Gaetano Donizetti - Rosmonda d'Inghilterra - "Perche non ho" (Joan Sutherland)

[hayyu2008]

A wonderful display from La Stupenda at her absolute peak. A pity she didn't record this opera. It is a great opera that is sadly not performed as often as it should. So many wonderful scenes and is one of Donizetti's most thrilling operas, I think.

[MadonnaImperia]

This was recorded in 1961 as an appendix to Sutherland's first complete recording of "Lucia di Lammermoor". Fanny Persiani, the first Lucia, had also been the first Rosmonda and soon after the first performances of "Lucia di Lammermoor", she started singing "Perchè non ho" instead of "Regnava nel silenzio", as it showed off her technique to a greater extent. This practise became quite common, until Melba sang Lucia at Covent Garden in 1888 and reinstated "Regnava nel silenzio".

[lginpdx]

Yes! Just different voices and, including Callas, 3 of the most amazing voices we may ever hear in the same generation. How lucky we all are to have such wonderful technology for preserving them.

[RossiniSoprano]

Hey Lindoro, I find it strange when people fight over who is better, Sutherland or Sills, since I have always held them in equal esteem. They are different voices, but each is fantastic in their own way and the only two models I really have for my own singing.

[UrsulanChild]

Great to hear the young Joan! I wonder, though-- was this sung in the original key, or was it transposed up to show off Joan's powerful top? Renée Fleming recorded it in the key of F...so did Bev Sills...here it sounds like it's in the key of G. I've seen the Rosmonda d'Inghilterra score, and the aria is printed in F major...it doesn't matter that much...Joan seems to handle the high tessitura extremely well.

[nectenorboi09]

Actually, Renee does it in F, Sills in G, and Sutherland in A flat...

[DanyelHawkes]

and no, my previous comment has NOTHING TO DO WITH JOAN OR THIS VIDEO. Concerning the vid, i think Joan sang very well here lol 5 stars for sure

[DanyelHawkes]

i challenge anyone who thinks maria callas was a "mezzo with a forced top" to listen to pre 1955 recordings. Just because callas had he amazing technical ability to project full bodied sounds, doesnt make her a Mezzo and just because she could extend these sounds throughout her register, doesnt make them forced. In her prime Callas neve had "Fluffy head tones" nor did any of her register above the high C mixe with "whistle tones" Callas never relied on those abnormalities to sing.

[alithecrab]

@DanyelHawkes Nothing abnormal about whistle register.

[LingaChakra]

etalon of operatic art, La Stupenda

sublime

[Hako2004]

So sad this breath-taking example of song is marred by such irrelevant argument. Sutherland, here so young and fresh, proves that her instrument had no peers.

[stingabe]

Ok guys! let end this fighting here and now. Sutherland is a dramatic coloratura and Callas was a dramatic mezzo-soprano with a forced top like me. And we can not compare the two.

[mariagalvany]

How dare you come on Lindoro's page and make such disgraceful comments. Do you have class?

And what is your business about Coloraturafan's sexual perfences. What does that have to do with anything of this subject? His lifechoices are his business and only his. And what does this have to do with Joan Sutherland and her technique. Nothing at all. Coloraturafan: I just want to tell you that you have showed yourself has a classy person and dont listen to crude nonsense comments:}

[mariagalvany]

2) You have said that transposing down arias

is wrong(Joan Sutherland's Der Holle Rache) and adding trills is wrong. Are you sure what youre talking about. Just because Maria Callas said it. There were many known to transpose arias. And each were very famous.

[Lohengrin]

if u are talking about little insignificant singers (moffo, scoto, etc) yes they were transposing and molesting arias ever since their beggining But when you discuss about Sutherland, we discuss about the most phenomenal coloratura vocal instrument of the 20th century! There is absolutely no excuse into doing something like this ;)

[mariagalvany]

Really,Im so suprise by the way you said that. Because your always putting down Joan Sutherland. I thought to you Callas was the best instrument

[mariagalvany]

And i'm also talking about "The golden age".

Galli Curci,Caruso,Ponselle. Endless of famous singers that brought down arias

[Lohengrin]

that was the golden age? lol

Callas and Sutherland was the golden age;)

All the rest was...

