If the lines between "Callas the Myth" and "Callas the Artist" have blurred for you over time, I highly recommend this recording. Vocally, it's astonishing how a voice of her size could navigate this repertoire with such ease. Her coloratura in "Son vergin vezzosa" is so precise you could almost transcribe the melody directly from her performance. As the opera unfolds, she reveals the richness of her tone, which in 1952 was free from the mannerisms that marked her later years. She is accompanied by her frequent collaborator, Giuseppe Di Stefano, who sings with equal passion despite the immense technical demands placed on a tenor in this role. It raises the question: has any pair of singers since achieved this level of dramatic authenticity in a bel canto opera?