Joan Sutherland's High 'E'

[wm631]

bah ... Lady Gaga or Rihanna can do that any ole time they feel like it ... (just kidding - this lady was an extraordinary talent indeed, and a total class act at all times, to boot. She's sadly, fondly missed).

[cheburechka]

high E - это ми третьей октавы? Кто тут понимает? :)

[Serinia4melodic]

really good Es:P I mean they are very pure

[aalg4c]

Some of them sound like F's

[skitzo429]

I think these are all studio recordings, I dont know of any sutherland live recording with a high E, as far as I know Semiramide and Lakme were both transposed down a semitone when she performed the big arias live, even as early as the early 60s.

[finners62]

@skitzo429 The Semiramide top E from La Scala is live,and if you find her Madame Herz from Glyndebourne she sang E and an F in the trio if quite briefly as part of a line. But this Semiramide top E is very brilliant.

[bellini7verdi]

esto no tiene comparacion de ningun tipo.........

[sunyuloveu]

Hey, it makes no fun.... We don't expect a high E, but a wonderful aria with a successful E to end up. Otherwise E means nothing.

[Kibouo]

Most of these sound like high Fs, not Es

[skitzo429]

Im not sure if she ever performed high Es live, most or all of these are studio recordings

[MrFalconford]

The high E a call from the Goddess. The note a message of hope and faith.

[tripleaxell]

at:51, her eyes looks like callas' eyes!

[CaptFitzbattleaxe]

Great collection. Thanks much!

BTW, there's another (brief) high E at the end of "Un soir perez le capitaine" from Sutherland's 1969 Romantic French Arias album.

[bellini7verdi]

ESTO LO HIZO JOAN SUTHERLAN MILES DE VECES A LO LARGO DE SU CARRERA.......................­....MAS DE 40 AÑOS....DE VOZ ESPLENDIDA...........CON OSCURECIMIENTO....Y PODER HASTA EL FINAL........

[hugothebear]

@ThaiMike2010 - Well don't listen to her then, nobody is forcing you - and you are quite safe now since not only did she retire 20 years ago but she died in October so perhaps you could have thought twice before posting your facile opinion.

[allanaki]

TUTTI BELLI CALANTI.

[AmericanEvita]

Amazing high notes. Brava...RIP Joan Sutherland.....another opera legend is gone

[leprincebeaumont]

Splendido, AmorediPazzia! Grazie mille!

[nwdixieboy]

I think the best top notes she ever sang were the sustained Eb in the final Pollione duet in the first Norma recording, as another commenter mentioned. I heard it on the radio and bought the whole recording for it. The other is the first high E in her Semiramide aria from The Art of the Prima Donna. Often it sounded like her top notes stretched the recording devices beyond their capacity and could sound shrill, but in this instance everything conspired to make this isolated E a triumph .

[Hako2004]

The high E was rarely used after age forty, but it was performed live many times earlier. Interestingly, Dame Joan did sing a top F in Houston in 1966....in 'Bel Raggio'. The program included the Mad Scene from Lucia as well. She repeated the performance a few days later, but without the F.

[ChrisStockslager]

@Hako2004 Wait, an F in Bel Raggio?! How? I thought the key Bel Raggio was in called for high E's. Also, do you have this recording from 1966?

[skitzo429]

She didnt have high Es for very much of her career, and she never performed them live, almost all of these are from when she was in her 30s,the newest of the recordings is the '71 lucia, when she was 45, and it sounds pretty rough. my the time she was in her late 50s the Eb was also retired permanently, and everything was transposed down

[Hako2004]

@skitzo429

She did perform them live....and the high F as well........Madame Hertz in Mozart's Der Schauspieldirektor.....1957.

[juljafavorite]

She is perfection of vocal art!

[juljafavorite]

She is perfection of vocal art!

[KathrynARyder]

At the end of Act II of Norma she held a sustained high D natural, and only on her first recording of NORMA did she hold a forte high Eflat for eight measures at the end of her duet with Pollione. That Eflat was perfectly placed, gloriously ringing. To me it remains the high point of her vocal art.

[MusicMaiden714]

my vocal chords are spazming just listening to her lol! I can only hope to hit that high E someday :D

[MrStupendousluvforJo]

I think that there is a high E natural at the end of one of her arias in the "French opera Gala" Album...its just a quick "scooping up' type phrase but its perfectly done, as is most everything she ever did... ALSO....She sand in an opera by mozart in the mid 50's (Der Schaulspieldirektor) (The Impressario) please excuse my spelling ....but anyway, she sang some amazing high F's that are , well, stupendous.. Also, her APPROACH to these notes is so perfectly done, (sorry Edita , Dessay)

[ChrisStockslager]

Where can I find the recording of Der Schaulspieldirektor with Joan?

