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Post by Mr Snow on Sept 9, 2017 19:05:33 GMT
Died 40 years ago today.
I'm tempted to recall John O'Hara's words about George Gershwin. "George Gershwin died yesterday,but I don't have to believe it if I don't want to".
Warners have the rights to her recordings and last year they did a reasonable job of remastering her studio output and next week release a box set of "cleaned up" live recordings (not complete).
She's arguably the biggest selling classical musician of all time and she changed the perception of what an Opera singer might do in terms of interpretation.
She lives on.
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Post by Mr Snow on Sept 9, 2017 19:46:57 GMT
Interrupted by the s summons to dinner!
Perhaps it was news of her death but around that time I was once again struggling to know what to get my father for Christmas. A twin cassette compilation of her work was the offering.
That summer I noticed it had never been played and 'readopted' it during my last year of University. From that my musical tastes changed and after attending more than 300 performances I'd just like to say; thank you Maria, you enriched my life.
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Post by tonyloco on Sept 9, 2017 21:38:39 GMT
She's arguably the biggest selling classical musician of all time and she changed the perception of what an Opera singer might do in terms of interpretation. She lives on. I applaud your sentiments, Mr Snow, but Maria Callas died on 16 September, not 9 September. You are right in your assessment of her legacy but you are also wrong in assuming that her sales are so large. I am fairly sure that the recordings of Herbert von Karajan have sold a lot more than those of Callas, mainly because his catalogue is very much larger then hers, and even in the field of opera singers I believe the total sales of the recordings of Pavarotti and Domingo also exceed those of Callas. The main reason for this is that Callas remained true to her art and never ventured into the field of crossover. In fact, just the total sales of the three 'Three Tenors' concerts have probably exceeded Callas's total sales before you look at the huge operatic catalogues of those two tenors and then start counting their crossover albums. Believe me, I know the figures! But Callas was certainly one of the greatest opera singers of the 20th century (Caruso, Chaliapin and Gobbi possibly also qualify) and, to judge from her recordings, to me she was at her finest in Verdi, pace the bel canto composers. I saw her in Norma twice in Paris and Tosca once at Covent Garden, plus one concert with orchestra at the Festival Hall, and she did not disappoint. I will draw a veil over the terrible recital with Giuseppe di Stefano in 1973 but we still all cheered because she was La Divina. Tito Gobbi in his 1979 autobiography 'My Life' said of Callas: "I always thought she was immortal – and she is." |
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Post by tmesis on Sept 9, 2017 22:36:00 GMT
Tony - regarding sales, don't Sir Nev and The Academy come pretty damn high too?
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Post by tonyloco on Sept 9, 2017 23:10:39 GMT
Tony - regarding sales, don't Sir Nev and The Academy come pretty damn high too? I've never really thought about that, but it's a good point. I believe at one stage the Academy held the record of being the world's most recorded orchestra but I'm not sure any of their albums were ever subject to intensive TV advertising as were the albums of Callas and the three tenors. Oops, I might be wrong. The Academy features on the soundtrack album of the film 'Amadeus' so that would have notched up an impressive total. But to be perfectly frank, all record companies are notoriously shy about revealing sales figures of classical recordings because they are much smaller than people imagine and when they do go public they usually multiply the true figure by a factor of two or three at least! And some of the biggest sellers are sometimes surprising. I think that according to official figures both the Vivaldi Four Seasons of Mutter with Karajan and also Nigel Kennedy with the ECO achieved sales of more than one million. And the Monks of Silos with their Gregorian Chant did actually sell squillions all over the world – the record buying public can sometimes be very surprising. Who would have thought Charlotte Church would be such a big seller?! |
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Post by tmesis on Sept 10, 2017 6:44:37 GMT
Sorry Mr Snow that we're straying off-topic but one more point re classical recording sales; in one of Norman Lebrecht's doom laden books about the parlous state of the classical recording industry (Norman can be a bit dramatic, but all of his predictions have come true with knobs on) he gives out a neat statistic that has stayed with me,namely:
The total world-wide sales of all classical recordings is no more than the total world-wide sales of the whole of The Beatles catalogue.
Tony, with your greater knowledge than me of the industry, do you think that's about right?
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Post by tmesis on Sept 10, 2017 7:09:48 GMT
Now back to Callas...
Yes I'm a big fan. I'm not quite old enough to have ever seen her live but have many of her complete opera recordings. So much has been written about her voice that I'll probably be re-forking old ground but the main thing about her, for me, is her charisma; just one second of her performance and you're immediately drawn in; you're compelled to listen, like few other sopranos and carried away with the drama.
