Joan Sutherland - D'amor sull'ali rosee (Studio Recording)

[Hako2004]

The reason I feel Dame Joan was well suited for this role is simple...Il Trovatore was considered by many to be Verdi's "bel canto" opera. Sutherland sang a beautiful Gilda and Violetta, so why would this opera, so reminiscent of bel canto, be less suitable?

[543johnson]

This is the Italian translation of "Le trouvere" the French version that Verdi wrote for the Paris Opera. The French were so hooked on bel canto that they asked him to add in some vocal ornamentation for Leonora and Azucena and Sutherland and Horne are their usual best

[tebaldicallas]

Wrong voice for this aria - her voice is too heavy and her sound not too clear.

It is not for her voice - still a great voice, she should have not have sung this.

[OperaMystery80]

Don't care for Sutherland singing Lenora. Technically there's nothing wrong with it. Her singing of this is gorgeous but I find that she sings this with a more Bellini or Donizetti bel canto style and not the Verdi style. She was not a Verdi soprano and a good Verdi soprano like Leontyne Price is better suited to Leonora. A voice that could sing the Leonora in Forza, Aida, Amelia, Luisa Miller, Desdemona etc.

[primohomme]

@OperaMystery80

Actually, analyzing the music for the role one can see the role is more like Norma and Anna Bolena than like Aida or Leonora in Forza del destino. It has similar requirements like those roles, a wide vocal range, a dense low register, coloratura throughout, variations in tessitura, etc.

[OperaMystery80]

@primohomme Yes I agree with you now. It's definitely not like Aida. I hope you agree however that Leontyne was the perfect Aida. Joan Sutherland definitely couldn't sing Aida. I do love this D'Amor sull'ali but it's just sung in a way I'm not used to hearing. I like Price and Ricciarelli as Leonora in Trovatore. Although Sutherland sings this gorgeously. I love the coloratura she has here. It is still a very lovely Leonora and yes it does sound more like Anna Bolena.

[Hako2004]

@OperaMystery80

Since Il Trovatore is frequently referred to as Verdi's "bel canto opera" Sutherland's Leonora makes perfect sense. Add to that the fact that she floated effortlessly through the music, while other sopranos struggled, and I think it was role she did well to undertake. Her rendition here is without peer in my opinion.

[Hako2004]

Respond to this video... Btw....Sutherland's Desdemona was very highly regarded, and the reasons why are obvious..... just look  for the featured excerpts here on Youtube......

[cattleman6420012000]

Joan has such a fabulous quality voice.

[paulostroff99]

Lovely aria.TY.

[CanadaPisces]

Magnificent singing of a beautiful aria!

[elprimoespinosa]

4:23 ???????????

[mxwhisper]

I saw Joan sing this in Sydney twice and each time her singing, was spellbindingly beautiful.

[LohengrinT]

-This is fantastic

-I ve always admired Joan's reading of this aria. No-one managed to come close to the way Maria and Joan sang this from a technical point of view. It is sheer delight to hear her sing this dreadfuly difficult aria so correctly

-Milanov had badmouthed Joan's Leonora and as always in the case of Milanov, how wrong that ugly bitch was ;)

[primohomme]

Well, Joan's Leonora is one of the few cases in which she recorded the role as written by Verdi, not dodging low notes or transposing up or down. The low tessitura here was more managable than in Norma or Bolena, because as part of the A.2 manquee assoluta group, it does not require the weight of the A.1 group.

[Hako2004]

Did she transpose her recording of I Masnadieri up or down?

I'm not very familiar with it, but the vocal line, while florid, seems to sit in a familiar place for Verdi. As far as La Traviata is concerned, I don't believe her 1979 recording was transposed either. At times she has interpolated high notes, but that isn't the same thing as transposing "up".

[64marc64]

There is a live recording from the Met in which she is even better than this! Gorgeous singing... no one sustains those notes (and high notes) like she does. Thanx for posting.

[liedersanger1]

@64marc64 No one except Leontyne.