[Richiesutherland]

You're right. The aria on "French Opera Gala" is "Un soir Perez le capitaine" from Lecocq's "Le Coeur et la Main".

[MassiniAndPuccinet]

"Ah vos jeux, mes amis" and "Pâle et blonde"

[ChrisStockslager]

Thanks!

[ChrisStockslager]

What are the names of the two arias in the "Hamlet" Mad Scenes?

[wotan10950]

This is like vocal porn, but in the fun sense! Nobody could hit the highest notes like Sutherland. It was unbelievable, and she sounded exactly the same in the theater as on record. She rarely went over Eb though, and kept the E-naturals to recordings. But who could sing an Eb like that?

[AGM1951]

Who could sing an Eb like her? No one.

I heard her in the theater many times in the early 70s. She was amazing!

[nectenorboi09]

I think this video provides a great example of how widely tuning can vary across countries... some of the high es here are almost Fs (the Vespri and Scala Semiramide), whereas others are close to E flats (the Lucia). Just a fun note...

[Jabe88]

Also the one from Cambiale di Matrimonio sounds sharp

[baritonebynight]

She would never sing that crap!

[leadoffeohippus]

I just said that because the highest note in one of the songs is the high E...

Most people completely fail, but she's way better, as we can see here.

[Hako2004]

Brilliant! Thank you AmorediPazzia. I believe she may have hit a high E in her recording of Suor Angelica....in 1978.

It wasn't sustained.....more a shriek of horror.  I have never checked the pitch, but it sounded like an E when I heard it.

Great stuff.

[AmorediPazzia]

you're welcome :-)

[feuxfollets1395]

I think she actually shrieked up to an F in Fille du Regiment in the Singing Lesson Trio, both on her studio recording, and even the Australian opera live video. Those shrieks really let her push the range.

[Hako2004]

I remember the shriek of frustration from that scene.....really funny. But the high E I referred to exploded from a moment of complete silence, and has real power.....very chilling.

[MrStpendouslvforjo]

@Hako2004 I think also there is a High "E" natural in the London recording of Fille and also the 1983 "Fille:" (Daughter of the Regiment) in the fighting "piano lesson scene" where she throws all the music down and AT the audience of course it is SUPPOSED to be a shriek......but its STILL a High E AND THIS IS ON VIDEO 1983!!!!!!

[MrStpendouslvforjo]

Respond to this video... Did you get the Beatrice recording from La Scala? I REALLY ENJOYED THIS....1983 Daughter from the Met is also a screechy High E

[MrStpendouslvforjo]

Respond to this video...  Oh also from 1969? Two record set....French opera Gala, at the very last second of the very last piece (aria) There is a High E

[MrStpendouslvforjo]

Respond to this video..YOU DID A GOOD JOB! I REALLY LIKED THIS Hako2004!.

[soothed]

Many Thanks - the '59 Vespri and the '60 Semiramide have always been two of my favourite Stupenda Sounds [others on this site have already praised the '59 Vespri]. My third favourite Stupenda Sound is the held E/D(?) in the Pollione/Norma duet in the last act of "Norma" - the 1st commercial recording with John Alexander as Pollione.

[AmorediPazzia]

you're welcome :-)

[operamagnus]

I think that might be Eb, but I know what you mean, that note is just incredible!

[soothed]

Thanks for the clarification. What a treasure Sutherland is! God bless her that she is still with us and is recovering nicely after her recent horrendous accident. She turns 82 on Nov 7 this year.

[Richiesutherland]

I am sure we were all so happy to see her, looking a bit like Miss Marple, up on her feet and greeting Prince Charles at the recent Order of Merit luncheon. She looked fully recovered. She also went to see Roberto Devereux in Holland Park (London) a few nights later, on her own two feet. Joanie, we love you!

[baritonebynight]

@Richiesutherland I'm so glad she recovered from her injuries. Long live Dame Joan!

[nectenorboi09]

It's a e flat, and boy, it sure is a whopper!

[raigekimaru]

@soothed

personally I love La Stupenda in the Norma trio (especially her debut recording) the sound is so intense and dramatic when she hits that I D it just blows me away

[MrStpendouslvforjo]

@soothed This is a High Eflat you are talking about.......unbelievably HUGE one at that!

[KathrynARyder]

@soothed - The penultimate note in the Pollione/Norma duet ("In Mia Man Alfin Tu Sei") as sung by Joan Sutherland was a sustained high Eflat. Sung forte.  It is indeed Stupenda!!!

[bkmustang07]

is lucia an e flat

[prunier]

No, since in the recording original keys are restored: then, the stretta of the duet is in A major.

[albertogrilo]

Tanks