Favourite recordings:
Tosca (di Stefano/Gobbi/deSabata)
Norma (Ludwig/Corelli/Serafin)
Turandot (Fernandi/Schwarzkopf/Serafin)
Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Gobbi/Alva/Galliera)
The last one I absolutely cherish; she's unexpectedly brilliant at comedy and gives a scintillating performance. Her 'Una voce poco fa' has never been bettered.
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Post by Mr Snow on Sept 10, 2017 7:59:20 GMT
Wow, can you recall which years? She is endlessly fascinating for what she achieved, for how her voice changed and undoubtedly for her life. But mainly for her performances which we are lucky to have so well preserved. |
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Post by Mr Snow on Sept 10, 2017 8:16:34 GMT
Thanks for the factual updates. Must stop rushed posts where I don't check or think things through.
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Post by hulmeman on Sept 10, 2017 10:16:15 GMT
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Post by argon on Sept 10, 2017 12:10:25 GMT
Favourite recordings: Tosca (di Stefano/Gobbi/deSabata) The gold standard for Tosca |
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Post by tmesis on Sept 10, 2017 12:27:45 GMT
Interrupted by the s summons to dinner! I expect you had a nice Fray Bentos steak and kidney pie with an accompaniment of tinned ratatouille. |
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Post by tonyloco on Sept 10, 2017 12:32:59 GMT
Sorry Mr Snow that we're straying off-topic but one more point re classical recording sales; in one of Norman Lebrecht's doom laden books about the parlous state of the classical recording industry (Norman can be a bit dramatic, but all of his predictions have come true with knobs on) he gives out a neat statistic that has stayed with me,namely: The total world-wide sales of all classical recordings is no more than the total world-wide sales of the whole of The Beatles catalogue. Tony, with your greater knowledge than me of the industry, do you think that's about right? Funnily enough, I was going to mention Norman Lebrecht in one of my replies about sales but thought better of it. I think Norman's comparison is rather far-fetched but there may be some truth in it in a very generalised way in that, as I said before, sales of most individual classical recordings are much lower than people imagine and it's only the occasional high profile item, like the Three Tenors, the Vivaldi Four Seasons and the Canto Gregoriano by the Monks of Silos that suddenly take off, but also aided by intensive international marketing including TV advertising. Movie soundtracks also occasionally hit the jackpot as indeed 'Titanic' did. As far as Callas is concerned, her big sales have been achieved only by those compilations like 'The Romantic Callas' and 'Popular Arias from TV, Films and Opera' aimed at the widest popular market that have achieved really big numbers. Coming back now to Lebrecht's statement, does he mean that in any one year, the total world-wide sales of all classical recordings is no more than the sales of the whole of the Beatles catalogue in that same year? And, if so, is he talking about some particular year around the time he made that statement? I very much doubt whether he has actually got any factual basis for saying this and I think we should take the statement in a metaphorical way. Also, the international record business has changed out of all recognition in recent years with the decline of CD sales and the rise of digital downloading and streaming. The alleged rebirth of the vinyl market is also greatly exaggerated. So while I would discount Lebrecht's Beatles comparison on a factual basis, he has nevertheless drawn attention to the fact that the international classical record business in total. is very much smaller than even one very specific segment of the pop business, namely The Beatles. By the way, I am speaking here from a position of authority because I did actually meet The Beatles once and I also met Callas once – so what I say must be true! |
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Post by tonyloco on Sept 10, 2017 12:59:55 GMT
Blimey, hulmeman! I am totally astonished that Bruna should suddenly be surfacing in Wales and giving two public presentations about Callas. She and Ferruccio were Callas's personal servants who were with her when she died in Paris. It has always surprised me that after Callas's death both Bruna and Ferruccio disappeared off the radar and this is the first time I am aware that either of them has appeared in public to talk about Callas. I always suspected that somebody, most likely Vasso Devetzi, paid both of them to disappear and not talk to the media about their life looking after Maria. So why is she suddenly appearing in Wales do do just that? I always had the impression that she was older than Callas, so I wonder how old she is now? In Zeffirelli's film 'Callas Forever' she is represented as a rather mature lady but that was just the impression I got. Anyway, thanks hulmeman for bringing this to our attention.
