(24-96) Maria Callas Remastered - The Complete Studio Recordings 1949-1969

Due for release on September 22 is 'Callas Remastered: The Complete Studio Recordings', a 69-disc Warner Classics box-set produced as the result of a major remastering project to transfer the original tapes to 24-bit/96kHz digital sound.

Containing 26 operas and 13 recital albums, and the subject of a major feature in Gramophone’s 2014 Awards issue, on sale now, the Callas project will also be available as 24-bit/96kHz downloads from the Bowers & Wilkins Society of Sound, exclusively from Monday (September 22) until October 5.

The new set encompasses all the studio recordings Callas made for both EMI/Columbia and the Italian label Cetra between 1949 and 1969, and while these recordings have previously been remastered at CD quality, remastering engineer Allan Ramsay explains that this is the first time the tapes have been remastered at 24-bit/96kHz ‘beyond CD’ quality: ‘What this means is we’ve now got more high-frequency content and better definition to the sound.

‘We’ve been so careful in this project not to tamper, just to remove technical faults…for example, to reduce the rumble from a passing tube train at the Kingsway Hall, even remove the noise of a motorbike outside La Scala, Vespas going past and you can hear this noise which is terrible, it’s louder than the singing in some cases. With the technology we have now, we can reduce this noise and give the sound of the voice without interference.’

The remastering was carried out at London’s Abbey Road Studios with Bowers & Wilkins 800 Series speakers used throughout the process. The Worthing-based speaker company has a relationship with the studios going back more than a quarter of a century. Abbey Road engineer Andy Walters says that, for a project like this, ‘It’s obviously important that the monitoring speakers and room acoustics of a remastering room are superb: Bowers & Wilkins speakers don’t flatter or compliment the sound, but give a complete, true response.

‘This means we can hear exactly what problems might exist on an original master recording and then be afforded the opportunity to put them right, using our state-of-the-art technology.’

‘Callas Remastered: The Complete Studio Recordings’ contains at least one complete recording (in certain cases two recordings) of all Callas’s most famous stage roles, with the exception of Anna Bolena, though the lengthy final scene of that opera features on the recital ‘Mad Scenes’. The collection also contains complete recordings of operas she sang on stage more rarely – or even never at all – such as Manon Lescaut and Carmen.

01 . Vincenzo Bellini (1801 - 1835)

I Puritani

Maria Callas (Elvira), Giuseppe di Stefano (Arturo), Rolando Panerai (Riccardo), Nicola Rossi-Lemeni (Giorgio), Angelo Mercuriali (Bruno), Carlo Forti (Gualtiero Valton), Aurora Cattelani (Enrichetta)

Orchestra and Chorus of La Scala Milan, Tullio Serafin

02. Vincenzo Bellini (1801 - 1835)

La Sonnambula

Maria Callas (Amina), Nicola Monti (Elvino), Eugenia Ratti (Lisa), Fiorenza Cossotto (Teresa), Nicola Zaccaria (Rodolfo), Giuseppe Morresi (Alessio), Franco Ricciardi (Notaro)

Orchestra and Chorus of La Scala Milan, Antonino Votto

03. Vincenzo Bellini (1801 - 1835)

Norma

Maria Callas (Norma), Mario Filippeschi (Pollione), Ebe Stignani (Adalgisa), Nicola Rossi-Lemeni (Oroveso), Paolo Caroli (Flavio), Rina Cavallari (Clotilde)

Orchestra and Chorus of La Scala Milan, Tullio Serafin

04. Vincenzo Bellini (1801 - 1835)

Norma

Maria Callas (Norma), Christa Ludwig (Adalgisa), Franco Corelli (Pollione), Nicola Zaccaria (Oroveso), Edda Vincenzi (Clotilde), Piero De Palma (Flavio)

