Maria Callas (3,944 views)

[IhateMana]

Vocal Range: F♯3 - F6

Significant High Notes

F6 ("Se pari agli accenti" Live Teatro Comunale Florence 26/04/1952)
E6 ("Mercè, dilette amiche", "Où va la jeune Indoue")
E♭6 ("Caro Nome", "Deh, perdona!" Live Teatro San Carlo, Napoli 20/12/1949)
C♯6 ("Arrigo! Ah parli a un core", "Mercè, dilette amiche")
C6 ("Anch'io dischiuso un giorno" Live Teatro San Carlo, Napoli 20/12/1949, "Ben io t'invenni" Live Teatro San Carlo, Napoli 20/12/1949, "Io t'amava! il regno, il core" Live Teatro San Carlo, Napoli 20/12/1949, "Salgo già del trono aurato" Live Teatro San Carlo, Napoli 20/12/1949)
B5 ("Arrigo! Ah parli a un core", "Guerrieri, è preso il tempio" Live Teatro San Carlo, Napoli 20/12/1949, "Mercè, dilette amiche", "Où va la jeune Indoue", "Tremin gl'insani del mio furore" Live Teatro San Carlo, Napoli 20/12/1949)
B♭5 ("Deh, perdona!" Live Teatro San Carlo, Napoli 20/12/1949, "Donna, chi sei?" Live Teatro San Carlo, Napoli 20/12/1949, "Mio furor, non più costretto" Live Teatro San Carlo, Napoli 20/12/1949, "Oh, di qual'onta aggravasi" Live Teatro San Carlo, Napoli 20/12/1949, "Su me; morente, esamine" Live Teatro San Carlo, Napoli 20/12/1949)
A5 ("Anch'io dischiuso un giorno" Live Teatro San Carlo, Napoli 20/12/1949, "Chi s'avanza?" Live Teatro San Carlo, Napoli 20/12/1949, "Guerrieri, è preso il tempio" Live Teatro San Carlo, Napoli 20/12/1949, "Mio furor, non più costretto" Live Teatro San Carlo, Napoli 20/12/1949, "Où va la jeune Indoue", "Salgo già del trono aurato" Live Teatro San Carlo, Napoli 20/12/1949, "Tremin gl'insani del mio furore" Live Teatro San Carlo, Napoli 20/12/1949)
G♯5 ("Ah! qual suon!" Live Teatro San Carlo, Napoli 20/12/1949, "Deh, perdona!" Live Teatro San Carlo, Napoli 20/12/1949, "Oh, di qual'onta aggravasi" Live Teatro San Carlo, Napoli 20/12/1949, "Su me; morente, esamine" Live Teatro San Carlo, Napoli 20/12/1949)
G5 ("Anch'io dischiuso un giorno" Live Teatro San Carlo, Napoli 20/12/1949, "Arrigo! Ah parli a un core", "Ben io t'invenni" Live Teatro San Carlo, Napoli 20/12/1949, "Donna, chi sei?" Live Teatro San Carlo, Napoli 20/12/1949, "Gloria ad Abigaille!" Live Teatro San Carlo, Napoli 20/12/1949, "Guerrieri, è preso il tempio" Live Teatro San Carlo, Napoli 20/12/1949, "Io t'amava! il regno, il core" Live Teatro San Carlo, Napoli 20/12/1949, "Lo Vedeste? Fulminando" Live Teatro San Carlo, Napoli 20/12/1949, "Salgo già del trono aurato" Live Teatro San Carlo, Napoli 20/12/1949)
F♯5 ("Chi s'avanza?" Live Teatro San Carlo, Napoli 20/12/1949, "Mercè, dilette amiche", "Oh, di qual'onta aggravasi" Live Teatro San Carlo, Napoli 20/12/1949, "Où va la jeune Indoue", "Tremin gl'insani del mio furore" Live Teatro San Carlo, Napoli 20/12/1949)
F5 ("Ah! qual suon!" Live Teatro San Carlo, Napoli 20/12/1949, "Ben io t'invenni" Live Teatro San Carlo, Napoli 20/12/1949, "Caro Nome", "Mercè, dilette amiche", "Su me; morente, esamine" Live Teatro San Carlo, Napoli 20/12/1949)
E5 ("Arrigo! Ah parli a un core", "Mio furor, non più costretto" Live Teatro San Carlo, Napoli 20/12/1949)
E♭5 ("Eccelsa donna, che d'Assiria il fato" Live Teatro San Carlo, Napoli 20/12/1949, "Su me; morente, esamine" Live Teatro San Carlo, Napoli 20/12/1949)