[mariagalvany]

So your insulting the great Amelita galli curci

[mariagalvany]

Excalty Lohengrin, What is your problem with Joan Sutherland that you have. She was a great Bel-Canto soprano as like Callas. Just because you idolize Maria Callas doesnt give you the right to hate on other great singer. And are you homophobic

[Lohengrin]

as always in the sutherland Donizzeti the coloratura is FANTASTIC but where exactly is the music? i do not hear music here at all She might as well had sung an array of vocal exercises and there wouldnt be any difference. That was Bonynge's greatest failure in bel canto Thinking it, as a vehicle for coloratura exhibition. WE ALL KNOW that Sutherland could coloraturise fantastically well, but where is the music???! Damn gay Queens ! :))

[coloraturafan]

What? How do you go from the idea that Sutherland is over-ornamenting this aria to "damn gay queens"? Oh yeah, and then end it with a :)) What is wrong with you? Do you have some sort of chemical imbalance? First off, if you knew anything about Donizetti's music you would know that embellishments were part of the tradition. If you don't like the embellishments Sutherland choose that is one thing, but to say that they take away from the essence of the music is incorrect.

[Lohengrin]

-ty for replying and yes i was referring to your kind of opera fans which is exactly the kind R Bonynge represents (uber-gay Queen stacatti and trill lover)

- the ornaments that Donizzeti, Bellini and Rossini wrote have nothing to do with the ornaments that crazy gay Queens or sometimes retarded canary-birds write for themselves distorting the music in order to exhibit their voices

[Lohengrin]

Listen to Janet Baker's Stuarda Perhaps there u will understand the damage canary birds have done to bel canto and perhaps you will feel then why callas was calling all these roles as "centrale" and why Donizzeti and Bellini wanted Pasta and Malibran to sing their roles and not Jehny Lind.

Perhaps then you will realise why Donizzeti is being considered in our days as the "trashiest composer" of opera while he was -imo- one of the greatest geniouses ever ;)

So damn gay Queens and canary birds ;)

[LindoroRossini]

Arguably, the part of Rosmonda is a bit of a "canary" role: composed for Tacchinardi-Persiani, it's a rather lightweight dramatically part with no real development throughout the opera, she stays an ingenue. Moreover, most of her music IS about coloratura: she spends most of the opera up the staff and in ornamentation. It's a great credit to Fleming's talent that she managed to do so much with the role but the latter isn't Andromache or Beatrice, to name just a few examples.

[LindoroRossini]

Plus, to be honest, where do you exactly see "the music" in this aria? It's a classical sentimental piece, I mean even the opening recitative is a bit too sugary (and with a number of written high notes). Donizetti accomplishes much here but he was capable of so much more. Moreover, I didn't even realize that Donizetti was considered "trashy" :). A talented composer who, like any other, had his triumphs and fiascos :).

[Lohengrin]

-Berlin Alexandersplats: "Why do u listen to such trash? " (the husband to his wife about Donizzeti) This opinion about donizzeti being trash is a general idea

Im not responsible for u living in a small internet world and not knowing it

- I let you discover the music in this reading If u ever find it :))

- "Most of its music IS about coloratura" That is exactly the opinion I was referring too. The opinion of Bonynge and all of the rest of gay opera Queens that made Bel Canto music for idiots

[LindoroRossini]

If you'll notice, I was talking about the role of Rosmonda itself, rather than belcanto in general.

[Lohengrin]

in all Donizzeti operas that are sung by idiotic canary birds without previous performance by serious musician we have the mistaken impression that the Opera was about stupid coloratura You definitely confirm my ideas 100% with what you just wrote

Advice, start listening to bel canto readings by serious musicians not idiotic coloraturas (dessay, sills, gruberova etc)

[lochness11]

Lohengrin----re the opera Damn gay Queens. I'm an amateur tenor,acquainted with many pieces of music,both Ancient and Modern,but haven't heard of this one.Would it be suitable for my tenor voice which ranges C,one octave below middle C, to the C one octave above middle C.Thanks.

Robert

Scotland.

[coloraturafan]

Lohengrin,

You see the problem is not that you have a different opinion than everyone else in the world (we are talking sane people), the problem is that you are so contestable about it. You are the most hateful person I have encountered on youtube. I think you have listened to Fleming one too many times "dear" it must have damaged your hearing or your sanity.

[lochness11]

Rousing applause for this comment coloraturafan.You are without fear. Good for you.

[Lohengrin]

thank you about your hate

It actually honors me to me hated by u and all that because I dont like that Mariella-drag-Devia-queen of yours ahahah You have chosen to worship drag queens I choose to worship Goddeses that is our difference :p

[coloraturafan]

Again Lohengrin, you show absolutely no class whatsoever. You are a truly disturbed person, and every time you attack people with your ignorant words you show just what kind of scum you really are. I actually feel sorry for you. You must have a really pathetic life to be filled with so much hate. You try to mention the differences between us, well here is how I see it: you are a pig and you exhibit that with your trashy language and behavior, and I am just a normal opera fan who hates pigs.

[Lohengrin]

yeah im not classy ;)

[coloraturafan]

Yeah, that is correct, you are not "classy." You are just trash, or like I said before you are a pig.

