Bell Song - Lakme Contest - Joan Sutherland

[oldParasiteSingle]

sounds good to me

[Richiesutherland]

@skitzo, I've dealt with you before, you just don't like Joan. Why bother commenting? Joan is the ONLY Lakmé, because her rich voice has so many colors in it. The mournful vocalise at the start is so haunting. She lowered the aria because E natural was not an easy note for her, just the way everybody transposes one thing or another (Che gelida, Di Quella Pira, Casta Diva). The light coloraturas lack depth and color.

[MrBipolaris]

Joan Sutherland, singing goddess. Rest in peace

[matiasgarcialopez]

Come on!! Can you sing like that? Then keep silent!!!

[skitzo429]

not really her best role...out of tune stacatti, and in a lowered key, and she was only 41

[raigekimaru]

a wonderful performannce, but not her best =)

[gabriellecorinne]

Oh Sutherland.. I always cry watching her gala performance dvd of Les Huguenots. She's amazing.

[bonnies1234567]

I love Joan Sutherland's rich interpretation. She began as a mezzo soprano, but with her "bel canto" training, she embraced the coloraturo range as well. She introduced Pavarotti to the opera world. For another magnificent interpretation preview from one of the greatest coloraturas: Lili Pons.

[gierck1]

Sutherland is a locomotive compared to other cabooses, as has been said. Heavy and huge compared to light and smaller. Both can be beautiful, but the phenomenal is that heavy here can sing as high and quick, as the smaller voices do. She is a phenomenon of nature. They, Callas and Sutherland are argueably the greatest coloraturas of the 20th Century, if you consider size and agility together.

[mmbriggs]

this aria never suited joan and she seems never to have suited it i have heard all the versions and never heard here handle this on the level that made her so famous. and her top note here would be picked apart if it wasnt la stupenda singing. she is a dramatic coloratura, and not a natural one either--and the high tessitura here makes her sound a bit ill at ease on her attacks. the ipirate of her opening covent garden lucia, also shows her eflats less than perfect tha night ---she's human!

[operamagnus]

What do you mean saying she's not a natural dramatic coloratura?

[mmbriggs]

what i meant, is that sutherland, has a dramtic lyric voice and that some sit a bit high for her, and that shows in the bell song. pons and peters had es and fs, and pons used to sing the mad scene up a half tone to end on high f! in sueen of night aria, as guest turn at covent garden sutherland transposed second aria down all im saing is that her dramatic coloratura is very trained and flies a tone lower than lighter soranos, and the smaller voiced wirrting of bell song is not her ideal!

[raigekimaru]

@operamagnus

seriously. If Joan Sutherland isn't a natural dramatic coloratura, I don't know what is.

[operamagnus]

@raigekimaru I agree, Sutherland is basically the only dramatic coloratura soprano we've had in the last hundred years in terms of vocal size. Many singers sound like dramatics because of their timbre, but rarely have the vocal size of Sutherland.

[raigekimaru]

@operamagnus

you forgot Edda Moser =) check out her queen of the night and you'll see what I mean.

PS: you're right tho. singers like June Anderson, Edita Gruberova and Diana Damrau have nice voices, but they are lyric coloraturas

[operamagnus]

@raigekimaru I can't say from own experience, since I never heard Edda Moser live, but I've read several places that her actual vocal size was that of an average lyric, and that the voice of for example Lucia Popp was considerably bigger. Deutekom is often considered a dramatic as well, but I suspect it is mostly because of her very well places voice, that allowed it to cut through mostly any orchestra, singing the most dramatic roles in the Italian repertoire.

[raigekimaru]

@operamagnus

I read quite the opposite, and judging from her recordings, she does not sound like hse could possibly have a small voice.

PS: lyric coloraturas can't sing wagnerian soprano, edda moser can =)

[cleanmyroomforme]

@raigekimaru i do both, thanks.

[raigekimaru]

@operamagnus

if you listen to these recordings, I'm sure you will be convinced that this is NOT a lyric voice. =)

1) Queen of the Night (live performances available too)

2) Or Sai Che L'onore

3) Brunhilde's Immolation

4) spargi d'amaro pianto (in fact, this recording is so dramatic that it really doesn't fit the character correctly)

[ElisabettaVS]

she is actually my favourite to sing this aria ^^ here we see: opinions differ (although you are right, there are coloratura sopranos who can sing higher and clearer than she does, which sounds better and nicer)

[ezayi]

FABULOUS!

[Ladygrey50]

Dame Sutherland is a phenomenon!

I totally agree. I tried to get the Lakme opera some years ago on vhs and at the time the only one available was the one with Dame Sutherland. I had to wait 4 months for it. It was well worth the wait just for the Flour duet and the Bell song.

[tazkorinthos]

Callas was better:.....

