SUTHERLAND HORNE PAVAROTTI -- Norma Trio part 2

[spizzell1]

Holy cow. That is amazing!!!!

[allanaki]

Brutto finale ... La Sutherland entra con il RE in ritardo e resta scoperta con Adalgisa e Pollione che hanno già finito di cantare.

[MrAndredekock]

People like sillyboydeux really are nothing more than silly boys! These three singers are performing together and enjoying every moment of it and the audience's response shows how stupid remarks like sillyboydeux's are! The people came to be entertained at a concert with great music by three of the greatest singers of the 20th century and they were entertained par excellence! Those who have never been on stage themselves and never sung like this, will denigrate everything great they can. BRAVI!

[AviatorEvans]

Holy crap! 3:25-3:33 is beautiful. The looks on their faces is pure triumph. I want to be them please.

[Drelnis]

The D is to die for.

[georgerannie]

They all were really in top form here.

[Pywacket2]

The best of the best. We're blessed to have this video record.

[cellodachs]

This performance is magnificent beyond words. Why do Callas queens, like sillyboydeux, feel they have to trash every other singer? They're pathetic.

[aarongluzman]

Extraordinary...

La Stupenda o The incomparable...

Her secret...

Effortless, warm, vibrant...

Freely, powerfully, intensely...

Clarity and finesse...

Her voice was so naturally glorious...

Una diva

©...Aronne

[sillyboydeux]

I still don't agree with you. There are beautiful things going on to be sure, but it is not an ensemble that has any momentum. It is less a problem of technical assurance and more a problem for me of a lack of true "sfogato" temperament in any of these singers. The high-level tension of the true drama and its essential connection to the score is sorely, sorely missed. It's more like an at-home salon version of one of the most dramatic scenes Bellini has placed in this opera.

[sillyboydeux]

@sillyboydeux And you really don't even have to compare them to the singers that I mentioned before: on their own, this is not "good Italian singing".

[Wotan123456789]

@sillyboydeux I disagree on everything you wrote, except that Pavarotti's voice lack the heft needed for Pollione (and that Bonynge wasn't at his best at the podium), but then again, this isn't the staged opera, which Pavarotti never sang. I don't think that many people would agree that both Sutherland and Horne were not successful in singing Bellini.

[sillyboydeux]

Unfortunately, after admiring this for many years, I have begun a new practice: listen to Callas' version first with Corelli and Simionato, then listen to this one. This doesn't even sound like Bellini's music. Bonynge is a total hack, Pavarotti, unlike Corelli, has about 1/4 of the volume and vocal heft needed for this role It's Pollione/Tristan and not Pollione/Nemorino. Horne just has no color in her voice by that point. Sutherland has a big voice, but lacks the essential bel canto rhythms.

[baritonebynight]

@sillyboydeux I think that all of the arists you mention were great singers and did things differently and in their own way. If Callas, Corelli and Simionato were to comment on this performance, they would most likely admire it and enjoy listening to it. BTW, Horne has plenty of color in her voice left today at age 76. The sound is still instantly recognisible, warm , colorful and although her high range isn't what it used to be she could still sing full recitals if she wanted to.

[flyinmaddog117]

This is just heaven on earth, listening to the best of the best. Thank you so much. I just am in awe everytime Pavarotti sings. Horne and Sutherland are unparalelled. Great posting.

[colonia3059]

Wonderful the D flat..... but many bars of Norma's music are NOT BEING SUNG....Is that the price Bellini must pay so that A GREAT singer can ADD a non written tone?

Are we looking at art or fireworks? And, by the way DO THEY REALLY NEED TO READ THE SCORE THAT MUCH? Sutherland and Horne had sung Norma many, many times already by the time this concert was given....

[Nhlvrnfla]

One more time I am totally in awe of these three together. How blessed we are to have the ears to hear them.

[bpicaud1]

I have heard this record perhaps 100 times ( my poor vinyl is out of order ) and I'm always litterally electrified by this huge note.

[sour7lemon]

haha their faces at the end

[singingsteven]

this whole performance rocked the house. I used to listen to the record day in and night. fun thanks TIM!

[slicerprime]

The three greatest voices of the 20th century. End of discussion. They have no peers.

