Joan Sutherland sings "Regnava nel silenzio" from Lucia

[mgnooonh0]

هههههههههههههههههههههههههههههه­ه

ياربي لا تبلاني ع الصراخ هههههههههههههههههههههههه

[MrAndredekock]

Brava Dame Joan! A bit laboured, but for your age BRAVISSIMA! My favorite Lucia will always be Beverly Sills, but Dame Joan came a damn close second in the race!

[skitzo429]

@TraVoiBelle Perhaps youre cofused, or just do not know anything about opera. Donizetti is part of the bel canto trifecta (along with Rossini and Bellini), and this style is ALL about coloratura (and long phrasing, and high notes, but with heavy emphasis of technique and colroatura), to say that Lucia is not a coloratura role is perfectly absurb. This role is LOADED with coloratura writing, and a number of famous coloraturas have made their names singing Lucia, Joan being one of them

[voicemad]

What is wrong with a voice "darkening". Many of the "greats" sounded better when they were more mature and really new their stuff. I'm fed up with the "in their prime" shrill imature screaming. Callas and a few others were exceptions where they had screamed too much, too early and too long.

[teatrumuzical]

Great Lucia!

[JoyEvelynT]

..................veramente STUPENDA ! ................Che tristezza la sua scomparsa.

E che tristezza che il suo dono alla cultura, all'umanità, almeno per quanto riguarda i mezzi di comunicazione in Italia, che sarebbe la patria del Bel Canto, è passato quasi inosservato............. Charles Terry

[cleanears]

STUPENDA!!!!!!!!!!!

[Heartlessiceboy]

Of course she was in "sad shape" she was 62. At that age most sopranos are retired but Sutherland was singing Lucia. And even in sad shape she sounds way better that Netrebko (who probably was going to be retired at 62)

La Stupenda for ever

[Feisenbach]

OMG that wig! Looks like she has gone mad too early!

[ac3761G]

Joan Sutherland sings "Regnava nel silenzio" from Lucia

[wesskin]

SHE WILL ALWAYS BE : LA STUPENDA !!!

[acitipo]

Siempre hay gente burra por no decir otra cosa que lo unico que hacen es criticar, quizas porque nacieron en una casa que todo era critica.... La Stupenda tiene aqui mas de 60 años, y no olviden que canto hasta los 70 años e hizo una brillante carrera y fue considerada la mejor del siglo por varios tenores y criticos entre ellos : Pavarotti, F. Zefirelli, Placido, Carreras, Gobbi, Alva, Kraus, y otros

[andrecooper555]

Hi note in full voice, no real wobbly jaw...at 62...not bad at all!!!

[piojo5575]

Es criticable...pero todos sabemos que fué una de las más grandes sopranos de la historia...respetémosla...admi­rémosla...

[gigiduruu]

grandma refuze to die

[gvdfans]

she is 62 here.....wow,mamma mia, she is awsome!

[Misterkastel]

lodevole per l'età certo...non è la stupenda,strabiliante,energica­,sublime lucia del '59...ma sfido chiunque a trovare chi lanci questi sovracuti e acuti all'età di 62 anni!!!!

[MrStupendousluvforJo]

I just re-read my "comments" from above and i must have been under stress (because i DON'T drink!) because I wrote about how Miss Sutherlands' runs and fast assages were perfect, and then what I MEANT to CLEARLY say was that there is NO EXCUSE for the opera singers of TODAY or of any TIME not to have in their technique, the ability to execute perfect runs and/or fast passages of any kind.....I mean everybody is only human, but I am disgusted by 95% of singers and their SLOPPY CRAPPY work.

[goingawaysomeday]

I wish the caption was in English so I could understand the story

[MrStupendousluvforJo]

The thing is THIS HER VOICE WAS HUGE That High D was on the mark, a little shrill perhaps, but the thing we NON opera singers might not know, is that when an opera singer has three to four hours of singing ahead of them, they have to always be thinking of is:"will i heve what it takes AT THE END " (of the aria of the whole opera) Miss Sutherland is incredible in my opinion, because of perfect runs, I agree with skitso 429 there is no excuse for sloppy coloratura yet they always ARE sloppy!

