Joan Sutherland talks about high notes - part 2

[yongsua1989]

@TenelliVoiceGuru What did you mean that she is not using pure appoggio for singing?Did you watch her performance properly?She always remain high posture and head tilting.These are one of the characteristic of appoggio.

[mashkavic]

Thank you.

[SandrineSoprano]

Thanks again for upload

[sk8412c]

Beautiful down-to-earth people. Joan Sutherland had HUGE talent but really and truly Richard helped her so much to be all she could be so I'm glad he spoke and I found it interesting to see the actual dynamic at work between them. Interesting and enlightening interview. They made a great team. May you rest in peace Dame Joan. Thank you coloraturafan for posting this.

[Jeanne90275]

They certainly made a wonderful team.

Thanks.

[31122051]

JOAN CI MANCHI !

[Hurricainlamp]

Fascinating insight to these wonderful,natural people..

[1GiuseppeVerdi]

to daveyork0

She is dead! Have a little respect you FUCK!

[daveyork0]

Face like Luna Park

[rubyedelman]

This was an interesting interview, thanks for the post. Does anyone knows whether or not Mrs. Sutherland gives master classes? I would love to meet with her.

[Fleviel]

@rubyedelman She died a few months ago...

[Elsbeth1540]

The entire interview is a delight! Dame Joan and Richard are a splendid couple who can laugh (she humors him just the right way) and disagree amiably; clearly very much in love after all these years. The good information is affirming of their growing a brilliant duo-career. Lovely people with astonishing talent, and he is so very proud of her and of what they have done together to bless us all!

[g4thz]

Gosh, that last comment tells the whole story.

[AOG93]

Whitney a dramatic coloratura... uh- No. Maybe a lyric soprano, but I don't really know i a coloratura. Like Mariah Carey, when you put this pop singers in a real stage in a theater and let them sing, i wonder without a microphone how many of their notes will really be audible. But maybe, just maybe... wonder what it would be like to go and see Whitney as Sussana or Pamina...hmm...not sure

[dialectgirl]

Thank you - do you know by any chance what year this is from?

[kmaur21]

This mariah carey problem her upper, lower, or middle register has never been connected!

[pedy19]

@kmaur21 Lol please! It has, the thing about her voice is that she always could pass from one register to another swiftly. In what it comes to pop singers, Mariah has the best voice ever.

[ezayi]

I wish he would´ve let her talk a little more. He had to really address the question to her for her to speak other wise he would´ve started  speaking.

[phillipneuharth]

What didn you want to say with your comment? Who is racist?

[SiEtIn1]

well well what a surprise! ...someone has an obsession with La Stupenda... lol

[saydso]

sorry to say, but Sutherland was anything

but dramatic. Callas said herself upon hearing her ' there goes all my work straight out the window '

Emphasis on diction, well, Joan's voice

was big and heavy, even when singing

in English.

Zefferelli had the audacious task of preparing Joan for her first Lucia. There

he was having an opera nightmare come to life. What a voice, but what a Steinway.

It was all Ricky's fault, who went to too many Callas' performances.

[okkttsk]

@saydso Are you talking about dramatic as a kind of soprano? There are a spectrum of types of voices. Dramatic soprano, lyric soprano, spinter(?) soprano, and more. It's the conductor's fault for not matching the right soprano with the right tenor, or pieces of music. I cannot sing dramatic pieces, myself, because I have a lyrical quality as a tenor. Callas might be dramatic herself for criticizing others.

[suzanneetmoi]

@okkttsk It's SPINTO, and it is a a type of full lyric voice (although there are spinto tenors too, but we'll stick to the female voice here) which cuts THROUGH the orchestra, as opposed to floating over it. The Strauss heroines are prime examples...

[orpheuschick]

What a fantastic interview - fascinating to hear. I've just read over the comments and I find two things rather odd. Firstly, the idea that Sutherland and Bonynge had a negative relationship with Callas - Sutherland was significantly younger, and sang Clotilde (very small role!) in Callas' famous ROH Norma. Later on, Callas was very supportive of Sutherland, who was reaching her peak as Callas' career was winding down. Secondly, technically speaking, they were both Dramatic Coloraturas.

[ezayi]

I guess you´re right in most of it but not that Sutherland was "significantly younger". Unless three years are significantly for you.

[kmaur21]

Yeah would you think prime Whitney Houston was a dramatic coloratura like Joan and Maria Callas. I always felt out of the pop singers she was always the coloratura, and a dramatic one.

[kmaur21]

Out of the sopranos ever in pop music Whitney in prime was a dramatic coloratura and she reminds me of Kathleen Battle in alot of ways in her upper register especially live. Mariah's middle, lower, to higher has never been connected and its crappy. She could never cover opera!