Orchestra and Chorus of La Scala Milan, Tullio Serafin

05. Georges Bizet (1838 - 1875)

Carmen

Maria Callas (Carmen), Nicolai Gedda (Don José), Andréa Guiot (Micaëla), Robert Massard (Escamillo), Nadine Sautereau (Frasquita), Jane Berbié (Mercédès), Jean-Paul Vauquelin (Le Dancaïre), Jacques Pruvost (Le Remendado), Claude Cales (Moralès), Jacques Mars (Zuniga)

Orchestre du Théâtre National de l’Opéra de Paris, Chœurs René Duclos & Chœurs d’enfants Jean Pesneaud, Georges Prêtre

06. Callas a Paris Vol. 1

1. Gluck - Orphee Et Eurydice, Act 4: "J'Ai Perdu Mon Eurydice" (Orfeo)

2. Gluck - Alceste, Act 1: "Divinites Du Styx" (Alceste)

3. Bizet - Carmen, Act 1: "L'Amour Est Un Oiseau Rebelle" (Habanera) [Carmen]

4. Bizet - Carmen, Act 1: "Pres Des Remparts De Seville" (Seguedille) [Carmen]

5. Saint-Saëns - Samson Et Dalila, Act 1: "Printemps Qui Commence" (Dalila)

6. Saint-Saëns - Samson Et Dalila, Act 2: "Samson, Recherchant Ma Presence Amour! Viens Aider Ma Faiblesse!" (Dalila)

7. Saint-Saëns - Samson Et Dalila, Act 2: "Mon Coeur S'Ouvre À Ta Voix" (Dalila)

8. Gounod - Romeo Et Juliette, Act 1: "Je Veux Vivre" (Waltz) [Juliet]

9. Thomas, Ambroise - Mignon, Act 2: "Ah, Pour Ce Soir...Je Suis Titania" (Polonaise) [Philine]

10. Massenet - Le Cid, Act 3: "De Cet Affreux Combat Pleurez, Mes Yeux" (Chimene)

11. Charpentier - Louise, Act 3: "Depuis Le Jour Ou Je Me Suis Donnee" ( Louise)

Maria Callas

Orchestre National De La Radiodiffusion Francaise, Georges Pretre

07. Callas a Paris Vol. 2

1. Gluck - Iphigenie En Tauride, Act 2: "O Malheureuse Iphigenie!" (Iphigenie)

2. Berlioz - La Damnation De Faust, Op. 24: "D'Amour L'Ardente Flamme" (Marguerite)

3. Bizet - Les Pecheurs De Perles, 'The Pearl Fishers', Act 2: "Ma Voila Seule Comme Autrefois" (Leila)

4. Massenet - Manon, Act 2: "Je Ne Suis Que Faiblesse....Adieu, Notre Petite Table" (Manon)

5. Massenet - Manon, Act 3: "Suis-Je Gentille Ainsi? ... Je Marche Sur Tous Les Chemins" (Manon)

6. Massenet - Werther, Act 3: "Werther! Qui M'Aurait Dit La Place... Des Cris Joyeux (Air Des Lettres)"

7. Gounod - Faust, Act 3: "Il Était Un Roi De Thule O Dieu!Que De Bijoux Ah! Je Ris" (Jewel Song)

Maria Callas

Orchestre National De La Radiodiffusion Francaise, Georges Pretre

08. Callas at La Scala

01. Bellini - La sonnambula, Act 1: "Compagne, temiri amici ....Come per me sereno"

02. Bellini - La sonnambula, Act 3: "Oh, se una volta sola ....Ah! non credea mirarti" (Amina)

03. Cherubini - Medea, Act 1: "Dei tuoi figli la madre from Medea" (Medea)

04. Spontini - La Vestale, Act 2: "Tu che invoco con orrore" (Julia)

05. Spontini - La Vestale, Act 2: "O nome tutelar" (Julia)

06. Spontini - La Vestale, Act 3: "Caro oggetto" (Julia)

Maria Callas (soprano)

Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala di Milano, Tullio Serafin

