Joan Sutherland as Santuzza

[Greg07623]

Amazing, I would never have guessed this was her in hundred years. It's has some reasonbly nice notes, but what a loss to the world had she stayed on this path. Each time I hear a competition final and I hear a 21 year old honking out Pace, Mio Dio, I wonder if we are losing another talent to the same tired, badly chosen, throatbusting repertory. This is not even a great throatbusting piece of music.....verismo, shmizmo!

[imyjr333]

She could have been singing the phone book...... great, uninvolved voice.

[65attila]

Stunning

[mrc1961]

luckly she droppoed this repertoire

It was already a great lucia voice singing a verismo soprano role. Thanks Richard

[lojundolo]

It's unbelievable that after 60 years we can hear and share this rarities!

[Nhlvrnfla]

there is no way she could EVER have done anything wrong.

It wasn't wise that she wanted to do "Turandot" and Richard would have nothing to do with it, but she recorded it anyway.

This is vocally perfect. If I had to find one thing wrong, it would be that her voice is too lovely for this dramatic part.

Someone said that about her "Turandot" also.

Oh what a curse, to have a voice as lovely as Dame Joan's. LOL.

I can never hear enough of her.

[CumpariSparacino]

A curiousity at best. This is definately not a good role for her. She was very wise to drop it from her repertoire early on. The Italian audiences would never have bought this at all!

[loboestepario24]

This is amazing! she is totally believable as Santuzza... in fact, and is my opinion, she sounds a lot as in the eighties.

[Glenmed]

A great thrill to hear this. The announcer appears to be introducing her to a London audience and refers to her 1950 competition triumph in Australia. So this recital is likely to be during 1951 when she made her first visit to London - and before she became well-known (which she was by 1952).

[dollartwenty]

I think this is a broadcast from here in Australia for the 1951 Mobil Quest. That's how our ABC announcers sounded back then.

[Richiesutherland]

I believe you are right. It's not that Joan sang these roles and discarded them. These were the things she was aiming for in her early days.  By the way, she would have been 24 or 25 years old when she sang this!!

[timsuffolk]

What a fantastic historic piece, thanks so much for putting this on here.

[drdre333]

WOW. SO rare!