In May 2022, while working in the RBB archives, we discovered the original tapes of this legendary 1955 recording - undoubtedly one of the most important operatic testimonies of the 20th century: Lucia di Lammermoor, recorded in concert on September 29, 1955 at the Städtische Oper Berlin, featuring Di Stefano, Panerai, von Karajan and Callas.
Although we note that the first few bars of Tape No. 1 have deteriorated, the minutes that follow reveal a richness of timbre and dynamics incomparable with the editions known to date.
Four months of painstaking work were necessary to restore the full brilliance of the orchestra, the La Scala Chorus and the legendary voices of this moving piece of history and music.
We were delighted to be able to present our first vinyl edition, limited to 5,000 copies, to mark the centenary of Maria Callas' birth.
We would like to thank the RBB for its confidence, and the Maria Callas Endowment Fund and Mr. Tom Volf for their support and the photos accompanying the booklet.
Frédéric D'Oria-Nicolas
Founder and Director of The Lost Recordings
Maria Callas declared that she "hated" studios, and that only concert recordings could convey the full extent of her talent. During the last years of her life, she collected her own concert recordings (often pirate recordings) and listened to them. The best account comes from Robert Sutherland - her pianist, during Callas' last tour in 1973-74. This is how he recalls evenings spent in Maria Callas's Paris apartment on Avenue Georges Mandel:
"We listened to a pirate recording of Berlin's Lucia. She remembered how Karajan had enraged the soloists by drinking the sextet during the performance, without warning them. As we listened to the second version they had given, she said: "You can hear how angry I was! And I still had the air of madness to sing! At the dinner afterwards, I told Karajan that he'd never do it again, or he'd be in trouble!" Then came the aria in question - a prodigious interpretation. She was clearly impressed herself. "I don't know how I did it. I just don't know how - and to think I cried after my performance because I thought I was so far from my ideal." I struggled to find the right words: such a combination of technical mastery and artistic imagination was simply genius. I tried myself with a "That's wonderful..." "Wonderful? Wonderful?" she retorted, straightening up on the sofa - "It's not wonderful, it's simply miraculous!"
In those days, pirate recordings circulated among passionate admirers in the form of more or less hand-crafted LPs, such as those issued by the BJR label, which is probably the one Callas was listening to that evening with Robert Sutherland. Today, however, we must congratulate Frédéric D'Oria-Nicolas and The Lost Recordings for having tracked down the original tapes in Berlin and meticulously restored them to a sound quality that surpasses all previous versions, giving us the most authentic interpretation of this piece of history. It is therefore only natural that the Maria Callas Endowment Fund should be associated with this publication, providing texts and images to illustrate the booklet and honor the memory of Maria Callas through this magnificent edition celebrating her 100th birthday.
Tom Volf
President of the Maria Callas Endowment Fund
Tracklist:
UHQCD 1 - DONIZETTI: LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR: ACTS I AND II
1. Prelude
2. Percorrete... Percorriamo le spiagge vicine
3. Tu sei turbato!... E n’ho ben d’onde
4. Cruda, funesta smania
5. Il tuo dubbio è omai certezza... Come vinti da stanchezza
6. La pietade in suo favore
7. Ancor non giunse?
8. Regnava nel silenzio alta la notte e bruna
9. Quando rapito in estasi
10. Egli s'avanza... Lucia, perdona se ad ora inusitata
11. Sulla tomba che rinserra il tradito genitore
12. Qui di sposa eterna fede... Ah, soltanto il nostro foco
13. Ah, talor del tuo pensiero venga un foglio messaggero
14. Verranno a te sull'aure i miei sospiri ardenti
15. ACT II - Lucia fra poco a te verrà... Tremante l'aspetto
16. Appressati, Lucia... Il pallor funesto, orrendo
17. Soffriva nel pianto... Un folle t’accese
18. Che fia?... Suonar di giubilo
19. Se tradirmi tu potrai... Tu che vedi il pianto mio
UHQCD 2 - DONIZETTI: LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR: ACTS II AND III
20. Per te d'immenso giubilo... Per poco fra le tenebre sparì lavos tra stella
21. Dov’è Lucia?... Qui giungere or la vedrem
22. Piange la madre estinta
23. Chi mi frena in tal momento
24. T’allontana, sciagurato... Rispettate in me di Dio
25. Sconsigliato! In queste porte chi ti guida?
26: Esci, fuggi, il furor che mi accende
27. ACT III - D'immenso giubilo s'innalzi un grido
28. Dalle stanze ove Lucia tratta avea col suo consorte
29. Oh! Qual funesto avvenimento!
30. Il dolce suono mi colpì di sua voce!...
31. Ardon gli incensi
32. Spargi d'amaro pianto
33. Tombe degli avi miei
34. Fra poco a me ricovero darà negletto avello
35. Oh, meschina! Oh, fato orrendo!
36. Tu che a Dio spiegasti l’ali
Maria Callas, Lucia
Giuseppe Di Stefano, Edgardo
Rolando Panerai, Enrico
Nicola Zaccaria, Raimondo
Giuseppe Zampieri, Arturo
Luisa Villa, Alisa
Mario Carlin, Normanno
Coro del Teatro alla Scala, Milan
RIAS Symphony Orchestra
Herbert von Karajan, Conductor
Recorded on 29.IX.1955 at Städtische Oper Berlin, Germany
MONO © 1955 RBB
Remastered ℗ & © 2023 THE LOST RECORDINGS
1st edition Double UHQCD-Book
Remastered from the original analog tapes
Booklet 80 pages
Pressed in Japan
Photos: © Maria Callas Foundation
Texts: Anna Svenbro, Tom Volf, John Ardoin, Maria Callas, Robert Jacobson.
Recording information:
Title: Lucia di Lammermoor, Live In Berlin 1955
Composer: Gaetano Donizetti
Artist: Maria Callas
Conductor: Herbert von Karajan
Genre: Classical
Media: 1x UHQ Hybrid CD Mono , Limited, Remastered, . Remastered from the original analog tapes, 1st edition. Playable on any CD player.Pressed in Japan. Recorded on 29.IX.1955 at Städtische Oper Berlin, Germany
Label: The Lost Recordings
Cat#: TLR-CD-DonCal
Released: 2023 in France