09. Luigi Cherubini (1760 - 1842)

Medea

Maria Callas (Medea), Renata Scotto (Glauce), Mirto Picchi (Giasone), Miriam Pirazzini (Neris), Giuseppe Modesti (Creonte)

Orchestra and Chorus of La Scala Milan, Tullio Serafin

10. Gaetano Donizetti (1797 - 1848)

Lucia di Lammermoor

Maria Callas (Lucia), Giuseppe di Stefano (Edgardo), Tito Gobbi (Enrico)

Orchestra and Chorus of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Tullio Serafin

11. Gaetano Donizetti (1797 - 1848)

Lucia di Lammermoor

Maria Callas (Lucia), Ferruccio Tagliavini (Edgardo), Piero Cappuccilli (Enrico), Bernard Ladysz (Raimondo), Leonard Del Ferro (Arturo), Margreta Elkins (Alisa), Renzo Casellato (Normanno)

Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus, Tullio Serafin

12. Ruggero Leoncavallo (1857 - 1919)

I Pagliacci

Maria Callas (Nedda), Giuseppe Di Stefano (Canio), Tito Gobbi (Tonio), Rolando Panerai (Silvio), Nicola Monti (Beppe)

Orchestra and Chorus of La Scala Milan, Tullio Serafin

13. Lyric and Coloratura Arias

1. Cilea - Ecco: respiro appena. Io son l'umile ancella (from Adriana Lecouvreur)

2. Cilea - Poveri fiori (from Adriana Lecouvreur)

3. Giordano - La mamma morta (from Andrea Chénier)

4. Catalani - Ebben? Ne andrò lontana (from La Wally)

5. Boito - L'altra notte in fondo al mare (from Mefistofele)

6. Rossini - Una voce poco fa (from Il barbiere di Siviglia)

7. Meyerbeer - Ombra leggiera (from Dinorah)

8. Delibes - Où va la jeune Indoue? 'Bell Song' (from Lakmé)

9. Verdi - Mercè, dilette amiche 'Bolero' (from I Vespri Siciliani)

Maria Callas - soprano

Philharmonia Orchestra, Tullio Serafin

14. Mad Scenes

1. Donizetti - Piangete voi? ... Al dolce guidami castel natio (from Anna Bolena)

2. Ambroise Thomas - A vos jeux, mes amis (from Hamlet)

3. Bellini - Oh! s'io potessi dissipar le nubi - Col sorriso d'innocenza (from Il Pirata)

Maria Callas - soprano

Philharmonia Chorus & Orchestra, Nicola Rescigno

15. Pietro Mascagni (1863 - 1945)

Cavalleria Rusticana

Maria Callas (Santuzza), Giuseppe di Stefano (Turiddu), Rolando Panerai (Alfio), Anna Maria Canali (Lola), Ebe Ticozzi (Lucia)

Orchestra and Chorus of La Scala Milan, Tullio Serafin

16. Amilcare Ponchielli (1834 - 1886)

La Gioconda

Maria Callas (La Gioconda), Gianni Poggi (Enzo), Paolo Silveri (Barnaba), Fedora Barbieri (Laura), Giulio Neri (Alvise), Maria Amadini (La Cieca), Piero Poldi (Zuàne), Armando Benzi (Isèpo), Piero Poldi (Un Pilota)

RAI Chorus & Orchestra Turin, Antonino Votto

17. Amilcare Ponchielli (1834 - 1886)

La Gioconda

Maria Callas (La Gioconda), Pier Miranda Ferraro (Enzo), Piero Cappuccilli (Barnaba), Fiorenza Cossotto (Laura), Ivo Vinco (Alvise), Irene Companeez (La Cieca), Leonardo Monreale (Zuàne), Carlo Forti (Un Cantore), Renato Ercolani (Isèpo), Carlo Forti (Un Pilota)