[pedy19]

@kmaur21 Are you joking me? Kathleen is a lighter soprano than Whitney was even in her prime, plus Mariah could have sung opera, don´t forget her mum is a great operatico Mezzo Soprano that still sings at the age of 70.

[uniquebfly]

When was this?

[SvendBosanvovski]

Dame Joan and Richard are one of the great marriage partnerships. He was an important factor in the ultimate realisation of her greatness. This is one of the best interviews of Joan and Richard I have seen. The interviewer obviously adores his subject and is suitably respectful.

[maryjivinjane]

Wow, she seems so relaxed about her career... it's like she's talking about her garden! I don't think I would be able to handle that kind of pressure with such grace. xD

[Pinxejas]

What a lovely remark! :)

[Janibeva]

Ese hombre es el esposo de Joan? Ay que molestoso, interrumpe a cada rato, le hacen una pregunta a Joan y èl se apresura a contestar, debe ser un experto en canto o algo asì. Grrrr.

[cuninni]

Si, se llama Richard Bonynge. Es un conductor de renombre, y con una trayectoria larguisima y tambien experto en bel canto.

[leoperarm]

Si molesta...pero ella lo eligió para casarse! Que vida! XDDDDDDDDD De todas formas ambos son unos magnificos expertos en musica.

[swdanielson]

Very good interview. thanks for posting!

[oggieguy]

I have a great deal of respect for Dame Joan. She has been critized for going after the tone and avoiding the diction, but the music is them most important. She seems to be quite dominated by Richard.

[court0114]

Yep I wish she or the interviewer one would tell Richard to shut the hell up. He seems to think the interview is all about him.

[ananse77]

I did notice that he occasionally talked over Joan. BUT, it appears he was the making of her voice - she didnt know what she was capable of until she met him. There is always this tension between Svengalis/teachers and their creations/performers. On the one side: "I am the one with the gift". On the other side: "Well I am the one who developed and molded it."

[sonjaxfactor]

is richard her husband? is he a conductor?

[hisimperialmajesty]

Yes, he is her husband, and was her personal conductor, and he continues to conduct to this day. He is quite the expert on bel canto.

[sonjaxfactor]

thank you

[kgarmaker123]

And his eyebrows are more arched than hers.. with more eye makeup too!

[rshnrvrrbrt]

always heard those rumors (lol)

[coopandre]

he also serves as her pianist at times.

[yiudiumui]

she's funny

[bachkicksass83]

i love her

[Hako2004]

Joan was 19 or 20 when John and Aida Dickens awarded her a scholarship...and convinced her she was a soprano. I am not

sure if she ever recorded music as a mezzo. Battle's voice is much smaller, and centered higher. Her vowels were less modified and her diction clearer. Callas was amazing, her voice was enormous, with a great top extension, dark low tones as well. Her voice was flexible like Joans.... not quite as agile, but she controlled the dynamics perfectly in the early days.

[VirnAlfakyn]

Callas's Top Extension came with a great price, she often overstepped her boundries, killing her voice. Her career could have been longer if she had not bashed the boundries.

[33blueberries]

Flexible is not a word I would use to describe the Callas voice at all. Dominated, as she did well to admit, to the point where it could be forced to run (and this is a laudable achievement), but not flexible. Not to my ears. And as for the great top extension..well, that area of her voice had a wobble from day one. Individual and, in her way, incomparable, but let us call a spade a spade.

[TheAleph74]

How old are you, if I may ask?

[Iareto]

Why does it matter how old someone is? If they know what they're talking about, they know what they're talking about. This isn't life experience, it's opera and it can be observed and understood as a result of observations.

[court0114]

I couldn't agree more. Callas was the actress Sutherland was not but Callas' singing could no touch Sutherland's

[Hako2004]

What a lot of interesting, but mistaken opinions. Sutherland didn't have any lows? She started her singing life as a mezzo...which is what her mother Muriel was. She had to be talked into becoming a soprano. More than one conductor, enamored of her low tones, asked her to sing a mezzo part....which Richard was dead against.  Joan couldn't have sung Lucrezia Borgia without good a chest voice, amongst other roles. She sang down to low G....which is where Callas left off.

[daniel01141975]

Do you know of links to Joan singing a mezzo role? I would love to hear her when she was considered a mezzo. Thks

[europeobsession]

I love her. Can I please meet this woman? She is so wonderful, she is so fantastic!!!

[wotansings]

Dame Joan is definetely a great artist who went her way. I remember all those critics when she was young who said, with a face like that she could sing Wagner only (what she did!) until she started working on Belcanto. And in this repertoire her achievement is more than respectable. Chapeau l'artiste!