[DiegoMartinazzoli]

Per non parlare della coloratura... e poi state a criticare la Netrebko?? che è oggettivamente molto meglio, più precisa, più aggraziata con un legato e una pronuncia invidiabili.... Boh... il mondo è strano!

[tetrazzinifan]

Amazing how her trills are literally ageless :-)

[dks880]

I thought 60 is the age to retire but I still like this.

[Marcocucciolo91]

la sutherland nn è sempre perfetta ma ragazzi ha carisma da vendere!! grande Joan

[primu2002]

devia is sill 60 but she's 1000 times better then sutherland.

[skitzo429]

true story, i love mariella, shes endured no where near the vocal deterioration of sutherland at the same age.

[Davidzz17]

Bravaaaaa!!! Joan Sutherland is the greatest soprano of all time.

[30martin082007]

no me habia dado cuenta lo alta que era. Muy buena voz!

[cthramm]

aun sigue siendolo ;)

[nadopera90]

per la sua età è stata splendida!

[rodlarocque]

Nebtrebko???? She will NEVER hold a candle to Sutherland!!!!

[JDOopera76]

I agree :)

[Fossing1]

Bravo La Stupenda!!

[Misterkastel]

la sola lucia di lammermoor!!!!!

[aklev77]

Hey people listen to Anna Netrebko's performance of this aria - it is sooo much BETTER!

[tropikaki]

may be you're right. But think about how old is joan sutherland singing this way. 50? 60? thiis is amazing.

[skitzo429]

she was 62 here

[98igi89]

it is sooo much better? it is sooooooooooooooooo verrrrrryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy extraaaaaaaaaaaaaaa supeeerrrrr much better!!!! anna is an angel. is d best opera singer we have!! =P

[skitzo429]

anna netrebko is barely a coloratura

[Eiswirth]

Listen to Sutherland's performance of this aria in the early to mid-60's: no one ever sang it more brilliantly. She is 62 in this performance. I'll take her at 62 over Netrebko at 35 anyday, And I admire Netrebko as well!

[JDOopera76]

Great! :)

[skitzo429]

first off, joan sutherland was 62 when this was filmind. more importantly, netrebko is NOT a coloratura, she has no business singing the kind of roles she sings, most of her coloratura sounds like a big sloppy mess.

[JosephCercy]

She changed some of the ornamentation; so it is not as elaborate as it was in her younger years. Still, it is an amazing testament to her artistry and technique. I saw her live twice, once in Washington, DC in an orchestra concert and in Munich in a Liederabend. She definitely had real presence on stage and her voice touched people It wa not just a technical show..

[Alain2884]

Well from my point of view, Dame Joan is 62 in this final production of her Lucia's, not many sopranos could pull off a full production of Lucia di Lammemoor in their 50's not to even mention in their 60's, but she was not only a good vocal performer but she had a great stage presence. Most sopranos could not even pull off in a long and lenghty career what Dame Joan pulled off in her 50's and 60's, another example is of her singing Massenet's Esclarmonde. BRAVO!!!!! LA STUPENDA

[doddsalfa]

Great!Still Pampers mature.

[elaphelongissima]

'nzomma. Si sente male, ma a me pare tutto gridato e sguaiato...

[DiegoMartinazzoli]

Pure a me... Siamo in due! non so come si possa scrivere che è meravigliosa, grandiosa, lodare i trilli (che non sento)... Ci vuol davvero un gran coraggio a definirla la miglior Lucia!

Quello che sento è una serie di parole incomprensibili senza un minimo di grazia, acuti attaccati da schifo, il legato completamente inesistente... le vocali che suonano in modo orrendo...

[elaphelongissima]

Sarà pur vero che aveva 62 anni, ma il risultato è quello che è. Non metto in dubbio l'artista, ma questa performance non è certo una perla. Sono d'accordo con Diego Martinazzoli. Poi certo, se uno ha la fissa e deve difendere sempre e comunque la diva, lo facesse a rischio della sua credibilità...