[Lohengrin]

ahahahaha go ahead be more classy yourself :)))

[Lohengrin]

you should really be ashamed of yourself man being that! gay Even women are not that! gay

[Lohengrin]

answer me this pls, at your page Coloraturafan2, is that you in the photo dressed like Devia or Mariella Devia herself? Hail the Youtube Drags :)))

[coloraturafan]

Lohengrin,

Like I said before you have as much wit as you do class! You should really preserve these classic comments for posterity. BTW you seem very preoccupied with the idea of "drag queens" is that some sort of underlying fantasy of yours? Or is it just showing your lacking a diverse range of material!

[agnellodei]

Lohengrin you are starting to act like a psycho, please calm down. Such antisocial behavior ir not proper with such beautiful music.

[comey717]

Wait. But your gay yourself. But your targeting at other gay people.

I don't understand. Your a hypocrite.

[Lohengrin]

plus, dont call EVERYONE ELSE, the Internet gay Queens that hate all beautiful women of Opera. Just because Internet is the greatest gay club in the world that doesnt mean this pitiful gathering of unbelieavably ugly gay queens actually represent the opinion of the audiences ;) It's just the fact that normal people dont spend their lives arguing with CREATURES like u about drags like Devia ;)

[aragall77]

Shame, Lohengrin :-(

[Operaphile]

5.37 to the end is what sets Dame Joan apart from the lovely Beverly - power and virtuosity!!! At this stage in Dame Joan's career, her mezza voce and sostenuto were herbest. I agree that on the whole, Bev's mezza voce and high sostenuto were better, her "oh! quante volte" and Baby Doe surely demonstrate that!!! They are both wonderful, but for the sake of discourse, I prefer Joan's recording. As tklogan says: "Sills takes us to the moon but Sutherland takes us to another GALAXY!"

[Hako2004]

I agree, but another thing that sets them apart is the trill. Sutherland's was a natural and beautiful part of her voice, she had it as a girl, and she never needed to work on it.

[tklogan11809]

Sills takes us to the moon but Sutherland takes us to another GALAXY! Fleming, a subway ride on number 7 to Flushing.

[BeauTenor]

LOL...Flushing Fleming's once gorgeous voice right down the drain...

[Operaphile]

Totally!!! Great analogy. Describes it perfectly :)

[AmorediPazzia]

Is this Lucia's alternative aria in act I

in Lucia di Lammermoor?

[LindoroRossini]

Well, it basically is Lucia's cavatina in the French version, I don't really know how often it was used, nor would I really want it to be used instead of "Regnava" :)!

[coloraturafan2]

I agree, I like the good Regnava too. However, I think this was used pretty extensivly as a replacment aria, back in Donizetti's time (I mean it gives the soprano much more opportunity to show off, and that is what they wanted to do in an entrance aria!!!!). Anyway, that is why he used it in his French revision Lucie.

[LindoroRossini]

I actually remember reading somewhere that the original Lucia, Tacchinardi-Persiani, asked Donizetti to include this cavatina from "Rosmonda" which she also premiered. Suprisingly, I find that this cavatina works more in the French version, rather than the Italian.

[agnellodei]

It is all basically because Fanny Persiani suffered of stage fright, so she wanted something less complicated to warm up her voice as an entrance aria than the quite difficult "Regnava nel silenzio". I read that in her biography from "Great singers of the past" :)

[LindoroRossini]

Wow, I would exactly call the present aria that easy :), but it does say a lot about Persiani's stamina.

[LindoroRossini]

I meant: "I wouldn't call it". Damn typos :P!

[agnellodei]

Well, not easy, but "easier" than "Regnava nel silenzio".

[operamagnus]

Maybe this aria sat better in Persiani's voice than Regnava nel silenzio? Regnava does not more power in the middle voice, whereas this one focuses more on the upper voice and is more of a gentle piece. I don't know, I certainly enjoy both arias, though I prefer Regnava for Lucia :)

[operabuff1]

This is really a treat. I don´t own the recordings and was happy to listen to these downloads. I like them both enormously. Maybe Sills is a bit more exciting and Sutherland vocally more luxurious...

Thanks very much for the download!

[Tenorboy29307]

This is really impressive. Too much portamenti for my taste at times. I do prefer the Sills interpretation a bit more. Sutherland impresses me, but doesn't excite me. I am not saying that this is bad by any stretch of the imagination. I just prefer Sills here. However, as the biggest Sills fan on the planet, let's face something! As spectacular as our Bev was! She was a technical marvel. However, at her best Sutherland comes as close to technical perfection as maybe any soprano ever did.

[marioj34]

sublime. This aria alternative is a treat with Joan.... but also with Beverly!