[Sadiesexy]

She seems so nice!

[agnellodei]

Why do people think sopranos have to fight against each other? it's ridiculous!! both Joan and Maria are amazing artists, end of it!

[zafireh]

grandissimoCAZZO???????

che nome è questo?

ma penso che non è vero, solo il nome :-)

[RochelleSings]

Thank you for posting this, Coloraturafan. She is so engaging. Regal but accessible, exceedingly knowledgeable with a delightful sense of humor, managing to navigate the delicate tightrope of self effacement without tumbling into self deprecation. Her total self acceptance makes her irresistible.

[33blueberries]

That's far and away one of the best compliments I've ever read about anyone, RochelleSings!

[RochelleSings]

It's just the truth. We're living in an age where most of the emphasis is placed firstly on one's appearance, and secondarily, abilities. Character comes in at a distant third, if that. I have not had the great pleasure of seeing many Sutherland interviews, and it's great to see that someone of such profound artistry is so warm. Maybe she'll have us over to bake cookies someday!

[achneinCH]

Thank you so much for posting this. If any of the folks who responded below can sing the same repertoire better than Dame Joan, I would really like to hear it. So easy to criticize, but when your ear has developed more, you will realize that there has probably never been a more exquisite singer of that repertoire.

[Lohengrin]

when your ear develops more you will realise that a truly phenomenal voice never sacrifices consonants and colors in order to produce sound of quality. Have u got any idea what it means for people to understand the languages joan sang not to be able to stop from laughing because of her diction? have u heard of the famous joke: God sHave the Queen from Joan?

[coloraturafan]

What a treat, Lohengrin posted negative comments on my videos. I wonder if I should just delete his comments, like he did mine? I very rarely delete posters comments, because I feel opera is very subjective and that everyone is entitled to their own opinion. So I will leave Lohengrins comments alone. Does that make me a better person than him? Yes, of course it does.

[141407078989]

"Does that make me a better person than him? Yes, of course it does" LLOOOOLLLLLL!!!!!

I must say Lohengrin has a point, Joan used to sing all the vowels: "a" "o" "u" as the same one and "e" "i" as another one, she just had two vowels, plus the consonants... I still don't get the joke. I don't need to understand what Joan's supposed to be saying because I allready know what the operas are about. I LOVE HER!!! and her voice too. Thanks coloraturafan!

[33blueberries]

HA! Get over yourself. Your ears are crap mate, and clearly you know SFA about the functional efficiency of the singing voice. Others sacrifice tonal beauty for words. Sutherland did the opposite. It is just two different approaches to the act of singing, neither is more valid. Ever seen Capriccio? Pull your head out of your resonating cavity and enjoy things for what they are, in this case, absolutely phenomenal. Or get up there and give us perfect tone and perfect diction.

[daniel01141975]

In her prime do you think Kathleen Battle did this? Tonal beauty in exchange for words? I always thought she did both very well.

[TheAleph74]

I believe that Kathleen always had good diction even in the top register, so to answer your question, yes, Battle was able to combine vocal beauty, legatto and a good diction.

[kmaur21]

Yes, Kathleen does have excellent diction up there. Out of pop singers prime Whitney's diction in upper register was flawless.

[33blueberries]

I'm not a Battle fan. It's a small voice, because of the way in which it is used. It's "pretty" but by no means strong, solid, dependable nor what I would laud as good. And it doesn't come attached to a particularly attractive personality, by all accounts. I don't consider Battle and Sutherland in anywhere near the same league. But that's just me.

[TheAleph74]

I don't think that was daniel's question (wheather Battle and Sutherland are on the same league). He was just asking if Battle was able to combine understandable words and vocal beauty. As far as not being "strong, solid, dependable and good", well that's just your opinion and I disagree. She is 59 years old and the tone of her voice is a clear and as pleasing as ever. As far as not being strong, well she was able to sing some hard stuff considering the size of her voice.

[33blueberries]

I was trying, diplomatically, to say that I wouldn't even consider Battle a legitimate singer, let alone an exponent of tonal beauty, and therefore would refrain from including her in this conversation. Like everything that I say, it is my opinion. And I don't particularly care what the question was, my comment stands on its own.

[TheAleph74]

Exactly, it is your very personal opinion.

[33blueberries]

..actually, as of about a month ago, it's quite a public opinion of mine..

[Lohengrin]

oh my, which lower register is she refering to? I mean really!

[33blueberries]

The low register as evidenced in 'Sovra il sen' from the first recording of Sonnambula, in 'Martern aller Arten' from The Art of the Prima Donna, the recording of 'Era desso il figlio mio' from 1980 on youtube, or from the 'Non piu di fiori' recorded in 1956, also available on youtube. You clearly need to do more research.

