Joan Sutherland - Ocean! Thou mighty monster! (Score animation)

[Fairpavel]

A very warm rendition. Good.

[Zva26]

This gives a fairly good idea of the repertoire Sutherland originally intended to sing before she went into bel canto, inspired by Callas. Sutherland was NOT a coloratura soprano. She was a full sized dramatic soprano with a fabulous florid technique. Her voice was huge. Callas' two studio versions were recorded rather late in her career, but she DID use this as an audition piece when she was fourteen years old. She must have scared the wits out of everyone present! To sing this age 14!

[goodandplenty508]

This was a treat. I'm a huge Nilsson fan but Sutherland sang this with a bit more passion and beautiful color. Nilsson sounded a bit cold with less color to the notes. As for Flagstad, I don't know why she always raced through passages in the upper register like in the Narriative and Curse in Tristan & Isolde and in her version of this aria too.

[FeelinMinnesota]

It's great to hear her attmpt the supported sound of low notes.. Never heard her low register sound so good. Her middle voice has always been huge colorful, espectacular, but her low notes were almost inexistent, this is great. There hasn't been a better high register than Joan's in a soprano IMO. She had a beautiful sound, brunhilde size (according to reviews and people who saw her live) and unparallel agility,

[bellini7verdi]

una pasada de pasada.que portento de voz y de interpretacion....toda una leccion vocal...digna de lo mejor de lo mejor......lo demas son celos.......y vete a saber que mentes maas retorcidas

[allangoo]

I first heard Joan in Lucrezia in 1977 in the cavernous unflattering acoustics of the Sydney Opera House.

All the principles show off their voices before Lucrezia's entrance, and these singers had sizable voices.

When Joan finally appeared, her oceanic sound eclipsed all that had gone before.

She was voluminous rather than loud. The scale of her singing was large scale and monumental like a Greek temple.

Her top E flat was just a scream, but I was stunned by her low B flats in full chest.

[timsuffolk]

Oh please kgarmaker, just watch your favourite Callas and refrain from commenting on our Joanie. I adore Callas but I find it amusing that a lot Callasites tend to criticise Joan simply because they, deep down, know that she had the 'voice' that could do anything whereas Callas had that dramatic quality in her voice which Joan couldn't match . My parents saw them both live and said Sutherlands voice was bigger by the way

[kgarmaker123]

I have to say, other than she makes all the notes she chooses to sing.. Joan leaves me cold in the repertory... This role is for a dramatic soprano with coloratura. Not a dramatic coloratura, like Joan who will NOT sing into her voice unless it is a very high note.. This whole piece lacks emphasis...textual and musical. In spite of Callas' wobbles. I prefer her version.. She sings it like she means it.. and.. she sings into her voice.. I like the aria. for sure.

[primohomme]

@kgarmaker123

It's true, I used Joan's recording because she sings all the notes the right way, Nilsson and Sutherland are not my taste in it either, Eileen Farrell is also quite good but couldn't seem to find her recording of it except in tape.

[kgarmaker123]

@primohomme Richiesutherand.. Rsutherland.. all the incarnations of the same, who claim to be R. Bonyge, not withstanding.. she had a huge voice for a coloratura, not a dramatic soprano.. Have you listened to CAllas 1952 Norma. where they sing together.. ? Callas has the bigger voice. She was a dramatic soprano at that state with coloratura.. and an extension... an assoluta.. She could sing anything.. and Joan God bless her, cannot.

[BeauTenor]

@kgarmaker123 voices in a theatre are NOTHING like voices on recordings. any idiot knows that vocal size can NEVER be judged on the basis of a recording alone. Did you ever see EITHER one of them live? Something tells me probably not...and certainly not on stage together in 1952.

[primohomme]

@BeauTenor

Of course not, we didn't see them, much less together. We are rather young.

[BeauTenor]

@primohomme my point is just that you absolutely CANNOT compare vocal size on the basis of a 60 year old live recording. It's silly to try.

[kgarmaker123]

@BeauTenor Please refer to my comment regarding emphasis.. There in lies the issue.. and .. I have heard Joan Live.. and.. it was a decent sized voice. but it was NOT a dramatic soprano... I heard Dimitrova right after that.. and that was a lARGE voice.

[ChrisStockslager]

@kgarmaker123 To be fair, if you were a tall awkward Australian girl, would you really even try to outsing Maria Callas just barely having set foot into the operatic world? I'm sure by 1957 or '58, Sutherland, with more technique and confidence built up could have easily overpowered Callas on all but the lower notes.

[kgarmaker123]

@ChrisStockslager That is not a test of whose voice/ vocalism was better. And I doubt very much that Joan could make as much sound on the bottom or the middle of the voice as Callas. But Hey, I like Joan.. She is just not A goddess for me.

[ChrisStockslager]

@kgarmaker123 At the bottom of the voice, hell no, Callas would win. I think middle would be a toss-up, but Joan's voice would overpower Callas' above B6 or so -- especially after 1956.

[BeauTenor]

@kgarmaker123 oh please. can Callas ever do any wrong with you people? Callas was special, yes, but She had MANY faults and was far from perfect, in ANY repertoire. Sutherland has often been accused of being cold, but to imply that she lacks substance is stupid (at best). It has been well documented that Sutherland began her career as a dramatic soprano. She had a huge voice and could have sung anything she wanted.

[primohomme]

@BeauTenor

She was a great dramatic coloratura soprano, yes, but she was never truly the greatest in assoluta roles as Callas was. However, I chose her recording of this over Callas' because Sutherland sings it technically better.

[BeauTenor]

@primohomme but "greatest" is hardly an absolute. Music, like all other art, is entirely subjective. Callas does continue to speak to fans, old and young. But so do other, equally great singers. To say that Callas was the absolute in every role she ever touched is just a little disingenuous. She was great at many things, in quite a few roles, but greatest...not necessarily. In roles like Lucia, or Norma, the voice I hear in MY head is ALWAYS Sutherland.

[kgarmaker123]

@BeauTenor You have got to be kidding? Norma? Wow, Callas, was the greatest Norma, ever.. the role sits in the middle of the voice.. and requires a great bottom too, along with a great deal of flexibility, dramatic intonation.. and. a top that won't quit.. it was an opera tailored to Callas, which is why she was the best, becuase it was a dramatic experience along with being a fabulous musical experience to.

[raigekimaru]

@primohomme

I agree with both of you. her voice was like a dramatic soprano with the tessitura taken up a minor 3rd and a freakish amount of agility (she puts ever other coloratura singer, male or female to shame with her agility and coloratura technique). that being said, sutherland singing dramatic soprano is kind of like a dramatic soprano singing dramatic mezzo. enjoyable, but lacking the deeper overtones and sounding "dry" in the lower register