[xafnndapp]

@slicerprime yeah, ok, sure....:))

[AliciaDupres]

There is nothing dramatic in Sutherland's interpretation. Gives you no shiver, no chill on the backbone, nothing. She sings correctly but unfortunately that's all I can say. From her singing you don't figure out whether this is Norma or something from Strauss, for instance. Sorry...

[Eiswirth1]

@AliciaDupres That's absolutely ridiculous; she's the ONLY soprano who gives me chills.

[MastersoftheOpera]

Joan Sutherland is taller than both Marilyn Horne and Pavarotti from what I can see in this video. Horne and Pavarotti are the same height. All three are GREAT OPERA SINGERS.

[sillyboydeux]

The orchestra makes it sound like a concert at a school picnic, but fortunately we have the three greatest singers of their generation to rescue it and then some. Sutherland got better and better in the role; I swear you could wake her up in the middle of the night and she could sing the whole thing herself. She's the winner here, definitely. Luciano sounds like he has a cold. This is the concert where I bumped into him outside as he was entering, and I got a nosebleed. No joke folks!

[Dessieboyblog]

1:05

[timopragod]

No, gimmicks are what we see a great deal of at the MET right now!!! No matter what faults she had (and all singers have them.... especially the great ones), they did nothing to diminish her greatness. Like her or not, there's NOTHING close to this today. There is some fine singing in Mozart and Rossini and some other Bel Canto, but not like these three.

[spizzell1]

Great singing for sure. 3 of the greatest voices ever!! Gimmicks, what the heck are you talking about? Greatest voice ever.

[MrStupendousluvforJo]

That D natural is GREAT, but listen to Dame Joan sing it in the 1963 recording.....I wish i could have heard her live more than I did, I'd be very interested to read comments from you guys who DID I was 16 and remember very little about her singing (in S.F.) except that she had on a LOT of make-up and the (excuse me Dame Joan) immensity of her cleavage! (might of been Merry Widow)  I DO remember my grandma,who I took with me to the "Norma" elbowing me and smiling as Joan sang the High D!!

[DCFunBud]

I love Pavarotti at 1:50. It looks like he got caught in a day dream. (I thought this took place in 1978/79.)

[belcunto]

1.09, how she glares at Adalgisa, WOW

[tCrOMez1990]

Sutherland is 55 here all I can think to myself is how many 55 year olds have a D natural like that, in fact how many 55 year olds have a D natural at all lol? Neither of then ever cease to amaze me.

[Dymension]

@tCrOMez1990 Mariella Devia is 62 and still has an Eb. Not as big, but just as secure.

[goldenthroat86]

I love how at 3:44 La Horne looks over at La Stupenda and says Brava!

[nmcaia]

I was there for the matinee. I had always thought Jackie was the biggest voice, having never heard them all sing together. Wrong.

Eartha Kitt was sitting behind us, loudly complaining that our seats were better than hers. I took some friends and Lauren Hutton as my "date", who remarked that she had never been to an opera before, and why were all those people so excited? I had to explain that she still hadn't been to an opera!

[tCrOMez1990]

this is like watching 3 gods singing the faces at the end give me chills i think it's at 3:25, ooh i love them together

[Wotan123456789]

I agree with you... and they were kind of! I mean this performance is historical, three of the finest singers together. Joan is beyond words! That  D natural!

[Klaudhius]

They are great!

a divine performance

[RobNYNY1957]

Note at the how Horne take's Norma's high B natural so that Sutherland can get ready for the interpolated D natural. No one I have ever heard sings a D natural like that.

[loveluciano1]

Luciano is so beautiful here and the singing beyond the words, supreme.

[acitipo]

Que belleza de voces La Stupenda, unica, La Horne, que timbre !!! mamma mia!!! y Luciano la voz mas fantastica del siglo!!

[Foursandpipers]

Joan Sutherland in her prime was a force of nature. No other way to describe her.

[Wotan123456789]

Simply spectacular!

[andreasscholl]

ANd....that hight note from Joan...woooow!

Putting her heels in the sand...BANG!!!!

Singed, sealed delivered.

[andreasscholl]

Joan in MUCH better voice then the Australian ones 2 years before!

The voice is more in the middle, and ranges flow more.

