What kind of soprano was maria callas

In the final analysis, Callas defies easy categorization. Tsaraslondon , Seattleoperafan , Marschallin Blair and 4 others liked this post. Sep, 8. And interestingly Walter Legge notes that even in when she sings Dalila's arias for her first French recital, she had difficulty sustaining the low tessitura. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Callas was naturally a soprano. Could a pushed up mezzo have sung those Armidas in Florence? Could a pushed up mezzo have hurled out a high Eb that drowns out everything else in the finale to Act II of Aida?

Could a pushed up mezzo have sung those breathtaking Lucias with Karajan. Would a pushed up mezzo crown the Act I finale of Norma with a top D of epic proportions? Could a pushed up mezzo have given us such delciately shaded performances of Amina and Gilda? Absolutely not. Could a pushed up mezzo even attempt the high tessitura of Medea?

She was a dramatic coloratura soprano of a type that had ceased to exist at the beginning of the twentieth century, which is why people found it so hard to categorise her. I might add that Rosa Ponselle and Renata Tebaldi both had notoriously short tops, and both would make a downward transposition in Sempre libera, something which Tebaldi sang very clumsily anyway; and Tebaldi pretty much had to pray for her top Cs.

I don't hear anyone asking questions about their soprano status. At the end of Callas's career, when she lost the ability to sustain those stratospheric notes, the problem was more one of support rather than range. Callas may have had an extraordinarily wide range low F below the stave to top E in alt, both notes incidentally in the same opera I Vespri Siciliani , but she was without any doubt a soprano.

Absolutely and incontrovertibly. Marschallin Blair , PetrB , Woodduck and 2 others liked this post. Sep, 9. I think singing Turandot for something like 80 performances justifies her as a soprano, though I'm not sure it was good for her longevity.

I think she could have been a very effective Amneris after her B's and C's had deserted her. Dimitrova, who had a similar type of voice made a fabulous Amneris and she, like Maria, always had a big chest voice and their voices were of similar sizes.

Carmen is another role she could have possibly sung late in her career successfully. Delilah is another. Woodduck , BalalaikaBoy liked this post. Sep, Originally Posted by GregMitchell. Last edited by Marschallin Blair; Sep at PetrB , Seattleoperafan , Tsaraslondon and 1 others liked this post.

This is just the trouble with getting too fascinated with the minutia which qualifies a voice as one type or another, which Fach. I've already pointed out this fabricated mental peril in your other thread on Fach. Even nicer than that you made the effort. It was a pleasant surprise to find Callas on the list.

I don't listen much to opera singing as well but I make an exception for Callas and Sumi Jo. Both have a style more accessible to non opera fans. And voices even the layman can tell are exceptional. Sadly, she never had a career she truly deserved probably because of her background , but is still unforgettable.

She sang with Barbra Streidand once, and B she still remembers and loves this amazing person and performer. Well, I noticed your comment and fail to see why you compare her to Callas. Callas was an opera singer, Violetta was not. If we can believe Wikipedia in this case? And that link to her singing Habanera pretty much sums up the difference.

I mean, seriously don't know how you can say it's her "signature song" or that she "rocked" it. Not sure which you meant but I do think you must be joking either way. Least, that's how I can only take it. To be honest I don't like Celine's rendition. Her singing doesn't hit the operatic quality in any way.

It's more cabaret version. Why doesn't she wear top hat, tuxedo and stockings with garter? I would like it much better; As for Villas - her Carmen seems to be mentally unstable hysteric. I love her voice. Along with Cecilia Bartoli's voice of course. I mentioned Cecilia Bartoli's name and I simply can't refrain myself from attaching a link. Absolutely mindblowing!

Now, as she's got older, her voice has become even darker and deeper in lower register. Opie, please do not compare video below to Sumi Jo's performance of the very same aria. As you have mentioned you have great respect to Jo's vocal abilities. Such comparison might be a little I agree regarding Celine but my comparison there was between Celine, not an opera singer, and this Violetta, not an opera singer.

I wouldn't dream of comparing Celine's version to any real opera singers'. Like this Elina. Her rendition btw though excellent of course, is too standard opera, too smooth for my taste. But comparing her to Callas is a matter of taste I think, not quality.

I personally prefer the delivery and "rougher edge" of Callas. But again.. First of all.. Had missed your replies in this thread. I'd say I have a great liking for Sumi Jo's voice and delivery.

I wouldn't make any statement regarding her ability in comparison to other operatic singers as I lack both the knowledge and the experience of listening to enough opera to do so. I am actually not at all a fan of opera and like Callas and Sumi Jo because their delivery is not standard opera.

Bartoli's IS. And I do know enough to hear that between those two, when it comes to that aria, Bartoli's is far superior technically. Did I like it? Not really. Like I said.. Also between you and me the difference, I get the impression, is that you prefer mezzo soprano where as I prefer soprano voices. Right, I prefer mezzo indeed. I'm not opera fan either, however there are days I listen only operatic repertoire or Chopin piano works.

It really calms me down. There are days I can't stand pop music and then opera or classical music is relief. I don't have knowledge to compare operatic singers, so I base upon my ears and taste. I just like Bartoli's voice and Garanca's voice - warm and nicely rounded.

Callas was freak of nature and possibly one of the very best, nevertheless her bottle-like guttural tones irritate me a bit. Later in the year, she took on her first major role in Tosca. In the mids, she moved back to New York to spend time with her father and look for work, but experienced a number of rejections.

She eventually moved to Verona, where she met rich industrialist Giovanni Meneghini. The two married n Over the next few years, under the management of her husband, Callas continued to perform in Florence and Verona to critical acclaim.

Though her voice captivated audiences, as her fame increased, Callas developed a reputation as a temperamental, demanding diva and was nicknamed "The Tigress. It is a hazard of the battlefield. Opera is a battlefield, and it must be accepted. The performance was a triumph and was seen as a signature role. In , she at last had the opportunity to sing with the Metropolitan Opera in her home city of New York, but in was fired by director Rudolf Bing.

Callas's marriage had also begun to unravel. Callas and Meneghini split at the end of the decade, during which time she was having an affair with shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis.

He would later wed former U. During the s, Maria Callas's formerly stellar singing voice was discernibly faltering. Her performances grew fewer and farther between, as a result of her frequent cancellations. Though she formally retired from the stage in the early '60s, Callas made a brief return to performing with the Metropolitan Opera mid-decade.

In , she also appeared in the title role of the film Medea.