Significant Low Notes

D4 ("Arrigo! Ah parli a un core")
C4 ("Ben io t'invenni" Live Teatro San Carlo, Napoli 20/12/1949, "Io t'amava! il regno, il core" Live Teatro San Carlo, Napoli 20/12/1949, "Salgo già del trono aurato" Live Teatro San Carlo, Napoli 20/12/1949, "Tremin gl'insani del mio furore" Live Teatro San Carlo, Napoli 20/12/1949)
B♭3 ("Donna, chi sei?" Live Teatro San Carlo, Napoli 20/12/1949, "Su me; morente, esamine" Live Teatro San Carlo, Napoli 20/12/1949)
F♯3 ("Arrigo! Ah parli a un core")

.......................................................
Blue marks falsetto or whistle notes.
Underlines mark notes that are obscured in the song mix.
Italics mark non-melodic notes.
Boldface marks notes that are considered to be particularly notable examples of this person's vocal capabilities.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Album Ranges}
(1949) Vittorio Gui - Nabucco - Teatro San Carlo, Napoli - (B♭3 - E♭6) IhateMana
(1950) Guido Picco - Il trovatore - Mexico City - ( - )

[kaji]

Aw... I was doing a thread for her too.

Anyways, great job. She has an F6 in one live performance and like an Eb3 or so in her Juilliard masterclass. She also did an F3 in some aria. I’ll post the details later.

[IhateMana]

it is for that reason you should be passing any and all threads you intend to work on through the singer index

I've heard rumours about that F6 but never heard it myself. interested to hear that alleged Eb3 too.

[glo]

D6s

5:20 — youtu.be/Ze05NBZa5RI (Oh di qual sei tu vittima)
5:50 — youtu.be/okWyIUHTDHQ (D’amore al dolce impero)

F3

4:32 — youtu.be/IorVwEtt_Bc (I do not know the aria though :/ )

[mike1951]

Has she hit any low notes below F3 and which ones?

you could have also included the D6 note. She has done great D6s

my favourite opera singer of all time!

her chest voice is the best I have heard from a soprano!

you could have included more notes in the chest voice area

thank you for all these notes! Nice job

[Macca]

Apr 1, 2023 14:21:38 GMT mike1951 said:

Has she hit any low notes below F3 and which ones?

I read that as "Does she have any shit low notes below F3"

[kaji]

Apr 1, 2023 14:21:38 GMT mike1951 said:

Has she hit any low notes below F3 and which ones?

you could have also included the D6 note. She has done great D6s

my favourite opera singer of all time!

her chest voice is the best I have heard from a soprano!

you could have included more notes in the chest voice area

thank you for all these notes! Nice job

She has gone down to D3 or C-sharp in one of her masterclasses, yes. I am working on a truly massive thread on her at the moment, will be ready somewhere later this year. 

I would call Ghena Dimitrova's and Rosa Ponselle's chest voices more refined and developed but Callas' was incredible as well. 

[Steingrim]

Apr 1, 2023 22:18:52 GMT kaji said:

Apr 1, 2023 14:21:38 GMT mike1951 said:

She has gone down to D3 or C-sharp in one of her masterclasses, yes. I am working on a truly massive thread on her at the moment, will be ready somewhere later this year. 

I would call Ghena Dimitrova's and Rosa Ponselle's chest voices more refined and developed but Callas' was incredible as well. 

This lady ? She sang with Caruso.



I read that Callas' singing coach claimed that she could sing down to C3. What she could do in an opera hall would of course be a different matter. 

[kaji]

Apr 2, 2023 19:21:51 GMT Steingrim said:

Apr 1, 2023 22:18:52 GMT kaji said:

She has gone down to D3 or C-sharp in one of her masterclasses, yes. I am working on a truly massive thread on her at the moment, will be ready somewhere later this year. 