[opera1dan2]

First and foremost thanks for posting this video. It always surprises me how aggresive comments can be!

I am a big Callas fan but over time I am learning to appreciate other aritist for the sheer beauty they brought to this role. Joan is phenomenal and I think together with Horne and Pav they pul off this fantastic finale wonderfully together. I think I still prefer Callas, Stignani, Monaco Rome '55 for this scene, but this is close! What a top D! Thanks again.

[tonyantony1]

How boring!Opera is not solfège singing with words as this performance suggests.What a disgrace to opera!

[mariagalvany]

How is this boring.

[LuisTavinho]

It really makes me burn!

I will have a heart attack!

The high D in the end is just amazing!*

Great Sutherland!

Great Horne!

Great Pavarotti!

BRAVISSIMI!*

[RAS3227]

I don't think anyone can say anything bad about that damn D at the end ! WOW.

[punkred1]

Is the concert released on DVD

[goldenthroat86]

I remember watching this concert when it aired on PBS..Truly one of the great concerts of the century. Ive tried to find it for years..no lucck.

[jlaniado]

search "live from Lincoln Center"... that's the name of the cd.

[guy1938]

great duet bravo

[Babs22h]

hehe trio!

[orlycst33]

I am speechless.....WOW!

[Babs22h]

i love how her D obliterates even Pavorotti! Brava sutherland

[xafnndapp]

Sutherland's middle voice here sounds somehow mushy and bottled (as always in this part of her career) but her top is FANTASTIC!

That high D at the end must have uncombed many hairdos in the audience!

[63Attila]

I HEARD HER LIVE IN NORMA @1968. THAT HIGH d

WAS INCRDIBLE.

[Lohengrin]

the problem is that Norma isnt the high D at the end of the first act trio. This is an unbelievably drammatic trio which from a drammatic point of view these three have MOLESTED it!

[Sono1Tenore]

dude, this isnt the actual opera. you dont see none of the people singing nessun dorma live like it was actually part of the opera. in fact, they're singing it like a pop song now. im surprised you're not mad at that.

[raymzi]

lohengrin.. why are you commenting on all videos of joan's trio in norma?

sorry joan isnt maria or pasta..

sorry marilyn isnt simionato (that is an assumption of mine...that u like simionato as adalgisa)

sorry luciano isnt di stefano (again..assumption)

[tklogan11809]

THANK GOD Joan is not Maria!

[timsuffolk]

hehehe i agree tk!

[hisimperialmajesty]

Right, nevermind the fact that this is a RECITAL and not a STAGED PRODUCTION. You ought to learn the difference. Would you like to see Pavarotti trying to drag Horne off the stage at the end, or what?

[meltzerboy]

I too remember seeing this 1981 live concert. It certainly was thrilling, and Sutherland's high D (I believe) at the close was extraordinary.

[timopragod]

I remember this concert live! It was thrilling! At that time I was 17 years old and I really didn't know anything except that it was exciting. Now I really value it! Look, let's face it. They can have all the acting (and pretty people) in the opera they want. But it's doesn't make up for the lack of this kind of vocal greatness.

[andreasscholl]

Joan in her PRIME, Love the high note at the end.

Look at her face...great!!!

[RobNYNY1957]

The funny thing is that this is actually about 20 years after the beginning of her prime, and almost 30 years after her Covent Garden debut in a leading role (1951).

[hyperborean07]

What a trio! They were an absolutely perfect bel canto formula.

[mdancer01]

at her prime she could reach F's at the queen of the night aria and lakme

[Prole123]

My guess is that Sutherland's finale note was planned so as to avoid drowing out her colleagues. That was vast!

[candypeople]

can someone tell me about the story of "Norma" in a nutshell?

peace

[hisimperialmajesty]

Dear Luciano doesn't look too happy in this one. But they all sound wonderful. Bravo.

[zurriuss]

OperaBR, don't forget Callas' Aida, when she covered everybody's voice and orchestra too. The fact is that Callas lost her voice very early. She burried her carreer herself and that's all. And as for the chest-voices,when I listenned "Suicidio!" from La Gioconda, I thought, it was a male voice, as she took the chest-voice notes. Amazing!

