Verdi: La Traviata

Disc 1
1	La Traviata, opera: Prelu
2	La Traviata, opera: Act 1
3	La Traviata, opera: Act 1
4	La Traviata, opera: Act 1
5	La Traviata, opera: Act 1
6	La Traviata, opera: Act 1
7	La Traviata, opera: Act 1
8	La Traviata, opera: Act 1
9	La Traviata, opera: Act 1
10	La Traviata, opera: Act 1
11	La Traviata, opera: Act 1
12	La Traviata, opera: Act 2
13	La Traviata, opera: Act 2
14	La Traviata, opera: Act 2
15	La Traviata, opera: Act 2
16	La Traviata, opera: Act 2
17	La Traviata, opera: Act 2
18	La Traviata, opera: Act 2
19	La Traviata, opera: Act 2
20	La Traviata, opera: Act 2
21	La Traviata, opera: Act 2
22	La Traviata, opera: Act 2
23	La Traviata, opera: Act 2
24	La Traviata, opera: Act 2
Disc 2
1	La Traviata, opera: Act 2
2	La Traviata, opera: Act 2
3	La Traviata, opera: Act 2
4	La Traviata, opera: Act 2
5	La Traviata, opera: Act 2
6	La Traviata, opera: Act 2
7	La Traviata, opera: Act 2
8	La Traviata, opera: Act 2
9	La Traviata, opera: Act 3
10	La Traviata, opera: Act 3
11	La Traviata, opera: Act 3
12	La Traviata, opera: Act 3
13	La Traviata, opera: Act 3
14	La Traviata, opera: Act 3
15	La Traviata, opera: Act 3
16	La Traviata, opera: Act 3
17	La Traviata, opera: Act 3
18	La Traviata, opera: Act 3
19	La Traviata, opera: Act 3
20	La Traviata, opera: Act 3
21	Norma, opera: Casta Diva.
22	I Puritani, opera: Qui la
23	Tristan und Isolde, opera
Verdi: La Traviata
1.	La Traviata, opera 2:04:24
	Composed by Giuseppe Verdi
	Performed by Maria Callas, Maria Cristina de Castro, Alfredo Kraus, Manuel Leitao, Alessandro Maddalena, Alvaro Malta, Piero de Palma, Mario Sereni, Vito Susca and Laura Zannini
	Conducted by Franco Ghione
2.	Norma, opera: Casta Diva... Ah! bello, a me ritorna 9:07
	Composed by Vicenzo Bellini
	Performed by Maria Callas and RAI Symphony Ochestra, Turin
	Conducted by Arturo Basile
3.	I Puritani, opera: Qui la voce 7:08
	Composed by Vicenzo Bellini
	Performed by Maria Callas and RAI Symphony Ochestra, Turin
	Conducted by Arturo Basile
4.	Tristan und Isolde, opera, WWV 90: Isolde's Liebestod 7:39
	Composed by Richard Wagner
	Performed by Maria Callas and RAI Symphony Ochestra, Turin
	Conducted by Arturo Basile

Barnes & Noble

This 1958 Lisbon Traviata has long been prized by collectors as one of the greatest operatic performances on record. And rightly so. Maria Callas and Alfredo Kraus are simply an unbeatable team as Violetta and Alfredo, and Mario Sereni makes a memorably elegant Germont. Some of the hazards of live performance mar the recording: some shoddy ensemble work, an audible prompter, and a fair amount of audience noise. Still, Callas fans know what they're talking about when they rank this as one of the legendary soprano's finest recorded moments. Just listen to Act Three's "Addio del passato" for a taste of the singer-actress at her most dramatically incisive. Other versions of the performance are also available, including one on EMI, yet this Pearl release claims a new sound source and improved audio. It's still a far cry from modern digital clarity, but that really isn't the point here. Regrettably, no libretto or translations are included, and the opera has been cut at several point. But in the extra space left over on the second disc, Pearl has inserted some real Callas rarities: Italian recordings from 1949 of Bellini and Wagner arias ("Casta diva," "Qui la voce," and Isolde's "Liebestod") that show the young diva at her fresh voiced best. EJ Johnson

Philadelphia Inquirer

The performance sounds like it was recorded yesterday, revealing Callas with a detail and presence that eclipses all of her other live recordings. You also can hear vocal problems on the horizon, but the depth of her art, coupled with the visceral emotions of live performance, renders her vocal flaws irrelevant. David Patrick Stearns