CALLAS RINGS THE BELL

If you disliked my previous post about the Pope, you're going to hate this post about opera.

I felt a distinct icy silence echoing through the Pope post. I'm suspecting it was read by a herd of humorless Catholics.

That's okay. I'd actually be disappointed if anyone loved me.

So what's this about opera?

The other day I happened to (accidentally) find an extraordinary recording on YouTube of Maria Callas singing the Bell Song. It absolutely blew me away.

The Bell Song ( Ou va la jeune Hindoue or l'air des clochettes) is an aria from the opera Lakme by French composer Leo Delibes (1836 - 1891).

 Leo Delibes

So what's the point?

I never thought that this light aria would be suited to the dark voice of Callas. And I never knew she recorded it.

When I say "light", I don't mean fluffy. The Bell Song is one of the most extremely difficult (not to mention long) arias ever written for a coloratura soprano.

Great interpretations of this aria are rare. A few of my personal favorites are Natalie Dessay, Joan Sutherland, and Luisa Tetrazzini.
Lily Pons definitely had the voice for it, but her interpretation is too theatrical, too fast, and lacking emotion.

After hearing Maria Callas, very few others can compare. My only regret is that Callas sings the Bell Song in Italian instead of the original French.

Maria Callas

The opera world has always been extremely divided when it comes to Maria Callas. You either despise her or worship her.

I was always in the neutral middle. When Callas was good, she was very good. When she was bad, she was horrid.

Her earier performances were perhaps the best - although I heard one of her last recitals and it was emotionally sublime.

I suppose it all depended on her mood. I've always been that way when I play the piano.

I could never really pinpoint the greatly divided Callas enigma, until someone aptly told me that "Callas did not have a beautiful voice".

That's it! She was often dark, angry, occasionally screechy.

Yet, when I hear her singing the Bell Song, it is the pure voice of an angel - straight from the realms of Heaven.

Note:
This isn't my video, I got it from YouTube. It seems to have been recorded full-volume, so you might want to tone down the volume before listening.