[Lucia High E-flat] Joan Sutherland (1959~1985)

[ChrisStockslager]

Does anyone have a recording of the '73 Covent Garden Mad Scene they're willing to share on Youtube? I'd love to hear all of it, and am sure others would too!

[MrSwifts31]

It STILL makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand one end,and I have stood in the wings at Covent Garden and heard it on several occasions!

[bellini7verdi]

una verdadera locuraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

[bellini7verdi]

la voz mas esplendida e inabarcable del mundo.......gruesa...firme...c­ontundente...pletorica rica........toda una tesis de complexion vocal para las universidades

[prsinnyc]

Farewell Dame Joan, the memories here are just magical.

[OperaTenor27]

RIP, Dame Joan.

[iriisblue]

LOVED THIS. The last Eb in alt, of course, because it is so opulent, round and beautiful on the eve of her 60th birthday. I have only one question, though. WHAT is Lisa Della Casa doing in the group photo with La Stupenda, Tebaldi and Schwarzkopf?

[MadonnaImperia]

@iriisblue That photo was taken in connection with a gala performance at the Met on November 29th 1964. Schwarzkopf and della Casa sang the first act of "Der Rosenkavalier", Tebaldi the first act of "La bohème" and Sutherland the first act of "La traviata".

[gimmeachallenge]

1970 MET (5:30-6:02) , for sure. Voice was mature, but not too dark or droopy. The Ebs are volcanic in power, she sustains them for quite some time, and the trill preceding the first one is unreal. The fact that they are live, even better.

[arturotenor76]

Thanks for posting this collection, for my taste the best one was at 0:34 and at 0:46 Ibelieve that was from 1959 when her vowels where cristal pure, in 1960 her sound was darker... I would like some one to explain me why... did she decide herself to changeher technic or someone told her to do so... I am very ignorant, please let me know what is the true story please!

[LaStupenda]

@arturotenor76 It probably relates to the significant sinus surgeries she had at the time. We could have lost her, vocally, as early as 1960! Thank god we had her as long as we did. Still can't believe she's gone.

[distefano13069609]

1962 amsterdam all the way

[distefano13069609]

All the ones in the 60's are my favorites!!!!

[ltginpdx]

I like the ones that include a trill the best. But the longest, most stable end note I think is at 4:26.

[RicardoRivera82]

My votes for best of:

live: second of 12. or second of 14.

studio: second of 13.

[ChrisStockslager]

Sorry, I'm an idiot, I meant, can you post the 1962 Amsterdam version of The Mad Scene on your channel?? :D

[mmbriggs]

by 1985 sutherland was no longer taking the eflat at the end of the first part of the mad scene, at the met in her 1982 lucias, she already had transposed it down a tone, so that her high notes was a dflat. however, anyone lucky enough to hear those dflats--in multiple performances that is--wouldn't trade it for all the tea in china! as for the cabletta high note that ends the second part o fht e mad scene, at the met that was left in the oringal key so that she ended on a less scure eflat.

[ChrisStockslager]

But the E-flat, while shorter, was VERY secure on the Australia DVD in 1986. I wonder if the Met was just a bad night for her?

[ChrisStockslager]

Oh, one question, Sutherland / Lucia / opera fans. I'm looking into buying a DVD of Joan in Lucia. Which one should I buy, the 1982 Met performance, or the 1986Sydney performance? Also, did she transpose "Spargi d'amaro Pianto" for the 1986, or keep it in the so-called "standard key?"

[Jabe88]

in 1986 she sang spargi d'amaro pianto in the standard (Eb major key)... It was probably her last Eb

I think it is better than the 1982 MET Lucia

[ChrisStockslager]

Is the 1986 Eb in the DVD the same as the one here?

[ChrisStockslager]

Err, I mean, is the 1986 Eb in the DVD as good as the 1986 Eb here?

[Drelnis]

I own both recordings and I've gotta tell you I prefer the Met performance :)

[ChrisStockslager]

How come? Is the E-flat in Sydney as good as the one here?

[Drelnis]

I can't recall the Eb, I'll have to check it out again to confirm that, but as I can remember, I prefer the acting in the Met's version :)

[ChrisStockslager]

Ah. Thanks, again. See, I'm looking at buying both DVDs from a purely musical standpoint --- especially since Joan wasn't an actress, so it wouldn't matter as much anyway. :)

[Drelnis]

Actually, if you like Lucia, after getting familiar with Joan, you should try Scotto. Her Tokyo recording is 42 years old, yet it still blows me away every time. She doesn't beat Sutherland in the mad scene though :(

[ChrisStockslager]

Actually, I think I might. And you're right. From a musical standpoint, I don't think anyone could ever pass Joan. Although, sometimes, I do kind of like Natalie Dessay's really crazy sounding E-flat at the end of "Spargi d'amaro etc." But then again, I don't like the rest of her voice. Too harsh. And, since I'm already meandering off subject, wouldn't it be awesome if a video recording of Maria Callas singing Lucia in 1952 surfaced? I always wanted to see how she acted in Lucia.

[ChrisStockslager]

I would say her absolute best E-flat would be the studio recording from 1961. I bought it off Itunes I loved it so much. This E-flat is huge, long, loud,and somehow almost unhuman. It almost doesn't sound like a person produced it --- and therefore freaking awesome!

[Trackstar2000]

some are E's and Eb's. Is it because of vibrato?