[Lawdrahcir]

Brava Diva!!

[baritonebynight]

I hardly think that Dame Joan was in "sad shape" here. After hearing one or two notes, you know its Dame Joan singing. She made many people very happy by singing into her mid 60s. I don't care if she transposed music occasionally by the mid 1980s...she could sing the heck out of it. Her voice darkened with age of course, but her interpretations of the roles were still unparalled. One knows a thing or two when one has sung as role for 30 years.

[moghedien13]

@baritonebynight i dont think sad shape either. def a shadow of her former self but i mean its dame joan. id take her singing at 70 years old with the flu over many of todays singers.

[jirizika1962]

How sad to hear her in such condition. If she sang in such way at the begining of her career, she would never became famous or even was casted at local opera house. I can not believe, how her admirers can those unlisteable weary singing call fantastic. She should sound happy and exited by her love, but she sounds more like grandmother of herself....Sorry, but be a little judicious. I can hardly see anything marvelous to sing long 30 years, if the end is so sad.

[riccardo699]

Yours is a very intelligent comment, and I agree. I heard her in the late 60s and early 70s, and she was magnificent. By the 80s, she was sounding really tired, and transposing everything down, and even then, the high notes were thin and sounded like a boy-soprano. She should have retired 10 years earlier than she did: people hear these things on YouTube and laugh at her.

[scotsw12]

I am glad she diddn't. I saw her perform in 1987 and 1988 and have yet to hear anything to compare to her voice, and it's size and more importantly, it's total beauty.

[GliOminiVerdi]

This is true admiration. It's obvious she couldn't be the same during the whole life. Although, she meritates this admiration because of the indescrivible wonderful things she has done in her past; and also because this performance, perhaps not as good as others of her career, is however very better than some other singer's ones (it's very sad, but true).

[lacaf1]

fantastic!!I just love her.

[dare57]

boring

[neronnenn]

La voce balla, la dama è stanca...

[cmorgan22]

It was some kind of gala on PBS with Joan and Pav singing l. 1st act Lucia, 2. Rigoletto quartet, 3. Final scene of Traviata that really brought me into opera. I hear this phenomanaly singing and had to explore each of these operas more, since I didn't know them at all. The Sutherland/Pav/Milnes recording of this remains my very favorite. Unfortunately when I saw adverts for her at the MET I didn't yet know who she was. I'm so upset that I never got to hear her live.

[cmorgan22]

I should also add that after this she and Pav sang to the end of the act. Oh, to hear that great duet. How could I have not gotten hooked?

[00193900]

Saw Joan's Phila debut in Sonnambula by Bellini. An opera I had never heard of or the composer either. What a night! Following season saw her in Puritani in Phila with Gedda a NEW Justino Diaz and Ernst Blanc. By far the BEST opera nite I ever had the privilege of hearing. (1962) A pirate version was available on SRO. If you ever see it GRAB it. Pure Gold.

[iriisblue]

That's unfortunate. The amplitude and overtone production of this instrument put it on a plane that is not even approached today. I heard Eaglen live a couple of years ago, and she was "small" compared to the Sutherland sound. I had listened to Dame Joan for years on records before seeing her live in recital in 1979 in Philadelphia. I was astonished as, apparently, was everyone. The audience applauded vociferously after every thing she sang.

[Nhlvrnfla]

Thanks.

I should have remembered that. I have 2 handwritten letters from her from 1970, and 1972. Plus a couple of pictures of me with her backstage in Boston after Norma. It scares me to think of the day when we won't have her anymore, like Beverly and Luci. I don't want to think "I wish I had done this.....". She was the most gracious woman when I met her. I was standing there like a total space-out, looking at her throat and thinking "how in the world does she DO that?"

[Nhlvrnfla]

Does anyone know how I can send her a thank you note for all the wonderful, joyous years of listing to her astonishing voice??

[63Attila]

I would like to write her also know she lives in Switzerland the home or toen is called Les Avants.

[zurriuss]

Awesome!