[tenorissimo1986]

Oh you forgot something. Uhm... Ah yes! WITH PLAINTIVE NOTE from Handel's Samson which she sang with an essentially mezzo-soprano voice. Give it a try. Also her first BEL RAGGIO LUSINGHIER from her Art of the Prima Donna. That's the one with the two very bright, very radiant but very squillante and very chesty high Es.

[Lohengrin]

well perhaps her "mother" (=R Bonynge) who told her to sing with 3 even registers didnt quite realise out that she never had a low register and also that Bellini's Goddess G Pasta had as in the description by Stendhal three very uneven registers with a dark and choked sound. Every single interview these two people give, is a covered attack towards Callas' singing.

[zacharybr]

Later during the interview Joan says that she never really goes very low so she already acknowledged that the lower register isn't her strongest point. As for Callas, Joan the Richard are not attacking her, they just have a different point of view when it comes to Joan's singing. If anything it's the interview (and the fans) in most cases that make the attacks.

[hisimperialmajesty]

You Callas fanatics are really quite laughable.  You always try to make it personal. I personally don't care for Callas much (although I firmly believe that she was one of the greatest sopranos of the 20th century), but I don't go making ridiculous, baseless attacks on her, her husband, or her fans.

[Lohengrin]

yes sutherland and bonynge never had the guts to attack callas directly. But history will place everybody to their place. Callas as one of most ingenious Artists of all times and Sutherland as another fantastic coloratura soprano.

[grandissimocazzo]

You know nothing.Callas is the soprano leggero, Sutherland is a dramatic soprano, Sutherland voice is much bigger and heavier than Callas! and of course much more perfect !

[141407078989]

much more perfect? I disagree, everything else you said is not well said but I can understand you: yes, Sutherland's voice in middle range was deeper than Callas', but that doesn't make her a dramatic, if you compare her to Norman or Dimitrova. Sutherland's highs were much more lighter than Callas', and Callas' lows were amazing, sutherland didn't have them... think about it!

[grandissimocazzo]

You are a baby 141407078989, Sutherland high notes are very big , Callas voice on top isn't big.

Sutherland voice was much heavier than Callas too.Callas low notes amazing ? those notes were pushed!

[141407078989]

THANK YOU!!! I AM a baby! don't be such a grudging please! well, when I said Sutherland's deep middle range I meant it inclouding high notes, but Sutherland's super high notes were very light and Callas used to scream them. And yes, Calla's lows were amazing, you can look for "Callas contralto" here on youtube and verify it... I think I speak well for a baby, you instead said that Sutherland is a dramatico, where is your head man? wake up!

[TheAleph74]

I disagree. Callas soprano leggiero? Nothing futher from the truth. Their voices are very different, like comparing apples to oranges.

[Iareto]

It really has to be hard trying to convince everyone away from the fact that Joan is basically the most technically perfect soprano in recorded history. Who cares if Callas had a low? The fact remains that her tone is harsh and in my opinion rather ugly sometimes. Why do you so fiercely defend Callas and your opinion of her and in the same breath tear down Sutherland and try to make people who like her think that they are wrong to do so?

[Lohengrin]

u really believe that refering to sutherland's non existing low and her inability to pronouce the words she sang/muffled is "tearing her down"? your love for her must be realy weak if u think Sutherland can be brought down that easilly ;)

[Iareto]

When I say "tear down" I mean to say that Callas is better. Artists are artists and none of them can really be compared because being an artist is all about choices. This, of course, means that if you say one is better than it really throws the other artist under a bus. Everyone has opinion, but to just come out and say that "B" soprano is better than "L" soprano is really incorrect because it's untrue in EVERY case. All artists are different and we all have our preferences.

[daniel01141975]

I mean no disrespect here. I realize Callas's was considered an awesome actress but I thought her voice was harsh. I do enjoy her musicality (phrasing...) Can someone clarify why her voice is considered so good? Is it strictly acting? I have degree in voice so I do have a basic understanding. Someone fill me in please.

[ChrisStockslager]

Well, it was incredible that she (Callas) could get the high notes out at all, since she had a much darker, more mezzo-y tone than most sopranos. It was also incredible the way she could move it around, since it was considerably huge. In terms of Callas' singing, it was less the sound of the notes, and more the fact that she could get there so easily and believably.

[AlexiouValenti]

Thank you so much for this video!!!

[lahire22]

Fine, useful, kind interview! I thank!

[Jabe88]

the legato made her diction mushy? :-S

[primobaritono]

Thank you very much for posting this ! It's very, very interesting.

[hobo197]

didnt lose that "mushy diction" lol.