Verdi - La traviata (1953): the only existing studio recording of La traviata by Maria Callas.

Violetta, the most complex and fully-rounded of Verdi’s heroines, was one of the roles that defined Maria Callas as an artist. She performed it more than 60 times between 1951 and 1958, most famously in Luchino Visconti’s production at La Scala in 1955/56. It is often said that the role demands a different kind of voice for each act, and, when she made this recording for the Cetra label in 1953, Callas offered youthful, ringing power complemented by coloratura prowess and the capacity for great delicacy. More than 60 years on, her characterisation, in its subtlety and truth, still sets the standard for La traviata.

Cast:
- Violetta Valéry: Maria Callas
- Alfredo Germont: Francesco Albanese
- Giorgio Germont: Ugo Savarese
- Flora Bervoix: Ede Marietti Gandolfo
- Annina: Ines Marietti
- Gastone: Mariano Caruso
- Il barone Douphol: Alberto Albertini
- Il marchese D’Obigny/Il dottore Grenvil: Mario Zorgniotti
- Giuseppe: Tommaso Soley

Recorded: IX.1953, Auditorium RAI, Turin (MONO)
Remastered in 2014 in 24-BIT / 96kHz from the original tapes at Abbey Road Studios
Original cover artwork
(P) 1954 & Remastered (P) 2014 Fonit Cetra, Warner Music Italia Srl.
© 2018 Parlophone Records Limited, a Warner Music Group Company