This is the well-known recording–Callas’ first of two Lucias for EMI–that defined the market for many years. Studio-recorded in 1953, it shows Callas at her most vocally secure and very close to her dramatically most telling. It was, I assume, quite the ear-opener for thousands–perhaps millions–of fans of the opera who had become accustomed to canary-fanciers singing it: Toti dal Monte, Lily Pons, et al. Callas, with her dark-hued, sometimes veiled tone, her insistence on making every word and feeling intelligible, and her innate sense of drama, returned the work to its original meaning: At the premiere in 1835, members of the audience wept when Lucia went mad–it was taken very seriously.
Callas’ command of coloratura and ease above the staff were on a par with the canaries, but the fiorature never was empty and simply showy: it was for the sake of the drama. The Mad Scene is a 16-minute study in both derangement and great singing. For those who don’t know what the Callas craze was all about, this recording tells all.
Giuseppe di Stefano’s Edgardo is passionate and filled with intelligent, handsome phrasing, and aside from the occasional note above the staff that spreads in an unhealthy manner, he is superb. Tito Gobbi rarely sang the role of the wicked Enrico, but he’s his usual self here–alert to textual and musical nuance and emitting an audible sneer in the nastier moments.
Tullio Serafin’s conducting is echt-Italian, but the standard cuts are regrettable–almost every second verse, the Lucia/Normanno scene, the Wolf’s Crag scene. Still, out of the half-dozen (or more) Lucias that are available starring Callas (from many different venues, many still on “private” labels), this is the second best. The first is the 1955 recording under Herbert von Karajan live from Berlin, now available on EMI, which is spine-tingling as well as brilliantly sung by all. It doesn’t matter if you love Sutherland, Sills, Caballé, Devia, Deutekom, Gencer, and a handful of others. Callas’ Lucia is a must-have, and at Brilliant’s bargain price, this is irresistible. The very boxy sound of the originals seems to have been improved somewhat, but audiophile this certainly is not.