Orchestra and Chorus of La Scala Milan, Antonino Votto

18. Giacomo Puccini (1858 - 1924)

La Bohème

Maria Callas (Mimi), Giuseppe di Stefano (Rodolfo), Rolando Panerai (Marcello), Anna Moffo (Musetta), Nicola Zaccaria (Colline), Manuel Spatafora (Schaunard), Franco Ricciardi (Parpignol), Carlo Badioli (Alcindoro/Benoit)

Orchestra and Chorus of La Scala Milan, Antonino Votto

19. Giacomo Puccini (1858 - 1924)

Madama Butterfly

Maria Callas (Butterfly), Nicolai Gedda (Pinkerton), Mario Borriello (Sharpless), Lucia Danieli (Suzuki), Renato Ercolani (Goro), Mario Carlin (Yamadori), Plinio Clabassi (Lo zio Bonzo), Enrico Campi (Il commissario imperiale), Luisa Villa (Kate Pinkerton)

Orchestra and Chorus of La Scala Milan, Herbert von Karajan

20. Giacomo Puccini (1858 - 1924)

Manon Lescaut

Maria Callas (Manon Lescaut), Giuseppe di Stefano (Des Grieux), Giulio Fioravanti (Lescaut), Franco Calabrese (Geronte), Dino Formichini (Edmondo), Fiorenza Cossotto (Madrigal singer)

Orchestra and Chorus of La Scala Milan, Tullio Serafin

21. Giacomo Puccini (1858 - 1924)

Tosca

Maria Callas (Tosca), Giuseppe di Stefano (Cavaradossi), Tito Gobbi (Scarpia), Franco Calabrese (Angelotti), Melchiorre Luise (Il Sagristano), Angelo Mercuriali (Spoletta), Dario Caselli (Sciarrone), Alvaro Cordova (Un pastore), Dario Caselli (Un carceriere)

Orchestra and Chorus of La Scala Milan, Victor de Sabata

22. Giacomo Puccini (1858 - 1924)

Tosca

Maria Callas (Tosca), Carlo Bergonzi (Cavaradossi), Tito Gobbi (Scarpia), Giorgio Tadeo (Il Sagristano), Leonardo Monreale (Angelotti), Renato Ercolani (Spoletta), Ugo Trama (Sciarrone), David Sellar (Un pastore), Leonardo Monreale (Un carceriere)

Paris Conservatoire Orchestra, Paris Opera Chorus, Georges Prêtre

23. Giacomo Puccini (1858 - 1924)

Turandot

Maria Callas (Turandot), Eugenio Fernandi (Calaf), Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (Liù), Mario Borriello (Ping), Renato Ercolani (Pang), Piero De Palma (Pong), Nicola Zaccaria (Timur), Giuseppe Nessi (L'imperatore Altoum), Giulio Mauri (Un mandarino)

Orchestra and Chorus of La Scala Milan, Tullio Serafin

24. Gioachino Rossini (1792 - 1868)

Il barbiere di Siviglia

Maria Callas (Rosina), Tito Gobbi (Figaro), Luigi Alva (Almaviva), Fritz Ollendorf (Bartolo), Nicola Zaccaria (Basilio), Gabriella Carturan (Berta), Mario Carlin (Fiorello)

Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus, Alceo Galliera

25. Gioachino Rossini (1792 - 1868)

Il Turco in Italia

Maria Callas (Donna Fiorilla), Nicolai Gedda (Don Narciso), Nicola Rossi-Lemeni (Selim), Jolanda Gardino (Zaida), Franco Calabrese (Don Geronio), Mariano Stabile (Il poeta Prosdocimo), Piero De Palma (Albazar)

Orchestra and Chorus of La Scala Milan, Gianandrea Gavazzeni

26. Sings Mozart, Beethoven & Weber Arias

1. Beethoven - Ah! Perfido, Op. 65

2. Mozart - Or sai chi l'onore (from Don Giovanni)

3. Mozart - Porgi amor (from Le nozze di Figaro)

4. Weber - Ozean, du Ungeheuer (from Oberon)

5. Mozart - Non mi dir (from Don Giovanni)

6. Mozart - In quali eccessi ... Mi tradì quell'alma ingrate (from Don Giovanni)

Maria Callas - soprano

Paris Conservatoire Orchestra, Nicola Rescigno

27. Sings Operatic Arias by Puccini

Giacomo Puccini (1858 - 1924)