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Post by tonyloco on Sept 10, 2017 13:10:41 GMT
Wow, can you recall which years? There seems to be a small problem with the 'Quick Quote' button, but if you Mr Snow are asking about which years I saw Callas, the answer is as follows: Festival Hall Concert with Orchestra: 27 February 1962 Tosca at Covent Garden: 21 January 1964 Tosca, Act II (for TV) at Covent Garden: 9 February 1964 Norma in Paris: 31 May 1964 Norma in Paris (last act cancelled): 29 May 1965 Recital with di Stefano at Festival Hall: 26 November 1973 |
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Post by tmesis on Sept 10, 2017 13:12:33 GMT
Sorry Mr Snow that we're straying off-topic but one more point re classical recording sales; in one of Norman Lebrecht's doom laden books about the parlous state of the classical recording industry (Norman can be a bit dramatic, but all of his predictions have come true with knobs on) he gives out a neat statistic that has stayed with me,namely: The total world-wide sales of all classical recordings is no more than the total world-wide sales of the whole of The Beatles catalogue. Tony, with your greater knowledge than me of the industry, do you think that's about right? Funnily enough, I was going to mention Norman Lebrecht in one of my replies about sales but thought better of it. I think Norman's comparison is rather far-fetched but there may be some truth in it in a very generalised way in that, as I said before, sales of most individual classical recordings are much lower than people imagine and it's only the occasional high profile item, like the Three Tenors, the Vivaldi Four Seasons and the Canto Gregoriano by the Monks of Silos that suddenly take off, but also aided by intensive international marketing including TV advertising. Movie soundtracks also occasionally hit the jackpot as indeed 'Titanic' did. As far as Callas is concerned, her big sales have been achieved only by those compilations like 'The Romantic Callas' and 'Popular Arias from TV, Films and Opera' aimed at the widest popular market that have achieved really big numbers. Coming back now to Lebrecht's statement, does he mean that in any one year, the total world-wide sales of all classical recordings is no more than the sales of the whole of the Beatles catalogue in that same year? And, if so, is he talking about some particular year around the time he made that statement? I very much doubt whether he has actually got any factual basis for saying this and I think we should take the statement in a metaphorical way. Also, the international record business has changed out of all recognition in recent years with the decline of CD sales and the rise of digital downloading and streaming. The alleged rebirth of the vinyl market is also greatly exaggerated. So while I would discount Lebrecht's Beatles comparison on a factual basis, he has nevertheless drawn attention to the fact that the international classical record business in total. is very much smaller than even one very specific segment of the pop business, namely The Beatles. By the way, I am speaking here from a position of authority because I did actually meet The Beatles once and I also met Callas once – so what I say must be true! I've just found the book, it's from 'Maestros, Masterpieces and Madness' (2007) So one assumes he is speaking of up to the date the book was written: 'Adding up the top-selling artists...one arrives at total classical sales of somewhere between 1 and 1.3 billion...[he then discusses pop sales ending with the statement] the all-time leaders are the Beatles which EMI estimates is 1 to 1.3 billion.' Even though Norm can be a bit sensationalist that actually sounds pretty credible. He gives lists for total classical sales by artist and you were right, Herbie's tops with 200m. Here's the list: 1) Karajan 200m 2)Pavarotti 100m 3)Solti 50m 3)Fiedler/Boston Pops 50m 5)Bernstein, Callas, Galway, Domingo, Marriner (all equal 5th) 30m |
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Post by tonyloco on Sept 10, 2017 13:31:07 GMT
I've just found the book, it's from 'Maestros, Masterpieces and Madness' (2007) So one assumes he is speaking of up to the date the book was written: 'Adding up the top-selling artists...one arrives at total classical sales of somewhere between 1 and 1.3 billion...[he then discusses pop sales ending with the statement] the all-time leaders are the Beatles which EMI estimates is 1 to 1.3 billion.' Even though Norm can be a bit sensationalist that actually sounds pretty credible. He gives lists for total classical sales by artist and you were right, Herbie's tops with 200m. Here's the list: 1) Karajan 200m 2)Pavarotti 100m 3)Solti 50m 3)Fiedler/Boston Pops 50m 5)Bernstein, Callas, Galway, Domingo, Marriner (all equal 5th) 30m That's very gratifying, considering I was speaking right off the top of my head, that I managed to get those classical sales fairly much in the right magnitude. And if EMI estimated total Beatles sales as 1 to 1.3 billion then we can't really dispute that, even if they did add a little polishing to the figure! And Lebrecht's list also bears out what I said about classical sales figures being a lot less than people imagine, like where are Yehudi Menuhin (who recorded extensively for over 50 years), Otto Klemperer, André Previn, Eugene Ormandy, Renata Tebaldi, André Cluytens, Itzhak Perlman, etc, etc, all major international artists who made loads of successful recordings?
