In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Maria Callas tonight in Opera Night we hear Maria in Verdi’s La Traviata but before that Jon Tolansky presents part two of his documentary memoir in which artists and others who knew and experienced the great diva explore how and why it is that 46 years after her death she still captivates the musical world in a unique way. There are spoken contributions from sopranos Maria Callas and Mirella Freni, conductors Sir Edward Downes and Nicola Rescigno, tenor John Dobson, opera experts Ian Fox and the Earl of Harewood, and others. Callas is heard singing extracts from operas by Bellini, Ponchielli, Puccini, Rossini, Verdi, and Wagner.
Verdi’s La Traviata with Maria Callas
We delve into the archives to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of the legendary Maria Callas. La Traviata, an opera by Giuseppe Verdi, is a love story shrouded in sacrifice and misunderstanding. Maria Callas sings Violetta, Francesco Albanese is Alfredo Germont, Ugo Savarese is Giorgio Germont, Ede Marietti Gandolfo is Flora Bervoix, Ines Marietti is Annina, Mariano Caruso is Gastone, Alberto Albertini is Il Barone Douphol, Mario Zorgniotti is Il marchese d’Obigny and Il Dottore Grenvil, and Tommaso Soley is Giuseppe and Cora Cetra and the RAI Symphony Orchestra of Turin is conducted by Gabriele Santini.
RTÉ lyric fm, Saturday 2nd December, 7pm-10pm