[meltzerboy]

To me it is obvious Sutherland is the better vocal technician compared to Sills. That is not to say Sills is deficient technically in any way; she is well beyond the norm, but Sutherland is even greater. CoreyLeig, I just don't hear any "strained high note" in this performance nor any "tentative and forced" ones. The tones are indeed "perfect" but not at all "boring." BTW Pons sang a section of this aria in her version of "Salut a la France" from La Fille du Regiment.

[opera60]

Amazing ! really in vocal terms who can compare with Dame Joan in her prime ...and what a fantastic career it was!

God bless her.

[myrtillocactus]

good comment OperaBR! Sutherland is a very good singer. Beverly Sills version is also wonderful.

[CoreyLeig]

This aria is not consistently good. Great in parts, but tentative and forced in others. And what´s with that strained high note, can no one hear it? The problem I have with Sutherland is that she was so worried about producing perfect tones all the time that she rendered her singing ultimately pointless and boring. And try spotting a consonant in her singing, good luck on that one. No drama, just pretty sounds.

[OperaBR]

I hear different things. IMO this sounds as romantic and intense as possible. People don't understand that what Sutherland did is what Bel Canto really expected. It's Early Romanticism, not Verismo! So what one needs to sound dramatic is to make a vocal expression that sounds as effortless and subtle as possible, making the drama sound through the music and not changing the music to express drama. This is a romantic aria full of charm and hope, and Sutherland expresses that perfectly.

[Ganeschar]

This arie by Sutherland I heared when I was teenie and now after many years still like it very much.

Thanks for posting this video

[Eccsodus]

Simply GORGEOUS thank you

[OperaBR]

It's interestig how people describe things differently. IMO this is one of the best examples of Sutherland's "bright-voiced" years (circa 1957 to 1962). Here we have a Sutherland with a pure and girlish voice that sounds invariably full and colourful. The romantic atmosphere she creates by just using the delicate shadings of her singing and her stylish portamenti is by itself a miracle! This recording is a lesson of Bel Canto singing with great vocal characterization.

[Ganeschar]

You said it! I just like to listen to it - simple as that.

[bubjar]

This piece can be found on the double CD issued in celebration of La Stupendas 80th birthday - "The voice of the century" (how true by the way). It has never been issued before in its entirety. It´s recorded in 1959. Sutherlands voice at its brigthest. It´s still very "light" and crystal clear and youthful. I think the voice only got better.

[nikolaimedtner]

very rare piece, i have never heard this before. I have listened to both - Sills and Sutherland - personally, i prefer Sutherlands darker timbre.

[sevoflurane]

Full of nice trills but I much prefer Cuberli and Sills!

[Lohengrin33]

More than sensational... Fantastic!

[clearandsunny]

Incredible. And I've never heard this recording. What collection? Obviously very early here, but still the inimitable poise and execution are all in abundance. The phrasing, the tenuto, exquisite. The ascending trills little miracles of accuracy. As they say in tennis, "too good." All said, this still isn't Sutherland at her best.

[bkmustang07]

what is the orginal key of this aria and cabelleta because sills had the high ds ringing through out this

[drdre333]

The sound truly is thrilling to me, and wow how emotional it could sound as well! Some call it covered, whereas I would call it colorful and round.  How SMOOTH the voice is, sometimes a little too much portamento for my taste, but yes, secure sound all the way through. And as usual, Sutherland's forte was with the coloratura and trills. Simply effortless to the ear! She gives me goosebumps...

Many thanks to our video host!!!

[BeauTenor]

You know, comparing the two seems...well like apples and oranges. Joan was amazing because of what she could do with a voice that size. However, I always thought her singing always had a very....studied, measured, quality, where Sills always seems more..mercurial and spontaneous. They're both amazing, and I adore them both equally.

[remrom2]

thanks for posting!  remus

[Hako2004]

Sutherland's voice could be described as "covered" but Sills had a voice that was also described as "white". I would disagree that there is anything tenative about this at all...very secure and projected well.

[elijahny]

I like Sutherland, but the Sills version is so much lighter and more exciting. This sounds covered and tentative in comparison. The several obvious recording splices don't help.

[godivapaw]

Sutherland sounds stunning...simply stunning! Sills has a similar rendition, and thy both bring this and many other arias to a top shelf NO ONE has ever been able to match to date! Others could only in reasonable facsimile version!

[Hako2004]

No one but young Sutherland could create such a breath-taking cascade of brilliant, secure sound. There was no one to match her for pure glory of voice.

[tklogan11809]

There's a drop-out on this recording at 1:21 that I thought existed only on my CD, but it's on the original magnetic tape, one assumes. I love this music so much even Rene Fleming can't ruin it. I like her version as well.

[operadm]

one of my first opera LPs (long since broken) had this version on an added band. I fell in love with her voice then - the trills and breath control are simply magnificent!