This cd i really love!! its La Divina live!! the sound is ok, i mean its recorded 50 years ago!!
the 3 best arias on the cd are, The Bell Song, Tutte le torture and Ombra leggera!Her coloratura is just amazing...
Her Lucia is always great.
I think its great that EMI are releasing this concert so we who didn't have the opportunity to see her on stage can hear her voice live again and again. BUY this cd, along with the "live in Milan" cd. which also is GREAT!

Avoid this mastering of the famous 1952 RAI recital like the plague - terrible sound. The strange thing is that EMI already issued the 1952 RAI recital in its 1997 2-CD "Live in Concert" from a far superior source. Buy that one instead.

I recommend you seek out a previous EMI album entitled "Maria Callas: Live in Concert", since it feautures this same recital, but in much superior sound (no doubt from a different source), thus making the experience all that more enjoyable. As to the performances themselves, they really need to be heard to be believed (and in that sense I give them 5 stars, I take 2 from this release because the source EMI chose isn't as good as the one of their previous release). This also goes for "Live in Milan/Athens". Though not all of the items featured in that disc are actually in "Live in Concert", I'd still recommend the latter for the same reasons stated above.

I heard this CD and i instantlly loved it. It showes Callas in her earlier days of her career. The voice is young, fresh, and full of expression. I just wish they had more film footage of her performances. This is something a Callas fan should own.

These two recitals show, without the possibilities of the studio such as re-takes etc. how miraculous Callas' voice sounded live. Just look at the choice of repertoire, WHO can sing these in ONE recital and who DID?

1. Vieni! T'affretta...Or Tutti Sorgete (Atto I)
2. Ben Io T'invenni...Anch'io Dischiuso Un Giorno (Atto II)
3. Il Dolce Suono...Ardon Gli Incensi (Atto III)
4. Dov'e L'indiana Bruna? (Atto II) (Bell Song)
5. Tutte Le Torture (Atto II) Listen Listen Listen
6. Ahime! Che Notte Oscura...Ombra Leggera (Atto II)
7. Depuis Le Jour (Acte III)
8. D'Amore Al Dolce Impero (Atto II)

The first four tracks were sung in the Rome-Recital in 1952. Verdi's highly dramatic, lunatic and dark Lady Macbeth and Abigaille paired with innocent, sad Lucia and sparkling Lakme? Who did this in one recital and succeeded? Nobody except Maria Callas. Callas had sung Abigaille in 1949 (A recording exists) and this recording of Abigaille's ornamented aria is breathtaking. Abigaille is normally sung by huge agile voices (So rare) but many dramatic sopranos avoid it because of the trills, scales and coloratura. Callas, well schooled in bel canto by Elvira de Hidalgo, has no problems here. Here the famous "vibrato" of the late years isn't even hinted, Callas takes the leaps (An octave at a point) as if it were EASY! Absolutely stunning and making me sad that she never recorded Abigaille in the studio.
The next role where sadly only a live-recording exists is Verdi's she-devil, Lady Macbeth. Callas sings the "Vieni t'afretta" passionately and the following cabaletta with all the acuti, coloratura and leaps as if it were not hard at all. The best Lady Macbeth ever.
The miracle of this concert is the sudden switch to innocent belcanto-heroines, something that seems impossible. But Callas sings Lucia's madscene (The first recording to be made of her Lucia) luminously and beautifully with a HUGE E-flat closing it. Sadly she didn't sing the cabaletta then. The Bell Song from Lakme shows her at her brightest, sparkling like the best champagne. A joy to listen to.
The later recital presents us with her take on Konstanze, a role she had sung at La Scala. (No recording survived) Absolutely breathtaking agility and power, the same goes for her flawless Armida, Shadow-Song and Louise. (The only "Depuis le jour" of hers that I like) In short, a young soprano conquering the operatic world in 1952. Sensational!