Puccini: Manon Lescaut

Recorded 18th-20th, 22nd and 24th-27th July, 1957, in the Teatro della Scala, Milan. Transferred by the award-winning Mark Obert-Thorn, this 1957 recording of Manon Lescaut with Callas singing the title rôle 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 8111334-35) 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.