01. In quelle trine morbide (from Manon Lescaut)

02. Sola, perduta, abbandonata (from Manon Lescaut)

03. Un bel di vedremo (from Madama Butterfly)

04. Con onor muore (from Madama Butterfly)

05. Si, mi chiamano Mimi (from La Bohème)

06. Donde lieta usci (from La Bohème)

07. Senza mamma, o bimbo (from Suor Angelica)

08. O mio babbino caro (from Gianni Schicchi)

09. Signore, ascolta! (from Turandot)

10. In questa reggia (from Turandot)

11. Tu che di gel sei cinta (from Turandot)

Maria Callas (soprano)

Philharmonia Orchestra, Tullio Serafin

28. Sings Rossini & Donizetti Arias

Gioachino Rossini

01. Nacqui all'affanno, al pianto...Non più mesta (from La Cenerentola)

02. S'allontanano alfine...Selva opaca (from Guglielmo Tell)

Gaetano Donizetti

03. Convien partir (from La figlia del reggimento)

Gioachino Rossini

04. Bel raggio lusinghier (from Semiramide)

Gaetano Donizetti

05. Tranquillo ei posa...Com'e bello (from Lucrezia Borgia)

06. Prendi, per me sei libero (from L'Elisir d'amore)

Maria Callas (soprano)

Paris Conservatoire Orchestra, Nicola Rescigno

29. Sings Verdi Arias I

Giuseppe Verdi (1813 - 1901)

1. eni! t'affretta!…Or tutti sorgete (from Macbeth)

2. La luce langue (from Macbeth)

3. Una macchia è qui tutt'ora (from Macbeth)

4. Ben io t'invenni … Anch'io dischiuso … Salgo già (from Nabucco)

5. Surta è la notte...Ernani! Ernani, involami (from Ernani)

6. Tu che la vanità (from Don Carlo)

Maria Callas - soprano

Philharmonia Chorus & Orchestra, Nicola Rescigno

30. Sings Verdi Arias II

Giuseppe Verdi (1813 - 1901)

1. Mia madre aveva... (from Otello)

2. Piangea cantando... (from Otello)

3. Ave Maria (from Otello)

4. Ciel, ch'io respiri! (from Aroldo)

5. O don fatale (from Don Carlo)

6. Ciel, ch'io respiri! (from Aroldo)

7. Non pianger, mia compagna (from Don Carlo)

Maria Callas - soprano

Philharmonia Chorus & Orchestra, Nicola Rescigno

31. Sings Verdi Arias III

Giuseppe Verdi (1813 - 1901)

1. O madre, dal cielo …Se vano, se vano è il pregare (from I Lombardi)

2. Liberamente or piangi (from Attila)

3. Egli non riede ancora! (from Il Corsaro)

4. Né sulla terra creatura alcuna...Vola talor dal carcere...Seide celebra non gioia e festa (from Il Corsaro)

5. Tacea la notte (from Il Trovatore)

6. Arrigo! ah, parli a un core (from I Vespri Siciliani)

7. Ecco l'orrido campo … Ma dall'arido stelo divulsa (from Un ballo in maschera)

8. Morrò, ma prima in grazia (from Un Ballo in Maschera)

9. Ritorna vincitor! (from Aida)

Maria Callas - soprano

Paris Conservatoire Orchestra & Paris Opéra Orchestra, Nicola Rescigno

32. The Callas Rarities (1953–1969)

Mozart - Non mi dir (from Don Giovanni)

Verdi - Una macchia è qui tutt'ora (from Macbeth)

Rossini - Bel raggio lusinghier (from Semiramide)

Rossini - S'allontanano alfine...Selva opaca (from Guglielmo Tell)

