A1 - Francesco Cilea (1866 - 1950) : Adriana Lecouvreur, Act 1 - Ecco : respiro appena . . . lo son l'umile ancella
A2 - Francesco Cilea (1866 - 1950) : Adriana Lecouvreur, Act 4 - Poveri fiori
A3 - Umberto Giordano (1867 - 1948) : Andrea Chénier, Act 3 - La mamma morta
A4 - Alfredo Catalani (1854 - 1893) : La Wally, Act 1 - Ebben? Ne andrò lontana
A5 - Arrigo Boïto (1842 - 1918) : Mefistofele, Act 3 - L'altra notte in fondo al mare
B1 - Gioachino Rossini (1792 - 1868) : Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Act 1 - Cavatina: Una voce poco fà
B2 - Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791 - 1864) : Dinorah, Act 2 - Ombra leggiera
B3 - Léo Delibes (1836 - 1891) : Lakmé, Act 2 - Dov'è l'Indinan bruna? (Bell Song)
B4 - Giuseppe Verdi (1813 - 1901) : I Vespri Siciliani, Act 5 - Bolero: Mercè, dilette amiche

As this recital amply demonstrates, Maria Callas (1923 - 1977) encompassed an extraordinary range of roles. She is as convincing in the pinpoint coloratura of Lakmé’s 'Bell Song' (“Her chromatic scale is beautifully done and she sails up to the region known as in alt with the greatest ease,” said Gramophone) as in the sweeping, richly-coloured lines of Maddalena’s ‘La mamma morta’ from Andrea Chénier. “There is great tenderness and simplicity, deep emotion, and the most lovely moulding of the vocal phrases,’ wrote Gramophone, ‘Madame Callas’s characterisations … are nothing less than superb, and altogether there is some of her finest singing yet recorded.’

The "golden age" of recordings was from 1955 to 1965, at the beginning of the LP and the stereo era, where pure vacuum tube amplification helped produce recordings demonstrating unparalleled fidelity and warmth, lifelike presence and illumination.

This Testament Records LP, revived from the EMI-Columbia catalogue, was remastered at EMI's Abbey Road Studios in London, using pure analogue components only, from the original studio tapes through to the cutting head, and was pressed at Pallas.