[.ca] La Forza Del Destino Comp

From Amazon.com:
If it were not for Maria Callas, we would all think that La Forza del Destino is essentially a prime exercise and showcase for great soprano voices, with a few goodies thrown in for the rest of the cast and the chorus. In this recording, Callas's voice is not technically great, though it is usually good.She makes most of her points by other means: close attention to the value of words, subtle nuances of tone and phrasing, an uncompromising determination to confront the emotions in the text and convey them honestly and strongly, even when they reach a terrifying intensity. We have here, under the absurdities of plot, a compelling psychological portrait of a woman driven beyond her limits--a woman whose brother wants to kill her lover, who has killed her father. The supporting cast is skilled and Serafin shapes a powerful interpretation. -- Joe McLellan

reply...:
since people address me directly and I can't find their email anywhere I must reply... Thank you Ruth for your polite criticism.... Yes Callas admired Ponselle and she had said that Ponselle was the best singer of the 20th century but... If you hear Ponselle's Pace mio Dio where most of the Divine Qualities of her singing manifest (for example her Legendary Crescendo-Diminuendo in the word "Pace" which is INCOMPARABLE) you'll see that after a highly colorised and BEAUTIFUL singing we have a pianissimo high note before the "maledizione" which is a MIRACLE NOTE and then... my big disappointment: the word "maledizione" is repeated with the exact SAME way each time and with a rather funny for me accentuation of the syllable "zio" (maledioZIOne malediZIOne malediZIOne) followed by the final note which is not sung directly but with an opening portamento -that is a flaw- that creates the extremely funny for me effect of "OUUUUAAAAAA"... I could explain to you this if I were talking to you... I am sorry perhaps she was too young with this but it really made me laugh (as for example Tebaldi's hysterical exagerrated laughters in Adriana if I recall...) as for Tebaldi, her off-tunes are legendary and it's not only my opinion... If you want to continue this conversation cause this is not a conversation page and usually this kind of submissions are deleted, please feel free to email me, you can find my email at my page. Again I thank you for your criticism.

reply...:
I continue to reply politely to anonymous people who don't even have the courage and the civilization to show their names...I am not a "Theo person", I am Theo Argyrakos, I am not afraid to use my name. I am a Callas, Sutherland, Schwarzkopf, Caballe, Nilsson, Varnay, Flagstad, Janowitz and so many others, fanatic and to confirm this one all you have to do is look at my reviews. I dont like small voices with many vocal mistakes yes! and the live Tebaldi Forza I have confirmed it, is full with off-tunes! If you took the time to actually study a bit about opera you would realise that very few things of what I write are my own (only some metaphors). 95% of what I write are experts opinions I have read in books. If you study you will realise that... Just because I find Callas superior to artists such as Price, Sutherland etc does not mean I "bash" them. I like Price very very much... the fact that she herself had called herself inferior to Callas is not my fault. It is YOU who try to show as superior to Callas', performances that are totally out of comparison. Someone actually compared Callas to Milanov the other day or to Tebaldi , singers who before Callas were amateurs. Callas can only be compared with Sutherland and that only in terms of technique. I was sure that this review would cause much attack because none even dares to touch Reneta Tebaldi because she is something like the "poor baby" of opera, she WAS A SUCCESS although she sang sooo BADLY. I never said she sang coldly, Tebaldi had great warmth in her voice, an angelical vocal color and smooth voice, a good phrasing at several points and soooo many off-tunes. Her off-tunes, lack of trills, cut of high notes and generally disasterous technique are so well known, as "deaf" are her groupies. Defending Tebaldi's Disasterous and Amateuristic singing is not a way to protect the ART of opera. Tebaldi was always loved by two kinds of people: 1. Callas' haters (like many well known singers who thought in their minds that Callas prevented them from becoming No1) 2. Amateur singers who thought they could succeed in opera because someone with so many off-tunes and bad singing (and a good relation to Toscanini!!!) as Tebaldi also succeeded. If you can't hear her off-tunes especially in her live Forza then I suggest you ask a talented vocal teacher... Again if you want a private discussion my email is in my page and please stop sending me viruses... just because I don't like little singers does not mean you have to destroy my pc, you great Opera and Art lovers!!!

Simply the Best:
This is simply the Best Leonora of the Century... Unsurpassed, beautiful, dramatic... An Example of perfect singing and acting... Not at all like little, "sweet" Renata...

Shattering, moving, sublime!:
Callas made Leonora her own, so much that only Ponselle can be mentioned in the same breath with her when it comes to La Forza del Destino! In 1954 her voice was in glorious form, she SOARS! The exquisite love-duet, the beautiful, haunting "La Vergine degli angeli", the shattering "Pace, Pace" and the heavenly pianissimi in the finale! Callas, whose voice had the dramatic powers of a volcano sounds fragile, vulnerable, suffering, tormented... Incredible colours for this "simple" heroine! The best Leonora ever! Tucker may sound a bit melodramatic but hey, how would you sound in his shoes, Don Alvaro's fate is as sad as it can be!!! Tagliabue is at the end of his career her but delivers a dramatic, intense performance as Don Carlo di Vargas. Rossi Lemeni sounds fabulous as well! The best Studio-Forza to this day!