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Post by tonyloco on Sept 10, 2017 13:39:22 GMT
While I am showing off about Callas, I would like to quote something I wrote recently that sums up my evaluation of Callas the artist, based on a lifetime of listening to her records as well as seeing her live on six separate occasions:
In my opinion, not only did Callas have the physical ability to fill a theatre with her charismatic persona when she was on stage, but her innate musical intelligence allowed her to perform the music of Bellini, Donizetti, Rossini, Verdi, Puccini and others better than almost any other singers. Her strict adherence to exactly what the composers had written enabled her to get to the heart of all the characters she portrayed, so her interpretations were essentially not pieces of physical acting but musical embodiments of the roles. The fact that she could alter the timbre of her voice added to the ability she had to differentiate between Amina, Norma, Rosina and Lucia in the bel canto operas, Aida, Amelia, Violetta, Lady Macbeth and Leonora in Verdi, and Turandot, Mìmì, Cio Cio San and Lauretta in Puccini. For me personally, she is at her very greatest in Verdi but that’s just a personal preference.
Viva la Divina!
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Post by hulmeman on Sept 10, 2017 14:14:29 GMT
No, no Tony, as I understand it, the presentation is based on Bruna's memoires. She is not in it.
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Post by tonyloco on Sept 10, 2017 15:12:47 GMT
No, no Tony, as I understand it, the presentation is based on Bruna's memoires. She is not in it. Ah, so that explains it then. Arianna Huffington says that Bruna was two years older than Callas so that would make her 95 or 96 if she were still alive. But I just Googled her and found that she has died just a few weeks ago in August at the age of 95. I don't follow social media but there seem to be references to Bruna Lupoli on instagram and twitter but that may be a different person. Thanks. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2017 16:31:29 GMT
Oh I loved her when she played Cagney in London's glitzy West End a few years ago. Or did she play Lacey?
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Post by tonyloco on Sept 13, 2017 18:22:03 GMT
Oh I loved her when she played Cagney in London's glitzy West End a few years ago. Or did she play Lacey? Surely you remember, Ryan? She played both roles and tossed a coin each night to decide which one it would be that night. What a trouper! |
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Post by tmesis on Jun 10, 2018 14:08:06 GMT
Funnily enough, I was going to mention Norman Lebrecht in one of my replies about sales but thought better of it. I think Norman's comparison is rather far-fetched but there may be some truth in it in a very generalised way in that, as I said before, sales of most individual classical recordings are much lower than people imagine and it's only the occasional high profile item, like the Three Tenors, the Vivaldi Four Seasons and the Canto Gregoriano by the Monks of Silos that suddenly take off, but also aided by intensive international marketing including TV advertising. Movie soundtracks also occasionally hit the jackpot as indeed 'Titanic' did. As far as Callas is concerned, her big sales have been achieved only by those compilations like 'The Romantic Callas' and 'Popular Arias from TV, Films and Opera' aimed at the widest popular market that have achieved really big numbers. Coming back now to Lebrecht's statement, does he mean that in any one year, the total world-wide sales of all classical recordings is no more than the sales of the whole of the Beatles catalogue in that same year? And, if so, is he talking about some particular year around the time he made that statement? I very much doubt whether he has actually got any factual basis for saying this and I think we should take the statement in a metaphorical way. Also, the international record business has changed out of all recognition in recent years with the decline of CD sales and the rise of digital downloading and streaming. The alleged rebirth of the vinyl market is also greatly exaggerated. So while I would discount Lebrecht's Beatles comparison on a factual basis, he has nevertheless drawn attention to the fact that the international classical record business in total. is very much smaller than even one very specific segment of the pop business, namely The Beatles. By the way, I am speaking here from a position of authority because I did actually meet The Beatles once and I also met Callas once – so what I say must be true! I've just found the book, it's from 'Maestros, Masterpieces and Madness' (2007) So one assumes he is speaking of up to the date the book was written: 'Adding up the top-selling artists...one arrives at total classical sales of somewhere between 1 and 1.3 billion...[he then discusses pop sales ending with the statement] the all-time leaders are the Beatles which EMI estimates is 1 to 1.3 billion.' Even though Norm can be a bit sensationalist that actually sounds pretty credible. He gives lists for total classical sales by artist and you were right, Herbie's tops with 200m. Here's the list: 1) Karajan 200m 2)Pavarotti 100m 3)Solti 50m 3)Fiedler/Boston Pops 50m 5)Bernstein, Callas, Galway, Domingo, Marriner (all equal 5th) 30m Bumped up for tonyloco. |
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