Maria Callas Exclusive New 1956 "La Traviata" Vinyl Recording

Amazon has released a new recording of Verdi's La Traviata, from 1956 performances at La Scala in Milan, with a cast that includes Gianni Raimondi under conductor Carlo Maria Giulini in a production by Luchino Visconti. Click here to order the set. Watch a video previewing the set by clicking here. "This Deluxe Limited Edition Box Set of Verdi's highly esteemed La Traviata, performed by Maria Callas in 1956 has been digitally remastered and recorded on three 180 gram vinyl LPs, each individually hosted in a custom printed sleeve."

Also included is a high quality book, featuring:

- Historic detail of the original program
- An introduction to the opera
- A history of the staging
- Photographs from the La Scala archives, unearthing exclusive and rare images
- The opera libretto

All of these elements are presented in an elegant presentation box of red linen and gold impressions.

Opera Sneaks Into Luchino Visconti's "Il Gattopardo"

Listen to Verdi's Waltz in F Major
scored by Nina Rota.

This evening, Turner Classic Movies aired the full-length refurbished version of Luchino Visconti's opulent 1963 film Il Gattopardo featuring Burt Lancaster (Don Fabrizio Corbera - Prince of Salina), Claudia Cardinale (Angelica Sedàra) and Alain Delon (Tancredi Falconeri). The film is based on Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa's novel of the same name about the decline of the Sicilian aristocracy at the time of the "Risorgimento"when the aristocracy lost its grip and the middle classes rose and formed a unified, democratic Italy. Il Gattopardo translates directly from Italian as "The Serval," but the film was released in France as Le Guépard ("The Cheetah") and as The Leopard in the UK and USA. The work was awarded the Palme d'Or at the 1963 Cannes Film Festival. Leave it to Visconti who famously directed 19 opera productions (five with Maria Callas alone), to include some music of Verdi into his film. The film's score was composed by Nina Rota who managed to unearth Verdi's Valzer in fa maggiore, originally written "per cembalo" when the composer was in his youth, and orchestrate it for key sequences in the hour-long

ball scene. "The Valzer was discovered by Rota in the possession of a Roman antiquarian, and was orchestrated for strings, flutes, and piano for the film soundtrack. "The Valser begins on a shot of farmers working on a hillside and follows the cross-fade into a large ballroom. The guests are greeted at a reception line, people gossip, ladies fan themselves (the Sicilian night is very hot), Colonel Pallipacini and his officers are introduced to the notables. The music flows from the balconies into a garden where the Colonel, surrounded by admiring women hanging on his every word, speaks of Garibaldi as looking like an archangel: 'I wept like a little baby.'

Verdi's waltz cadences at the end of the Colonel's exaggerated speech, and another waltz with lovely romantic harmonies in the style of the period by Nino Rota, begin as the scene shifts back into the ballroom. This piece is followed by a wonderful folk-style mazurka in a minor key. Angelica asks the Prince to dance with her and back in the ballroom the Verdi waltz is struck up once again."

Two excerpts from Verdi's La Traviata appear in the film as well. Click on the highlighted link in the description below each photo to launch a video clip of each particular scene:

When Don Fabrizio and his family return to Donnafugata they are greeted by a brass band playing the women's chorus "Noi siamo zingarelle."

The family immediately enters a church in a processional while a young organist plays the "Preludio" from Act 1 (the theme appears again later in the opera as "Amami, Alfredo" sung by Violetta).

Visconti even manages to get a little bel canto Bellini in when a soldier sings "Vi ravviso, o luoghi ameni," Rodolfo's aria from the first act of La Sonnambula.

[Source, Source, Source, Source]

Enjoy a detailed description of the film (possible spoilers), as well as commentary and photos after the jump.

Royal Opera House Selling Luchino Visconti Costumes

"Do you fancy dressing up as a medieval knight from Lohengrin? Or does a night at the ballet remind you how dull is your daily attire? Then take note – on the weekend of 24/25 September, we’re holding a massive costume sale. Pick up some period footwear, or a magnificent hat. Or buy a full outfit from the ballet The Sleeping Beauty or the 1958 production of Don Carlo. Prices are reasonable from £20 to £500 and all proceeds go towards the work of the Royal Opera House. More than 1500 costumes are up for grabs. Trying to describe this varied collection would be impossible; there are all shapes, colours and periods possible, from opera and ballet. Take your pick from productions including Lohengrin, Duke Bluebeard’s Castle, Erwartung, Maskarade, Don Carlo (Visconti version), Parsifal and The Sleeping Beauty. The sale is at our production workshop in Essex. You can make it a day out; there’s beautiful walled gardens and an orchard, a cafe and a children’s play area. The 14-acre site also boasts Grade II listed buildings. It’s a lovely spot to discover." [Source]

More information and directions after the jump.

Luchino Visconti's "Senso" Restored For Blu-Ray & DVD

"Senso opens with a spectacular sequence set at La Fenice, Venice’s grand, gilded opera house, where Il Trovatore is being performed before an audience of Venetian aristocrats and Austrian officers. An operatic sense of amplified emotion dominates Senso, as does a theatrically heightened use of color (somber browns and dark yellows for Livia; thin, glass-bottle blues, reds and yellows for Franz). But this is an