[skitzo429]

this is a halfstep low

[missyorik]

Her trills alone are to die for! What technique, what grace, what lightness! There are others that are beautiful in their own way, but each is unique and, since this video is about Sutherland and not everyone else, she is just as unique. Dame Sutherland is a phenomenon!

P.S. I think the acoustics here aren't so great.

[ninakasper4ever]

wat??...are u like insane??...i wanna see u get up der and do dat...ur so wronggg....

[telephilia]

Gosh, what a lot of petty arguments on these opera videos. What do you think this is? A point contest like an Olympic competition? Be thankful you have different interpretations of the same aria by great artists that you can watch at any time.

[Mikailnyc]

Well said.

[riccardo699]

You're a nut.

[minirausch]

ouch. lost the pitch at the end of the opening cadenza..

to my ear this aria loses the brightness and sparkle by knocking it down into a flat key. but maybe it's just from sutherland clunking her way through. she was capable of some amazing things, but this is not so great.

[jamesotek]

Love this vocal performance...ingeborg hallstein still blows my mind..not in this contest but on the tube here...I don't like to vote but sure like the contest for listening pleasure! Thanks

[SerchWagnerianBear]

5/4

[chemicalens]

What about Callas?

[ChrisStockslager]

I think the person who puts these videos up doesn't do Callas a lot of the time, because her fans are kind of crazy in relation to criticizing other singers.

[Feisenbach]

The Queen of Transposition and Bad Diction has done it again. If you can't sing it in the right key, why try to sing it at all? Horrible all the way through!

[riccardo699]

Only a German could be such a moron......... I'm So sure you could sing it better.....

[Feisenbach]

First of all I'm not german. What the other comment is concerned it's just plain stupid. Are you not allowed to critisize unless you can do things better yourself?!!! So much for reviews - they're rarely written by singers! Speaking of morons...!

[iosonmedea]

You are foolish. And I don't like your racist comment. It is unacceptable.

[ChrisStockslager]

Why is it everyone complains about Joan's transpositions on this and other arias (particularly "Der Holle Rache"), and yet no one cares that basically every soprano, with the exception of Pons and Dessay (sometimes), transposes "Spargi d'amaro Pianto" from F major to E-Flat major?

[ezayi]

Because they don´t know a shit!.

[skitzo429]

this is NOT a good role for her. she regularly seems to fall short on lighter lyric roles like this laden with many high short light stacatto notes, she never sings the particularly acurately. The role works marvelously for Natalie Dessay and Sumi Jo, both of whom are light lyrics, joan sutherland is definitely of a more dramatic persuasion. The high short D# in the cadenza was EXTREMELY flat, at least a semitone low. I dont think ive seen so many mistakes in performance from any one singer.

[skitzo429]

my mistake, this aria, which is supposed to be in E, has been transposed down to Eb, this is something Joan Sutherland did more than any other prominant soprano (nearly no one else did it), there are many recordings of her singing the queen of the night aria in C minor instead of the original d minor so that the high Fs would only be Ebs, and even then she cant sing it partiucarly well. Anyway, when i referred to the D# in the cadenza being flat, its actually a D natural (or, it should be).

[9sibra]

then listen to florence jenkins:D she's a bit worse:)

[bossmuscle]

ack!!!! she's flat right before the orchestra entrance. horrible!

[hyppolito123]

I think it's a very beautyful interpretation. The beginning is really charming. Anyway Sutherland is a great singer!

[mmbriggs]

i am great fan, admirer of joan sutherland, but this is one aria she seems never to have done at her best, for reasons that aren't very clear from the music itself. in a way its much too light and full of stacatti attacks for her, and in another it keeps bringing her back up to the edge of her top, and with the smaller sounds that she always took less securely in alt. light bel canto roles like elvira and anina sit on a firm lower bottom than this, and perhaps the placement is just too pons!

[ariesboi76]

um...that was a d not an e. i've never been a sutherland fan. this just reinforces that.

[Jabe88]

it's an e-flat

[DanyelHawkes]

flat being the key word

[Lohengrin]

fantastic singing! i think she and dessay are the two best lakmes ever but the Flower duet belongs to Dessay for unearthy beauty of voice. Also her dress is quite nice here despite the fact it is about to "fly her away".

[Iriecarver]

This is a wonderful site for music, but there is a problem. It is full of amateurs musicians with a very basic knowlegde of the arts, technique, phrasing etc. To have view such truly ignorant comments hurts.

[Hasselhoffhater]

Spew I can't stand hearing her!

[europeobsession]

5 voice-incredible, she's joan of course.

4 acting-best interpretation goes to dessay.

[TheChosenOne613]

I read sompleace that Dessay actually considers herself more an actress than a singer. Judging by her voice, then, she's a hell of an actress.

