Ponchielli/ Callas/ Cossotto/ Votto - La Gioconda

2014 Maria Callas remastered series reissue. With this Abbey Road 24-bit 96kHz remaster, engineers returned to the original master tapes, bringing new clarity & brilliance to her legendary studio recordings. Callas's second studio recording of La Gioconda was made in 1959, six years after her last stage performances of the role, which in 1947 has been the vehicle for her Italian debut (at the Arena di Verona).The recording came at a turning point in Callas's life when her relationship with Aristotle Onassis led to her separation from her husband, Giovanni Battista Meneghini. Writing in Gramophone in 1960, PhilipHope-Wallace said: 'I simply cannot imagine anyone getting more out of the role than she does this time, the total effect is riveting.' Joining Callas were two young Italian singers destined for great careers: themezzo-soprano Fiorenza Cossotto as her rival, Laura, and, as the sinister Barnaba, baritone Piero Cappuccilli.