[bleetenor]

Very interesting. Great trills, but E-flat was not in her comfort zone, was it? Many of them are a bit out of tune and the releases show how difficult they were for her. I guess that keeps it exciting. Great singer whom I admire much nonetheless.

[Hako2004]

She certainly tried to inject some tension into her Lucia Ebs. It was not lost on her that Lucia was mentally unhinged, and the notes should sound somewhat desperate. Her Ebs in other roles generally sounded less edgy. The Eb was well within her grasp, or it wouldn't have remained with her till age 60.

[SueAnnNivens]

Oh God... this was sooo amazing. I can´t get enough with Dame Joan´s high notes, she´s simply the best!

[leprincebeaumont]

Che dire? Grandissima anche a sessant'anni. La più grande di tutte!

[yiudiumui]

her trills are amazing

[greve]

For me the best is her studio recording from 1961. Also her MET 1964 is incredible. And it should be said that her 1985 version surprises - it IS amazing!

[greve]

i.e. Met 1964 cabaletta.

[Richiesutherland]

So much fun, and quite terrifying. Think, not just of the performances here, but of the over 200 times she also sang the role complete, and the concerts in which she sang the Mad Scene, and the endless rehearsals. Think how many times this dramatic soprano voice had to face that leap, and the percentage of times it was a miracle of technique and vocal endowment. And then add in all those other roles with multiple Ebs and Ds. And these were gigantic notes, not squeakis.

[wotan10950]

This is like vocal porn, and it's so much fun! She was really a phenomenon to have kept the highest notes in her voice for decades. Not every note is perfect, but she is only human. I was very lucky to have seen her many times in the theater. Maybe the greatest voice ever.

[LaStupenda]

Thank you, AmorediPazzia, so much for this collection! How wonderful to have that note strung together over the years. I REALLY enjoyed it.

[AmorediPazzia]

Thanks. :-)

Lately, I got other lucia recordings of Joan.

Venice in 1961, Chicago in 1961, Met debut in 26/11/1961, New Orleans concert-mad scene in 1965, another Hamburg one in 1971, CG in 16/5/1973, Puerto Rico in 1977, Amsterdam in 1982 and MET in 4/12/1982!!

[dolcefico]

It's not just that she hits the note (and true, not all are text-book perfect), but the massive sound she produces in doing so! One of the most thrilling sounds I've ever heard.

[babycatcher2004]

Some are sharp. Some poorly supported. Some stopped by shutting the mouth instead of stopping the air flow. Others are exquisite! Just proves that the greatest singers are not 100% perfect 100% of the time.

[Jabe88]

If you are referring to the first two recordings, it's not Sutherland's fault if they were sharp, it's a remastering issue which made the recordings faster, hence the sharpness.

Can you please can show which ones were stopped by shutting the mouth?

Thanks

[moghedien13]

ill be honest the first two do sound liek she shut her mouth, but i highly doubt that she actually did. other than that i jsut have to say that i there is any artist these days that can be this consistent over about 30 years.

[LaMostraESopra]

Her trill is so incredible it's outrageous!

[mmbriggs]

bu 1982 at the time of sutherland's return to the met with lucia, she was already transposing the first elflat that ends the first part of the mad scene down a tone to a dflat. she was 56 at the time and her dflat was an incredible sound in the house. she stlll contiued to take the eflat as in the televised perofrmance from the met, and in that performance her final high note, the retained eflat is nothing short of stupendous, but thats what makes sutherland la stupenda.

[Cramnella]

I want this for my ringtone!!!!!

[AmorediPazzia]

Thank you :-)

[augustovalenca]

25 years of E-flats!

She always nails them. Stupendous, indeed. Someone should tie some of our current coloratura "stars" to a chair and make them hear how it should be done and, while we are at it, rub some of those wonderful trils at the end of the cadenza in their faces.

Evviva Sutherland!

[Kibouo]

My favourite is the 1962 finale - almost magical..

[operaeater]

she sounds sharp sometimes, but her voice is great.

[motardbear15]

So unbelievible , our poor Dessay is far so far from all that...

[iriisblue]

Great work! Formby2 pays an unintended but highly appropriate compliment below, unable to distinguish the vocal quality over 26 years of recordings! That kind of standard belongs only to the prima donna assoluta del mondo.

[alfemv76]

Singular Video!!!; sin duda alguna otra voz como esa, jamás!;

[hisimperialmajesty]

I'm actually surprised by that last Eb from 1985. She sounds very fresh and powerful there. But I think the Eb at the end of "Spargi D'amaro" from the 1971 studio recording is one of the best.

[formby2]

Sorry, I don't quite get this. There are far more than 17 versions here. Are we getting each a few times, or are they from different nights of the same run, or ... maybe I'm missing something?

[operamagnus]

Each number counts one night, but includes the end of the cadenza and the cabaletta of the mad scene. So both E-flats of the mad scene are included :)

[formby2]

Oh, of course! Thanks for clarifying. What a stupid mistake. Sorry...

[Jabe88]

I love the 1966 MET finale!

[Hako2004]

Thanks Amored for this amazing audio retrospective on the Queen of the High Eb. In the twilight of her career the Ebs were less brilliant, but still powerfully floated above the orchestra. The best Ebs, to me, were produced in the late 60's to early 70's.

[andreasscholl]

So great there is only ONE the last Covent Garden in 85 were they lowered the first part!

Second part is still in E-flat!

Wooooow!