Limelight Featured Recording – November 2014

Maria Callas was one of the very greatest artists of all time – a woman whose life mimicked her art and vice versa to such an extent that she captured a public’s imagination above and beyond the bounds of most opera singers. She was fortunate to fly her highest at a time the gramophone record was coming of age, straddling the 78, to mono LP, to stereo era. But, and it’s a big but, her fortunes over the years have been mixed. Her legacy has been nipped, tucked and generally madeover a bit like an aging celeb going under the knife – it can sound fine across a crowded record store but up close and personal it’s a fright. 

The 1997, 2000 and 2002 EMI remasters focused on removing tape hiss but took a degree of life and immediacy with it. Many fans were up in arms, screaming about artificial enhancement and false ambience. With the subsequent demise of EMI, Warner Classics have become keepers of the flame as far as the Callas recorded legacy is concerned and what we have here is their first back-to-basics attempt to...