You know,every opera star's is not so beautiful as that one due tu he/she became famous. Let's take Pavarotti, Caballe, Callas... So is Joan sutherland. But she did the last note! This is astonishing. There are two groups of singers: generous and means. Sutherland, like Pavarotti, is in the first group as she always tries to make reach the arias with high notes. Long live her!

[JackSWolfe]

Sutherland at 50% (which she is not here, probably still at least 85%) is still so much better than almost anyone else at 100%...

[lastupendaboy]

I know what you mean....nothing natural about her voice...from another galaxy!No one,even old Joanie,ever sounded better or took command of a stage.Thank heavens we have a document of these last Lucia's...a historical occasion.I was luck y to hear 3 performances of her London Lucia in '85 and thought then what a pity it wasn't recorded....THOSE were astounding evenings that I'll never forget...

[formby2]

It might not have been recorded OFFICIALLY, but pirate recordings do exist.

I DO envy you those three London Lucias, lastupendaboy (what a great name, btw!). Alas she'd retired by the time I discovered 'The Joy of Joan!'.

[ChrisStockslager]

@lastupendaboy What did her high D's and Eb (at the end of the mad scene) sound like by that point? :)

[petermcmc]

it's horrible, she has not telling style, and anyway she's got an unnututal voice

[geddafan1]

Bravo Joanie Baby!!!

[zacharybr]

I love that Sutherland alwayrs wears the same dress in these later recordings.

If this really her last Lucia? She sang quite well here.

[mdancer01]

joan big fan from Mexico

[Hako2004]

Dame Joan continued in this role, and in her career, because she felt it brought her fans so much happiness. She was well aware that she could not sing it as she once did, but we , her fans, are so grateful she continued.

[angelus2002]

Considering by this time she'd been singing Lucia for almost 30 years it's pretty damn amazing.

[saverioorlando]

Terrible performance,many notes mistaked.Madame was a great Lucia.Why this disgrace? Nuda Veritas

[danipozzo]

BRAVISSIMA!!!!

I cannot believe Im watching this...its awesome!!

Unfortunatelly it wasnt a live performance.

[danipozzo]

Oh my Gooood!! I just cannot believe I saw it...unfortunatelly it wasnt a live performance!

Anyway: BRAVISSIMA!!!

[OperaBR]

It was a live performance. She made several performances of it live in the Liceu of Barcelona. And she was already 62 years old, singing still very well after 41 years of career!

[danipozzo]

Nooo, I mean it wasn't a live performance for me! Like, I wasn't there... hehehe

Of course I know it was recorded live!! :)

She's wonderful in this aria! Well, I personally think she's wondeful in everything she does... :D

[JDOopera76]

HUGE fan of Dame Joan here in New Orleans! I really wish I could go back in time, to witness her star turn as Lucia on Feruary 17, 1959, and all of her other great performances. Alas, I did not discover the joys of opera until 1994!

She sounds great here, considering her age. The wig was atrocious though! I would rather hear her sing this music, at this stage of her career, than hear anyone else :)

[mxwhisper]

Bravo Joan. I agree with all your comments. I saw her last Lucia in Sydney Australia in 1986.

[LaStupenda]

I fell in love with Joan when I watched her 1982 Live from the Met Lucia. I

m grateful for every last on of the videos of her.24 years later, she is still my gold standard.

[maritate]

I agree with you.i like her voice very much.

Where are you from?

If you want to reply me...

thank you.

[LaStupenda]

I am from West Virgina, thereby proving that Joan has fans in every conrner of the world! Where are you?

[ChuckNYC71]

Joan fan from San Juan, Puerto Rico, now resident of NYC.

[zzzxtreme]

hi im joan's fan from kuala lumpur, malaysia

[timsuffolk]

I am a Joan fan from the UK. My parents were at her first Lucia performance, I was lucky enough to see several of her performances too. Untouchable!

[Gav640]

Joan's fan from Belize!

[VerdianoBR]

It's almost unbelievable to see a 62-year-old woman singing with such grace and technical allure. However, Sutherland does it all: her voice is still very beautiful, her technique is extremely steady and her musicality is impeccable. Granted, it's not a flawless performance, but one almost can't believe this was her last Lucia ever!