Vincenzo Bellini - La Sonnambula

"In several respects 'La Sonnambula' is one of the more surprising operas to find in Callas's repertoire. Her stage presence, for one thing, had normally a grandeur about it and, by 1955 when she first sang the part, a sophisticated elegance, both foreign to the simple village girl she plays here. Vocally, Amina is associated with light, pretty voices of the Galli-Curci or Toti dal Monte type and neither of those delightful singers could easily be thought of in Callas's great role of Norma, any more than her predecessors in that role, such as Rosa Ponselle or Gina Cigna, could very well be billed as Amina. It is true that Bellini wrote both roles for the same singer, Giuditta Pasta, and in the same year too; true also that most of the leading nineteenth-century sopranos sang both parts without seeming to court disaster. Still, in Callas's time it was a daring step to take, and among her admirers there must have been many who echoed the prayer of the villagers as Amina crosses the water-mill bridge: 'Bonta divrna, guida l'orrante pie!' 

 

"If so, their prayer was answered. 'The Sonnambula' at La Scala was a resounding success in 1955 and the triumph was repeated at its revival in 1957, the year of this recording. 'Callas mirabile Sonnambula,' 'nccoglienza trionfali,' pubblico in delirio,' ('Callas a wonderful Sonnambula,' 'a triumphal reception,' 'the audience in ectasy') ran the headlines. Writing in the magazine Opera, Claudio Sartori described her as having 'created a personality composed of nuances and half tones, persuasive and of the utmost delicacy'. He also admired Visconti's production, which 'succeeded in conjuring up a dreamlike atmosphere surrounding the graceful story, still set in a fourteenth-century Arcadian background.' The same critic credited the tenor Nicola Monti with 'a most charming voice, well-controlled if not of great volume, but true and penetrating, agile and responsive,' while 'interpretations of the highest order warn given by Zaccaria (Rodolfo) and Eugenia Ratti (Lisa), both most ably supported by the experienced in action of Antonino Votto.' All, then, was set fair for the recording which started the day after the first performance and ended one day before the third. 

 

"During rehearsals for the new production in 1955 Callas had queried Visconti's idea that she should wear her jewellery. She objected that she was a village girl and that it would be out of character. His reply as recorded in Adrienne Stassinopoulos's biography of Callas ran as follows: 'No, you are not a village girl. You are Maria Callas playing a village girl and don't forget that'. Perhaps there is some wisdom here that one fails to grasp, but certainly as far as the recording is concerned a marvellous feature of it is the absence of any suggestion that she is 'Maria Callas playing a village girl'. At the start she establishes the voice which she hears in her mind's ear as the girl's, and from then onwards everything is in proportion. When misfortune strikes, Amina does not suddenly become Tosca or Norma or simply Maria Callas. The voice continues, as it were, to 'think upwards' and she is still young and inexperienced in soul. It was part of Callas's achievement to provide the Scala. where they probably knew the opera as well as, if not better than, any other audience in the world, with a revelation: as one of the critics put it, the girl was endowed not just with movement and,a voice, but with a soul of her own. 

 

"No doubt the degree of depth and the power to communicate it were made possible by the fact that she was 'Maria Callas playing a village girl.' The point is well put by John Ardoin in his study of Callas's recordings, 'The Callas Legend,' where he writes: Only when one hears Amina in a voice which endows Norma with its proper humane dimensions is one aware of the depth to be found in Sonnambula.' The remarkable thing, though, is that when the afflicted girl cries out 'Ah! me infelice. Che feci io mai? Oh mio dolore,' it is still in the voice of Amina; grief which would seem vocally lightweight if sung in that way by Norma at a similar point in her drama is perfectly scaled in relation to the simple happiness that irradiated the girl a lithe earlier. It is exactly the sort of thing which gives substance beyond more pious platitude to talk of Callas's artistic integrity." (John Steane. From the liner notes.) 

 

Performers: Orchestra e Coro del Teatro alla Scala, Antonino Votto, Maria Callas, Nicola Monti, Nicola Zaccaria, Eugenia Ratti, Fiorenza Cossotto

 

1.1. Atto I, Scena I: 'Tutto È Gioia, Tutto È Festa...'

1.2. Atto I, Scena I: 'In Elvezia Non V'ha Rosa'

1.3. Atto I, Scena I: 'Care Compagne'

1.4. Atto I, Scena I: 'Come Per Me Sereno...'/'Sempre, O Felice Amina'

1.5. Atto I, Scena I: 'Sovra Il Sen La Man Mi Posa...'

1.6. Atto I, Scena I: 'Io Più Di Tutti, O Amina'

1.7. Atto I, Scena I: 'Perdona, O Mia Diletta'

1.8. Atto I, Scena I: 'L'anel Ti Dono'

1.9. Atto I, Scena I: 'Scritti Nel Ciel Già Sono...'/'Ah! Vorrei Trovar Parole'

1.10. Atto I, Scena I: 'Come Noioso E Lungo Il Cammin'

1.11. Atto I, Scena I: 'Il Mulino... Il Fonte... Il Bosco!...'/'Vi Ravviso, O Luoghi'

1.12. Atto I, Scena I: 'Contezza Del Paese'

1.13. Atto I, Scena I: 'A Fosco Cielo, A Notte Bruna'

1.14. Atto I, Scena I: 'Basta Così. Ciascuno Si Attenga'

1.15. Atto I, Scena I: 'Elvino! E Me Tu Lasci'

1.16. Atto I, Scena I: 'Son Geloso Del Zefiro Errante'

1.17. Atto I, Scena II: 'Davver, Non Mi Dispiace'

1.18. Atto I, Scena II: 'Elvino... Elvino...'

 

2.1. Atto I, Scena II: 'O Ciel! Che Tento?'

2.2. Atto I, Scena II: 'Osservate: L'uscio È Aperto'

2.3. Atto I, Scena II: 'È Menzogna'

2.4. Atto I, Scena II: 'D'un Pensiero E D'un Accento'

2.5. Atto II, Scena I: 'Qui La Selva È Più Folta Ed Ombrosa'

2.6. Atto II, Scena I: 'Reggimi, O Buona Madre'

2.7. Atto II, Scena I: 'Vedi, O Madre... È Afflitto E Mesto...'

2.8. Atto II, Scena I: 'Viva Il Conte!'

2.9. Atto II, Scena I: 'Ah! Perchè Non Posso Odiarti'

2.10. Atto II, Scena II: 'E Fia Pur Vero, Elvino'

2.11. Atto II, Scena II: 'Signor Conte, Agli Occhi Miei'

2.12. Atto II, Scena II: 'Signor?... Che Creder Deggio?'

2.13. Atto II, Scena II: 'Oh! Se Una Volta Sola'

2.14. Atto II, Scena II: 'Ah! Non Credea Mirarti'

2.15. Atto II, Scena II: 'No, Più Non Reggo'

2.16. Atto II, Scena II: 'Ah! Non Giunge Uman Pensiero...'

 

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