[TheChosenOne613]

I read sompleace that Dessay actually considers herself more an actress than a singer. Judging by her voice, then, she's a hell of an actress.

[skitzo429]

I dont know why people are poorly rating this comment, its true, Dessay has said in interviews that her primary aspiration is to be an actress (it was originally to be a ballerina), singing is just something she just 'discovered' she had a voice for, she didnt even start vocal training until she was 20.

[TheChosenOne613]

Discovered? Started when she was /twenty/? *drowns in even deeper admiration*

[petelovesbevsills]

5/5!

[dutchtallguy]

Its Joan. 4/4

[actor001]

5/5

amazing control

[drdre333]

BTW... 5/4.5

[drdre333]

I've always found Joan's assumption of the role to be what Massenet's music needs... full-toned and full-blooded. It's why it's a true test for a soprano. It needs a full lyric/dramatic lyric for most of the opera, and then requires her to pull off this showpiece aria with absolute consummate skill. I think Joan was so well-suited to it. Never seen this vid, so MANY THANKS!

[Iareto]

I don't mean to correct you...but this is written by Delibes. I agree whole-heartedly with everything else you said though.

[drdre333]

HAHAHA... wow... major mistake. I had my head on the Massenet wavelength. I should know immediately this opera's composer without flinching, seeing as I've studied the score fairly extensively... It's been a long week. I'm blaming the brain fart on that! In further defense though, I believe that Esclarmonde and Lakme require the same type of soprano.

[meltzerboy]

Perhaps Sutherland's performance has less sparkle and more melancholy than some of the others, but I disagree about the "droopy" comments; the diction is not poor. It's just that she sings this with "fussy" precision, especially certain staccati passages. Still, an amazing technical display and beauty of tone. 5/5

[sschimel]

This isn't Dame Joan's best performance of this aria. It really is quite droopy. But I have to say that she looks terrific; the costume is gorgeous. 4/4. And I'm dying to know what that screen name is the chemical formula for.

[nickbigd]

she owns this role imho

5/5

[Macrob1969]

5/5

[andreasscholl]

For Sutherland always the sound came first THEN the lines.

Like her Lakme for ever!

Sorry to say better then Dessay, who's throat hasn't been operated for nothing...

[puccinilover]

I still don't understand why people are stil getting the wrong THE DOCTORS SAID THAT IT WASN'T HER TECHNIQUE SHE WAS GENETICALLY PRE-DISPOSED TO NODES.

[drdre333]

Genetics or not... there's no debate that her tone has become hard and strident on top, much like Sumi Jo as of late.

[garconfrancais01]

Quelle âge l'était quand elle a chanté ceci ?

[Jabe88]

Elle avait 41 ans...

[garconfrancais01]

merci

[janejones11]

Did someone seriously compare Sutherland to Florence Foster Jenkins?! I hope it was meant as a joke. Anyhow, this is the perfect vehicle for Sutherland's vocal virtuosity. This is very impressive singing. My only complaint is the somewhat droopy sound that comes from the poor diction; however, this is a small price to pay for the great things here.

5/4

[hisimperialmajesty]

Most certainly 5/5. An absolutely unequalled finish.

[sevoflurane]

Not as sophisticated as Dessay. I always have the impression she sings gorgeous notes, not musical phrases. 5/3

[midlochblidloch]

I am of the same opinion sevoflurane;)

[mc4102]

i like desflurane better

[spsp2sp3sp3dsp3d2]

5/5

[hisimperialmajesty]

As a chemistry major in college, I just thought I'd tell you that your user-name made me chuckle.

[spsp2sp3sp3dsp3d2]

I'm a chemistry major too! lol

[hotazzoperastud]

everything is here, without being to showy or pushed. 5/5

[hisimperialmajesty]

That's the beauty of Sutherland...nothing ever sounded forced or difficult...only completely effortless.

[Bzopera]

Still 5/5! Even with the transposition!

[Bzopera]

Lol... I just needed to comment on the perfection of the last trill as well!

[Fredzeblak]

5/5!

[bossmuscle]

great singing....BUT.... opening cadenza was terribly flat at the end. She's a fine coloratura, definitely better than Florence Foster Jenkins but she doesn't have the exciting, ebullience that Beverly Sills has.

[timsuffolk]

She was famous the world over and sold out everywhere she sang. Beverly Sills was not particularly well known in Europe, it was never a thrill to see her like it was to see Sutherland.

If she doesn't come top here I will eat my hat! 5/5

[peejes]

5/5

[Iareto]

5/5. She's brilliant which is all anyone could say of her. The vocals are unbelievable.

[kngiht84]

I can't even start to describe how invincible Sutherland is in this aria. Precision in every single word

[Jabe88]

I love this version so much!

5/5

[puccinilover]

odd video but the singing is incredible although I like a more lyric sound in my lakme a la dessay or pons