Maria Callas ~ Complete Studio Recordings

The ultimate limited edition wooden box set of her complete EMI studio recordings for the serious Maria Callas fan. Includes a large hardback book with text & photos and a cd-rom libretto tucked in the back flyleaf. There's also a separate packet with large portrait photos of Maria. Very high quality; you can tell they took a lot of time designing the packaging on this one. I checked each of the 70 CD's and they appear perfect. Because they are each in their own jewel case, rather than a cardboard sleeve, they will be likely to stay in fine condition, too. The sound, in my opinion, is excellent, not too "bright" and harsh like many modern digitally remastered recordings. This is especially noticeable with the arias.This is a very large and heavy set, something that could easily be damaged in shipping, but they took great pains to protect it. It comes packed in it's own custom designed white padded cardboard box, meant to keep the wooden box in, it seems, but why would you want to, when the wooden box is so gorgeous ? This white box is packed in another custom designed cardboard shipping box with styrofoam panels (the C.O.A. sticker is on this one--be careful; it's easy to overlook) and then the whole kit & kaboodle is packed in an Amazon cardboard box with paper packing. So it comes triple -boxed ! By the way, the wooden box, while very attractive, appears to have a shiny surface veneer, presumably over a cheaper wood. Still, it looks gorgeous and is well made with brass hinges. I recommend grabbing one of these while they are still available at a reasonable price (for what you get) on Amazon. It's a limited edition and there are probably not too many left.Pros:The complete studio recordings & cd-rom librettoExcellent sound, not too "bright"High quality beautiful wooden box and packagingLarge hardback memorabilia book and photo packetCollectors itemCons:Very large and heavy setHARD to get the CD's out of the box !I'm not kidding. Unbelievably, they didn't allow room for your fingers.You can develop a technique using your fingernails or a pointed knife, but it's not easy.

The set comes with 69 CDs worth of aria collections and 22 complete operas, which are (in the order of recordings);La Gioconda (2 versions)Lucia di Lammermoor (2 versions)I PuritaniCavalleria RusticanaTosca (2 versions)La TraviataNorma (2 versions)PagliacciLa Forza del DestinoIl Turco in ItaliaMadama ButterflyAidaRigolettoIl TrovatoreLa BohemeUn Ballo in MascheraIl Barbiere di SivigliaLa SonnambulaTurandotManon LescautMedeaCarmenThe EMI website says that these are "with brand new remasterings". The box specifically notes that Cetra recordings have been remastered for this set. I assume that the others are the most recent remasterings (the same ones used for Great Recordings of the Century?). The flimsy box and packaging require some care when handling. The 70th disk of the set is a Mac-compatible CD-ROM, from which librettos in the PDF format can be downloaded to your computer for all operas and arias (except, the libretto for Cavallera Rusticana seems missing for the Mac version). There is a photo gallery PDF, but I don't find any essay on the Mac CD-ROM.For newcomers to Italian operas, this is it. For the price of 3-4 complete opera recordings, you are getting nearly the entire repertoire of the standards. I should note that most recordings here are monaural and you will hear occasional hisses. But, the power, emotion, and subtlety projected by the most celebrated opera singer in the history will easily come through.For veteran collectors who know these recordings by heart, the only "negative" associated with this set is the feeling of dejection/envy that we once paid the full price for each disk. :)I may be cheating calling a 70-disk set as my desert island disks. Consider, though, I would be forgoing the rest of my collection of ~2000 CDs. Still, I will do okay on the island with this set alone. Indeed, listening through this set has given me a new perspective on Callas' legend. In this regard, as one reviewer noted above, a whole of this set is greater than its parts, which I always thought could not be surpassed to begin with.

After purchasing Maria Callas Live, a box set of 8 CDs, I knew I wanted as many Maria Callas recordings as I could get; I also knew that I wanted the best quality sound I could get (static and cracklings wear on me after awhile). I was trying to decide between this set of 70 CDs of studio recordings and two sets of operas (one with 52CDs and one with 64). This set is the only one that gave me any real information about remastering and that seemed conflicting: one reviewer wrote of EMI's 1997 "black box" remastering while another wrote that the set was remastered by Abbey Road. Both are correct.Browsing through the accompanying booklet, the CDs do list prior remastering, generally with a 1997 date. But each CD has since been remastered by Abbey Road. This is the description on the outside of the box: "Remastered at Abbey Road Studios and noise-shaped by the Prism SNS system for optimum sound quality.""Optimum sound quality" indeed! Abbey Road studios did a superb job of stripping away the years to reveal Maria Callas in her breath-taking and timeless glory. I've listened to about 20 CDs so far. The sound quality on most of them is so marvelous that to my ears, they could pass for contemporary recordings. There is NOTHING to remind me that I'm listening to recordings that are half a century old. On a few recordings so far, the voices are clear and beautiful and it is only a somewhat murky quality to the orchestration that reminds me, only for a fleeting moment, of the age of the recording. A fleeting moment only and then I'm once again immersed in the music's beauty.I've only had this set for a couple weeks and it's already among my most treasured music. This music will continue to touch my soul and gladden my days for the rest of my life.

What a great collection this is - not only all of Callas's studio recordings of complete operas, but also the studio recitals. The quality and variety of the performances - most of which are very well-known - hardly need comment. What should be noted is the re-mastered sound. The quality, particularly of the earlier material, is uniformly excellent. The sound is very clean and detailed, particularly noticeable in the early mono recordings. Many people who are familiar with these recordings from earlier incarnations, going back to LP days, will be justifiably impressed with the work of the EMI engineers (the re-mastering done at Abbey Road I believe). I was lucky and picked up a second-hand copy, in immaculate condition - but even at the usual new price, this is an unbelievable bargain. Don't miss it.

An absolute bargain which includes the long supressed cabbaletta from one of the arias from 'Il Corsaro' presumably because in 1969, the great voice above the stave is not what it once was. Yet all these recordings have their virtues, even the later ones. Who today can match the delicacy of the phrasing, the different vocal colours, the range of repertoire and sing with such authority. If you listen to the early recordings the actual beauty of the voice takes your breath away. There is something that just rings true about these interpretations. La Callas throws her whole being into her interpretations and you feel that she is creating and not just interpreting the notes on the page. Yes, there are those rogue sounds that some will hate. Callas was never a mere vocalist. Opera is drama and this is apparent in everything that Maria Callas recorded. People queued outside ROH Covent Garden in 1964 for three days and nights to get tickets to see Callas as 'Tosca'. Listening to these recordings, I can understand why! A remarkable achievement and sets her apart as one of the greatest creative artistes of the Twentieth Century and one of the greatest singers in recorded history. What a pity EMI were so conservative when they were choosing what to record with Callas! Callas is wasted in Boheme, Madama Butterfly, Aida, Manon Lescaut, inspiring though the singing is. No decent recording of Armida or Medea. Who, before or since Callas, has had a hit in the fiendishly difficult role of Medea?!Buy this box set, an absolute bargain, and listen in wonder and admiration to one of the greatest opera singers who ever lived.

I am still in shock at the great value for money this collection offers.There are 25, yes 25, full operas, plus several other CDs. The quality is superb, and though the presentation may be no frills, who cares! This collection really does deserve a home with any Callas afficionada - at this price take it and enjoy

Maria Callas, my favourite soprano. Beautiful voice expressing deep emotion.A fantastic collection of operas with notes to accompany them. Worth every penny of the reasonable price.A must for Maria Callas fans.

This is a must for any true maria callas or fan of good music, I feel like a child at christmas overwhelmed and overjoyed.Miss this and you will miss out