In defence of the art of opera...:
It is so sad to read reviews like the ones this Theo person writes. It's perfectly all right to love a certain artist but to bash all others who've performed the same repertoire is unacceptable. Why don't you stick with Maria Callas, which to you is the only soprano for the entire Italian opera repertoire and stop throwing mud to other legendary names. You claim to know so much about music...I'm sure you think you know more about music, voices and opera than Toscannini, De Sabata, Serafin, Boehm, Mitropoulos. After all, these legends were ALL DEAF and couldn't hear what a bad and cold singer Renata Tebaldi was. Callas groupies (this is to differentiate you from the true Callas fans who respect her art in general) have always behaved this way; You're a disgrace to Callas' vision and art. This is by the way a nice recording of Forza. The cast is a bit uneven but Serafin and Callas are wonderful. By no means a definite recording but certainly an interesting one.

• La forza del destino: Sinfonia
• La forza del destino: Act One: Buona notte, mia figlia (Leonora)
• La forza del destino: Act One: Temea restasse qui fino a domani! (Leonora)
• La forza del destino: Act One: Me pellgrina ed orfana (Leonora)
• La forza del destino: Act One: M'aiuti, signorina, piu presto andrem (Leonora)
• La forza del destino: Act One: Ah, per sempre, o mio bell'angiol (Alvaro, Leonora)
• La forza del destino: Act One: Vil seduttor! Infame figlia! (Leonora, Alvaro)
• La forza del destino: Act Two: Scene One: Hola, hola, hola! Ben giungi, o mulattier
• La forza del destino: Act Two: Scene One: La cena e pronta (Carlo)
• La forza del destino: Act Two: Scene One: Che vedo! Mio fratello! (Leonora, Carlo)
• La forza del destino: Act Two: Scene One: Viva la guerra! (All)
• La forza del destino: Act Two: Scene One: Al suon del tamburo (All)
• La forza del destino: Act Two: Scene One: Padre Eterno Signor (Leonora, Carlo)
• La forza del destino: Act Two: Scene One: Viva la buona compagnia! (Carlo, Preziosilla)
• La forza del destino: Act Two: Scene One: Poich'e imberbe l'incognito (Carlo)
• La forza del destino: Act Two: Scene One: Son Pereda, son ricco d'onore (Carlo)
• La forza del destino: Act Two: Scene One: Sta bene (Preziosilla, Carlo)
• La forza del destino: Act Two: Scene Two: Sono giunta! Grazie, o Dio! (Leonora)
• La forza del destino: Act Two: Scene Two: Madre, pietosa Vergine (Leonora)
• La forza del destino: Act Two: Scene Two: Chi siete? (Melitone, Leonora)
• La forza del destino: Act Two: Scene Two: Chi mi cerca? (Guardiano, Leonora, Melitone)
• La forza del destino: Act Two: Scene Two: Infelice, delusa, rejetta (Leonora, Guardiano)
• La forza del destino: Act Two: Scene Two: Il santo nome di Dio Signore sia benedetto (Guardiano)
• La forza del destino: Act Two: Scene Two: La Vergine degli Angeli (Guardino, Leonora, All)
• La forza del destino: Act Three: Scene One: Attenti al gioco, attenti, attenti al gioco
• La forza del destino: Act Three: Scene One: La vita e inferno all'infelice
• La forza del destino: Act Three: Scene One: O tu che in seno agli angeli (Alvaro)
• La forza del destino: Act Three: Scene One: Al tradimento! (Carlo, Alvaro)
• La forza del destino: Act Three: Scene One: All'armi!
• La forza del destino: Act Three: Scene Two: Arde la mischia!: Piano...qui posi...approntisi il mio letto (Alvaro, Carlo)
• La forza del destino: Act Three: Scene Two: Solenne in quest'ora (Alvaro, Carlo)
• La forza del destino: Act Three: Scene Two: Morir! Tremenda cosa!
• La forza del destino: Act Three: Scene Two: Urna fetale del mio destino (Carlo)
• La forza del destino: Act Three: Scene Two: E s'altra prova rinvenir potessi? (Carlo)
• La forza del destino: Act Three: Scene Three: Compagni, sostiamo
• La forza del destino: Act Three: Scene Three: Ne gustar m'e dato un'ora di quiete (Alvaro, Carlo)
• La forza del destino: Act Three: Scene Three: Lorche pifferi e tamburi par che assordino la terra (Preziosilla)
• La forza del destino: Act Three: Scene Three: Qua, vivandiere, un sorso
• La forza del destino: Act Three: Scene Three: A buon mercato chi vuol comprare?
• La forza del destino: Act Three: Scene Three: Pane, pan per carita!
• La forza del destino: Act Three: Scene Three: Nella guerra e la follia (Preziosilla)
• La forza del destino: Act Three: Scene Three: Toh! Toh! Poffare il mondo! Che tempone! (Melitone, Preziosilla)
• La forza del destino: Act Three: Scene Three: Rataplan, rataplan, della gloria (Preziosilla)
• La forza del destino: Act Four: Scene One: Fate la carita, e un'ora che aspettiamo! (Melitone, Guardiano)
• La forza del destino: Act Four: Scene One: Giunge qualcuno, aprite (Guardiano, Melitone)
• La forza del destino: Act Four: Scene One: Invano Alvaro ti celasti al mondo
• La forza del destino: Act Four: Scene One: Le minaccie, i fieri accenti (Alvaro, Carlo)
• La forza del destino: Act Four: Scene Two: Pace, pace mio Dio! (Leonora)
• La forza del destino: Act Four: Scene Two: Io muoio! Confessione! (Carlo, Alvaro, Leonora)
• La forza del destino: Act Four: Scene Two: Non imprecare, umiliati a Lui ch'e guisto e santo (Guardiano, Leonora, Alvaro)