Manon Lescaut : Serafin / Teatro alla Scala, Callas, Di Stefano, etc (1957 Monaural)(2CD)

GIACOMO PUCCINI (1858-1924) : Manon Lescaut

Manon Lescaut......Maria Callas
Chevalier des Grieux......Giuseppe Di Stefano
Lescaut......Giulio Fioravanti
Geronte di Ravoir......Franco Calabrese
Edmondo......Dino Formichini
The Madrigal Singer......Fiorenza Cossotto
Chorus and Orchestra of La Scala, Milan / Tullio Serafin, conductor

Recorded 18th-20th, 22nd and 24th-27th July, 1957, in the Teatro alla Scala, Milan

Appendix: Giuseppe Di Stefano sings Puccini Arias

Transferred by the award-winning Mark Obert-Thorn, this 1957 recording of Manon Lescaut with Callas singing the title role and Di Stefano as des Grieux, was one of Callas’s last complete recordings at La Scala, Milan. Although the strain of her recent recording of Turandot (Naxos 8.111334-35) sometimes takes its toll, her command of Manon is complete. Those pages that are rarely sung accurately by other lyric sopranos, for example ‘L’ora, o Tirsi’ from Act II, Callas sings with polish and precision, executing the triplets with perfect rhythmic command. ( NAXOS )