Verdi - Arrigo! ah, parli a un core (from I Vespri Siciliani)

Donizetti - Tranquillo ei posa...Com'e bello (from Lucrezia Borgia)

Bellini - Sorgete...Lo sognai ferito, esangue (from I Pirata)

Verdi - O don fatale (from Don Carlo)

Rossini - Nacqui all'affanno, al pianto...Non più mesta (from La Cenerentola)

Weber - Ozean, du Ungeheuer (from Oberon)

Verdi - Pur ti riveggo, mia dolce Aida (from Aida)

Verdi - Te, Vergin santa (from I Lombardi)

Verdi - D'amor sull'ali rosee (from Il Trovatore)

Verdi - Liberamente or piangi (from Attila)

Verdi - Ah conforto è sol la speme (from Il Corsaro)

Maria Callas - soprano

Monica Sinclair - contralto, Franco Corelli & Alexander Young - tenors

33. The First Recordings (1949)

1. Wagner - Mild und leise 'Isolde's Liebestod' (from Tristan und Isolde)

2. Bellini - Casta Diva (from Norma)

3. Bellini - Ah! bello a me ritorna" (from Norma)

4. Bellini - O rendetemi la speme...

5. Bellini - Qui la voce sua soave...Vien, diletto (from I Puritani)

6. Bellini - Vien, diletto, è in ciel la luna (from I Puritani)

Maria Callas - soprano

RAI Orchestra Turin, Arturo Basile

34. Giuseppe Verdi (1813 - 1901)

Aida

Maria Callas (Aida), Richard Tucker (Radamès), Fedora Barbieri (Amneris), Tito Gobbi (Amonasro), Giuseppe Modesti (Ramfis)

Orchestra and Chorus of La Scala Milan, Tullio Serafin

35. Giuseppe Verdi (1813 - 1901)

Il Trovatore

Maria Callas (Leonora), Giuseppe di Stefano (Manrico), Giuseppe di Stefano (Azucena), Rolando Panerai (Il Conte di Luna), Nicola Zaccaria (Ferrando), Luisa Villa (Ines), Renato Ercolani (Ruiz), Giulio Mauri (Un vecchio zingaro), Renato Ercolani (Un messo)

Orchestra and Chorus of La Scala Milan, Herbert von Karajan

36. Giuseppe Verdi (1813 - 1901)

La forza del destino

Maria Callas (Leonora), Richard Tucker (Don Alvaro), Carlo Tagliabue (Don Carlo), Plinio Clabassi (Il Marchese di Calatrava), Elena Nicolai (Preziosilla), Renato Capecchi (Fra Melitone), Rina Cavallari (Curra), Nicola Rossi-Lemeni (Padre Guardiano), Gino Del Signore (Mastro Trabuco), Dario Caselli (Un Chirurgo/Un Alcalde)

Chorus & Orchestra of La Scala Milan, Tullio Serafin

37. Giuseppe Verdi (1813 - 1901)

La Traviata

Maria Callas (Violetta), Francesco Albanese (Alfredo), Ugo Savarese (Germont)

RAI Chorus and Orchestra Turin, Gabriele Santini

38. Giuseppe Verdi (1813 - 1901)

Rigoletto

Maria Callas (Gilda), Tito Gobbi (Rigoletto), Giuseppe di Stefano (Il Duca), Nicola Zaccaria (Sparafucile), Adriana Lazzarini (Maddalena), Plinio Clabassi (Monterone), William Dickie (Marullo), Renato Ercolani (Borsa), Giuse Gerbino (Giovanna), Carlo Forti (Il Conte di Ceprano), Elvira Galassi (La Contessa di Ceprano)

Orchestra and Chorus of La Scala Milan, Tullio Serafin

39. Giuseppe Verdi (1813 - 1901)

Un ballo in maschera

Maria Callas (Amelia), Giuseppe di Stefano (Riccardo), Tito Gobbi (Renato)

Orchestra and Chorus of La Scala Milan, Antonino Votto