I would call Ghena Dimitrova's and Rosa Ponselle's chest voices more refined and developed but Callas' was incredible as well. 

This lady ? She sang with Caruso.

View Attachment

I read that Callas' singing coach claimed that she could sing down to C3. What she could do in an opera hall would of course be a different matter. 

Yes, Elvira de Hidalgo (thread in works on her as well) has said that Callas' full singing range is C3 to G6. However she only used a part of this in recording. She has recorded several high Es, and in operatic context has bottomed at F3 in Il corsaro, and lower notes in masterclasses. High-range wise she did actually record a high F in Armida but it was unintentional and basically she overshot an E6. It is however in the key and also sustained so it is countable. She has also sang a high F in the aria Je suis Titania in one of her early concerts, sadly the tape we have is faulty. The reviews do mention the high F however. 

Ponselle was a dramatic soprano (lirico-spinto / drammatico d'agilita in early years) who had an ecquisite control of her registers, both high and low and phrasing that is unlike most singers. Very good high notes in early career, but she lost them after mid 1920s... or rather she became fearful of them after the Spanish flu outbreak. I do have a thread on her, and also a video. However I will be remaking both in some time to make it more thorough and accurate. 

[mike1951]

Apr 1, 2023 22:18:52 GMT kaji said:

She has gone down to D3 or C-sharp in one of her masterclasses, yes. I am working on a truly massive thread on her at the moment, will be ready somewhere later this year. 

I would call Ghena Dimitrova's and Rosa Ponselle's chest voices more refined and developed but Callas' was incredible as well. 

I haven't heard the D3 and C-sharp. Can you send the youtube links please? 

[tphat1805]

Sorry but I couldn't find any high F in the performance you noticed here😞

[BAZanine]

It's linked; you can just click on 'F6' in the Vocal Range listing to listen to it.

[kaji]

Jan 9, 2024 2:00:58 GMT tphat1805 said:

Sorry but I couldn't find any high F in the performance you noticed here😞

It is an overshot high E that touches a high F. It is perfectly inbetween the pitches. I am remaking this thread in great detail with videos to accompany it. However while the Armida note touches an F in theory, I am not sure I'd count it as such. She did actually perform an F in Io son Titania in 1951 in Turin, however the tape is unfortunately broken and only E-flat can be heard. But reviews point to her singing a high F there. 

[Electric Mami]

Personally when I come across overshot notes that are inbetween pitches like that, I count the pitch that was formerly aimed. If it's a full semitone sharp I just put it in questionable unless the singer hits it right in another passage of the song

[IhateMana]

Apr 16, 2024 17:42:22 GMT kaji said:

Jan 9, 2024 2:00:58 GMT tphat1805 said:

Sorry but I couldn't find any high F in the performance you noticed here😞

It is an overshot high E that touches a high F. It is perfectly inbetween the pitches. I am remaking this thread in great detail with videos to accompany it. However while the Armida note touches an F in theory, I am not sure I'd count it as such. She did actually perform an F in Io son Titania in 1951 in Turin, however the tape is unfortunately broken and only E-flat can be heard. But reviews point to her singing a high F there. 

I feel like empirically you can't really count either F6 then. Like yeah I'm not trying to discredit the reviewers or nothing but...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... like we kinda need to be able to verify it?

[Baronessa]

We love the scientific method.

[kaji]

Apr 17, 2024 6:57:20 GMT IhateMana said:

Apr 16, 2024 17:42:22 GMT kaji said:

It is an overshot high E that touches a high F. It is perfectly inbetween the pitches. I am remaking this thread in great detail with videos to accompany it. However while the Armida note touches an F in theory, I am not sure I'd count it as such. She did actually perform an F in Io son Titania in 1951 in Turin, however the tape is unfortunately broken and only E-flat can be heard. But reviews point to her singing a high F there. 

I feel like empirically you can't really count either F6 then. Like yeah I'm not trying to discredit the reviewers or nothing but...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... like we kinda need to be able to verify it?

I wasn’t trying to say we count it in the thread off that. Just talking about the historical details.