Luigi Cherubini articles/mentions

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Maria Callas as Médée     

            

            

mentions:           

Luigi Cherubini - 1792

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20,000 vinyl LPs 395: Luigi Cherubini ~ Maria Callas as Médée

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Maria Callas ~ Medea - August 6, 1961 
Epidaurus, Greece amphitheater 

photographer unknown 

 

 

The birthday of Luigi Cherubini is debated as to either September 8 or 14. As I missed posting this on the eighth, I chose the 14th; in either case it was in 1760, in Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany. He is primarily known for his opera Médée (aka Medea).         

       

 

Luigi Cherubini ~ Medea 

vinyl LP box front 

Cover Design – George Maas, Wilma Cozart 

 

There could have been no better casting than Maria Callas to portray the tragic Greek mythology figure Medea, the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis. Medea is known in most stories as a sorceress, an accomplished "pharmakís, a worker in "pharmakeía" (medicinal magic), and is often depicted as a high-priestess of the goddess Hecate, a mythical granddaughter of the sun god Helios and a niece of Circe, an enchantress goddess who could transform her enemies, or those who offended her, into animals. Sounds like a handy talent.      

 

 

Luigi Cherubini ~ Medea 

vinyl LP box back 

 

    

Medea is best known from the 5th-century BC tragedy Medea by Euripides, but also in the 3rd-century BC epic Argonautica by Apollonius of Rhodes. In the myth of the Argonauts, she aids Jason in his search for the Golden Fleece, murders her brother in the process and later marries Jason, but jealous of Jason's second marriage to Glauce, decides to kill her rival and her own children to take revenge on Jason,     

Medea in Helios' golden chariot 

painting by Germán Hernández Amores 

The opera was premiered on March 13, 1797, at the Théâtre Feydeau, Paris, but met with a lukewarm reception and was not immediately revived.            

 

During the twentieth century, it was usually performed in Italian translation as Medea, with the spoken dialogue replaced by recitatives not authorized by the composer. More recently, some performances have used Cherubini's original version.             

 

The long-lost final aria (link below), which Cherubini appears to have elided from his original manuscript, was discovered by researchers from the University of Manchester and Stanford University by employing x-ray techniques to reveal the blackened out areas of Cherubini's manuscript.     

Title page of the first edition of the score 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

Tracklist: 
        
Side 1:

        

A - Act I, Part 1

        
Side 2: 
        
B - Act I, Part 2
        

Side 3:

        

C1 - Act I, Part 3    

C2 - Act II, Part 1    

        
Side 4: 
        
D - Act II, Part 2
        

Side 5:

        

E1 - Act II, Part 3    

E2 - Act III, Part 1    

        
Side 6: 
        
F - Act III, Part 2
        

Companies, etc.
        
Recorded At – Teatro Alla Scala, Milano
Mastered At – Fine Recording Studios
Pressed By – RCA Records Pressing Plant, Indianapolis
Copyright © – Mercury Record Corporation
Published By – G. Ricordi & Co.
        
Credits: 
        
Baritone Vocals [The Captain Of The Guard] – Alfredo Giacommotti*
Bass Vocals [Creon] – Giuseppe Modesti
Chorus – Chorus Of La Scala*
Chorus Master – Norberto Mola
Composed By – Luigi Cherubini
Conductor – Tullio Serafin
Cover [Album Production], Design – George Maas, Wilma Cozart
Engineer, Supervised By [Technical Supervisor] – C. R. Fine*
Libretto By [Text By] – François Benoît Hoffmann*
Liner Notes [English Translation Of Libretto] – William Murray (6)
Liner Notes [Introductory Notes And Synopsis] – Harold Lawrence
Mezzo-soprano Vocals [Neris] – Miriam Pirazzini
Orchestra – Orchestra Of La Scala*
Photography By – Carlo Cisventi, David Seymour, Erio Piccagliani, Harold Lawrence, Oscar Savio
Recorded By [Recording Director] – Wilma Cozart
Recording Supervisor [Musical Supervisor] – Harold Lawrence
Soprano Vocals [First Maidservant] – Lidia Marimpietri*
Soprano Vocals [Glauce] – Renata Scotto
Soprano Vocals [Medea] – Maria Meneghini Callas*
Soprano Vocals [Second Maidservant] – Elvira Galassi
Tenor Vocals [Jason] – Mirto Picchi
Transferred By [Tape-To-Disc Transfer] – George Piros
        
Notes: 
        
LABELS:
- Dark maroon labels with silver print
- Deep 'groove' in label area
- NO "VENDOR" text on labels
- "Released in Cooperation with G. Ricordi & C. Milano"
- "Recorded in collaborazione con l'ente autonomo del Teatro alla Scala"
- "Sung in Italian"

BOX:
- Laminated on front
- Large "STEREO" banner on front top
- Back of box has no print

BOOKLET:
- Full-size, 24 pages
- Contains liner notes and the libretto in Italian and in English translation
- "Italian text from the libretto published by G. Ricordi & Co."
- "Album copyright 1958 by Mercury Record Corporation"
- "This world première recording [...] was made in the Teatro alla Scala during the month of September 1957."
- "Made in USA" on last page

OTHER INFORMATION:
- Labelography code: UM1
- Corresponding mono issue has cat# OL-3-104
- Sides are in auto-coupled order (LP#1: 1,6 - LP#2: 2,5 - LP

        
Barcode and Other Identifiers
        

Matrix / Runout (Runout side 1 - stamped): SR 90013A FR7 B2 I
Matrix / Runout (Runout side 2 - stamped): SR 90014A FR3 A2 I
Matrix / Runout (Runout side 3 - stamped): SR 90015A FR 5 A1 I
Matrix / Runout (Runout side 4 - stamped): SR 90015B FR10 C2 I
Matrix / Runout (Runout side 5 - stamped): SR 90014B FR7 I A1
Matrix / Runout (Runout side 6 - stamped): SR 90013B FR2 I A2
Other (Corresponding mono cat# on booklet): OL-3-104
Other (Individual cat# LP 1): SR90013
Other (Individual cat# LP 2): SR90014
Other (Individual cat# LP 3): SR90015

 

Maria Callas - Medea      

Label: Mercury Living Presence – SR3-9000, Mercury – SR3-9000
Format: 3 x Vinyl, LP, Stereo, Box Set, Album
Country: US
Released: 1958
Genre: Classical, Stage & Screen
Style: Classical, Opera 

         

Viewfinder links:         

        

Maria Callas ~ Diva Divine         

                

         

         

        

Net links:         

        

         

         

         

         

         

        

YouTube links:         

        

Maria Callas ~ Cherubini: Medea (1957)         

                         March & Chorus     

Marissa Galvany ~ finale to Cherubini's Medea         

CHERUBINI: Médée (Complete 1996) (2hrs., 30mins., 37 secs.)        

         

         

         

         

Styrous® ~ Sunday, September 14, 2025        
        

 

 

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