LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR • BERLIN 1955

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UHQCD 1 - DONIZETTI: LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR: ACTS I AND II

Prelude
Percorrete... Percorriamo le spiagge vicine
Tu sei turbato!... E n’ho ben d’onde

Cruda, funesta smania

Il tuo dubbio è omai certezza.... Come vinti da stanchezza
La pietade in suo favore
Ancor no giunse?

Regnava nel silence alta la notete e bruna

Quando rapito in estasi

Egli s’avanza...Lucia, perdona se ad ora inusitata

Sulla tomba che rinserra il tradito genitore

Qui di sposa eterna fede... Ah, soltanto il nostro foco
Ah, talor del tuo pensiero venga un foglio messaggero

Verranno a la te sull'aure i miei sospiri ardenti

Lucia fra poco a te verà... Tremante l'aspetto
Appressati, Lucia... Il pallor funesto, orrendo
Soffriva nel pianto... Un folle t'accese
Che fia?... Suonar di giubilo
Se tradirmi tu potrai... Tu che vedi il pianto mio

UHQCD 2 - DONIZETTI: LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR: ACTS II AND III

Per te d’immenso giubilo...Per poco fra le tenebre sparì la vostra stella
Dov'è Lucia?... Qui giungere or la vedrem
Piange la madre estinta

Chi mi frena in tal momento

T'allontana, sciagurato... Rispettate in me di Dio
Sconsigliato! In queste porte chi ti guida?

Esci, fuggi, il furor che mi accende

D'immenso giubilo s'innalzi un grido
Dalle stanze ove Lucia tratta avea col suo consorte
Oh! Qual funesto avvenimento!

Il dolce suono mi colpì di sua voce!...

Ardon gli incensi
Spargi d’amaro pianto
Tombe of the avi miei
Fra poco a me ricovero darà negletto avello
Oh, meschina! Oh, fato orrendo!
Tu che a Dio spiegasti l'ali

In May 2022, while working in the RBB archives, we discovered the original tapes of this legendary 1955 recording - undoubtedly one of the most important operatic testimonies of the 20th century: Lucia di Lammermoor, recorded in concert on September 29, 1955 at the Städtische Oper Berlin, featuring Di Stefano, Panerai, von Karajan and Callas.

Although we note that the first few bars of Tape No. 1 have deteriorated, the minutes that follow reveal a richness of timbre and dynamics incomparable with the editions known to date.

Four months of painstaking work were necessary to restore the full brilliance of the orchestra, the La Scala Chorus and the legendary voices of this moving piece of history and music.

We were delighted to be able to present our first vinyl edition, limited to 5,000 copies, to mark the centenary of Maria Callas' birth.

We would like to thank the RBB for its confidence, and the Maria Callas Endowment Fund and Mr. Tom Volf for their support and the photos accompanying the booklet.

Frédéric D'Oria-Nicolas
Founder and Director of The Lost Recordings

Maria Callas declared that she "hated" studios, and that only concert recordings could convey the full extent of her talent. During the last years of her life, she collected her own concert recordings (often pirate recordings) and listened to them. The best account comes from Robert Sutherland - her pianist, during Callas' last tour in 1973-74. This is how he recalls evenings spent in Maria Callas's Paris apartment on Avenue Georges Mandel:
"We listened to a pirate recording of Berlin's Lucia. She remembered how Karajan had enraged the soloists by drinking the sextet during the performance, without warning them. As we listened to the second version they had given, she said: "You can hear how angry I was! And I still had the air of madness to sing! At the dinner afterwards, I told Karajan that he'd never do it again, or he'd be in trouble!" Then came the aria in question - a prodigious interpretation. She was clearly impressed herself. "I don't know how I did it. I just don't know how - and to think I cried after my performance because I thought I was so far from my ideal." I struggled to find the right words: such a combination of technical mastery and artistic imagination was simply genius. I tried myself with a "That's wonderful..." "Wonderful? Wonderful?" she retorted, straightening up on the sofa - "It's not wonderful, it's simply miraculous!"

In those days, pirate recordings circulated among passionate admirers in the form of more or less hand-crafted LPs, such as those issued by the BJR label, which is probably the one Callas was listening to that evening with Robert Sutherland. Today, however, we must congratulate Frédéric D'Oria-Nicolas and The Lost Recordings for having tracked down the original tapes in Berlin and meticulously restored them to a sound quality that surpasses all previous versions, giving us the most authentic interpretation of this piece of history. It is therefore only natural that the Maria Callas Endowment Fund should be associated with this publication, providing texts and images to illustrate the booklet and honor the memory of Maria Callas through this magnificent edition celebrating her 100th birthday.

Tom Volf
President of the Maria Callas Endowment Fund

Maria Callas, Lucia
Giuseppe Di Stefano, Edgardo
Rolando Panerai, Enrico
Nicola Zaccaria, Raimondo
Giuseppe Zampieri, Arturo
Luisa Villa, Alisa
Mario Carlin, Normanno

Coro del Teatro alla Scala, Milan

RIAS Symphonie-Orchester

Herbert von Karajan, Chef d'Orchestre

Recorded on 29.IX.1955 at the Städtische Oper Berlin, Germany

MONO © 1955 RBB
Remastered ℗ & © 2023 THE LOST RECORDINGS

1st edition Double Book UHQCD
Remastered from the original analog tapes
Booklet 80 pages
Pressed in Japan

Photos: © Maria Callas Foundation
Texts: Anna Svenbro, Tom Volf, John Ardoin, Maria Callas, Robert Jacobson.

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MARIA CALLAS

LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR • BERLIN 1955

The story of this discovery

"In May 2022, while working in the RBB archives, we discovered the original tapes of this legendary 1955 recording - undoubtedly one of the most important operatic testimonies of the 20th century: Lucia di Lammermoor, recorded in concert on September 29, 1955 at the Städtische Oper Berlin, featuring Di Stefano, Panerai, von Karajan and Callas.
Although we note that the first few bars of Tape No. 1 have deteriorated, the minutes that follow reveal a richness of timbre and dynamics incomparable with the editions known to date.
Four months of painstaking work were necessary to restore the full brilliance of the orchestra, the La Scala Chorus and the legendary voices of this moving piece of history and music."

Frédéric D'ORIA-NICOLAS
Musical treasure seeker

Libération

“From the silky timbre of the diva assoluta, to the astonishing presence of the orchestra, these splendidly edited vinyl and CD box sets sound like a revelation.”

"To me, the art of music is magnificient and I cannot bear to see it treated in a shabby way"