CRÍTICA
(June 18, 1949)

     CRÍTICA: "Bel Canto".

     [...] Maria Callas, decidedly better than in Turandot, had many happy moments and sang with authority, dramatic conviction, and a wonderful sense of theatre. She struggled with her voice (very uneven in color) but assumed her singing responsibilities with dignity, attentiveness, and respect for the score without the vocal excesses that sopranos can incur in this role. She sought to dominate the role as much as possible with an appearance of easy virtuosity in order to penetrate the depth of the character. Dramatically, in my opinion, she seemed to move too much and was too agitated, without the refinement of gesture that one had observed in other performers of this role. At her side, Fedora Barbieri put into play all the excellent qualities that make her a distinguished artist: good voice, keen intelligence and alertness, and a sensible refinement of portrayal. She has an acute sense of emotional involvement with the audience and communicates directly with them. She is always a great pleasure to see and to hear. Nicola Rossi-Lemeni created one of the most dramatic moments of the whole performance at the beginning of the fourth act. His vocal authority, musicianship, and stage presence give proof to the greatness of his artistry. Tullio Serafin conducted with candor and vigor. He obtained moments of sumptuous and imposing sonority with the score, all in an ambience of dramatic effectiveness, maintaining a high level of equilibrium throughout. Jorge D’Urbano.