@CallasCarey, my comment perfectly describes real Callas behind the scene. Beautiful voice and her great actorship on stage does not go hand to hand how really she was.

[@remyparaskovia5499]

That singer suck, don't try it with La Divina Sir.

[@wim9161]

It's vulgar.

[@marcelpopa8018]

SEI CRETINO 1

[@Tenore1921]

No it’s not

[@gus_sius]

That’s so amazing!!! 🤩