Maria Callas took the title rôle in two recordings of La Gioconda, the first of which was made in 1952 for the Italian label CETRA, at a time when she had already conquered the audiences of La Scala, Milan and was launched on her meteoric international career. Although Callas sang the rôle only thirteen times in staged performances, it played an important part in the development of her career, including her Italian début at the Verona Arena in 1947. Among those partenering Callas on this acclaimed recording are the young mezzo-soprano Fedora Barbieri, who was at the start of a major international career, the tenor Gianni Poggi who developed a significant career in Italy during the 1950s and the baritone Paolo Silveri, who was especially popular at Covent Garden.