“Drama Queen” brings together the most dramatic studio recordings ever made by Maria Callas during the course of her career. Or, to express it more accurately, this compilation brings together some of the most dramatic operatic scenes and arias ever recorded. Even four decades after her death in Paris in 1977, what the director Franco Zeffirelli said about her still holds true today: there is a “BC” and “AC” era – “before Callas” and “after Callas”.
1. Bellini - Il Pirata, Act 2: "Oh! s'io potessi"
2. Bellini - Norma, Act 1: Casta diva
3. Verdi - Macbeth, Act 1: "Nel dì della vittoria ... Vieni t'affretta"
4. Verdi - I vespri Siciliani, Act 5: "Mercè, dilette amiche"
5. Cherubini - Medea, Act 1: "Dei tuoi figli la madre"
6. Verdi - Nabucco, Act 2: "Ben io t'invenni ... Anch'io dischiuso un giorno"
7. Donizetti - Lucia di Lammermoor, Act 3: "Il dolce suono ... Ardon gli incensi"
8. Donizetti - Lucia di Lammermoor, Act 3: "Spargi d'amaro pianto"
9. Rossini - Armida, Act 2: "D'amore al dolce impero"