[OperaBR]

You're completely right. Callas had a huge voice, but it's not I who says Sutherland's voice was a little bigger. I've heard comments from old people who saw both of them and commented that Callas' voice was very large, but Sutherland's voice was huge indeed, only comparable to the Wagnerian sopranos, sort of Birgit Nilsson or Régine Crespin... And yes, Callas' chest notes were amazing, almost super human!

[dural]

Don´t say "old people" ...lol =)

[OperaBR]

Ops, I'm sorry! Anyway, I see anything wrong in being "old". Actually, I think tha old things tend to be more interesting as they have experienced more situations and have survived through the "test of time". ;-D

[dural]

Its a little pejorative, only that. Nothing against too. lol

[zurriuss]

OperaBR, I ask you this because I really don't know. What was the highest top note of Callas?

[OperaBR]

Callas' top note was a High F. Sutherland's as well. Callas' range extended from Low F to High F. Sutherland's was slightly smaller, from Low G to High F. However, Callas had much more ease in singing the low notes than Sutherland.

[hkqinlu]

NO~~~Sutherland did not have High F at all~~~

[OperaBR]

Yes, she did. She admittedly had problems to hit the High F, what obviously mean she had a High F, although it was difficult for her to reach that high. Her live recording of Mozart's "Der Schauspieldirektor" shows her hitting one of the few High F's she ever sang on stage. That's a fact. ;-)

[court0114]

youtube search magic flute sutherland. There is a recording of her singing the first Queen of the Night Aria

[zurriuss]

They are good, but Callas sang this aria much more better. There's needed a storng, powerfull voice.

[OperaBR]

Powerful voice? In fact Sutherland's voice was more powerful than Callas's. Callas had the larger range, indeed, so that she could sing the low and high notes with the same power and strength. However, if you want sheer power, especially in the middle and high, Sutherland was the winner. Not that she had a really weak low register - she could reach even a Low G! And you forget the main requirement for a Norma: phrasing and style. Sutherland was simply a master in Bel Canto.

[saverioorlando]

Attentiomn:in the original score the final high D of Norma is no written.But in this dramatic situation it's effective.Callas sang above mezzo,tenor,orchestra.Here the note is sung later and alone. Ok.Power as decibel? Go to Turandot renditions!

[OperaBR]

Actually, most of Sutherland's performances as Norma show her singing the final High D above mezzo, tenor, orchestra and chorus. Remember she was 55 here, Callas' last Norma happened when she was 42! To compare Callas with Sutherland in terms of high notes is simply ridiculous. Callas had amazing high notes, but in NO way the power of her high notes reached Sutherland's level. When Sutherland sang a High C or High D, she could obliterate even the whole orchestra.

[ChrisStockslager]

@OperaBR E flats too could cover the whole orchestra, up until the '80's!

[kgarmaker123]

Siutherland saved herself for notes above the staff.. and her voice below that was not powerful at all, and frankly she did not push her voice at all , even when the text called for it, until she lifted(above an A flat.)... Sutherlands voice was mostly a bunch of giimmicks strung together by careful and tedious practice. I do not revere her as the voice of the century.

[timopragod]

@kgarmaker123

[sighiguess]

wow.

[BroadwayStAr1nce]

im dying to see some footage of current operas at NYCO like carmen and parts with the kids people seems to always love to abondon the kids when picking sences:( carmen (i think) speically the first act is the most fun with the kids scence(then agian i've been in it and hoping agian this year so....) this was good of course but before i was born!

[andreasscholl]

That last high note from Joan, amazing!!!!

She is like hurricane Sutherland...ha ha.

Brava Joan!!!

Viva La Regina!!!

[Joeleole]

It's kinda funny how they all stick their chin's out at the end, But still a fantastic video!

[andreasscholl]

Darling as you can see...THREE Prima Donna's....ha ha!!!But such GREAT singing!!!!

[chu10rro]

I listen to lots of video clips on youTube and enjoy many of them. But this performance of Norma's trio brought tears and goose bumps. Impressive. Thank you for sharing.

[formby2]

Could somebody PLEASE upload some or all of the NY concert broadcast with just Joan and Pav (Jan 79). This was my intro to Joan which I saw on a friend's video which has long since bitten the dust. I especially want the Sonnambula aria which totally blew me away at the time and means an awful lot to me. I've been a devoted fan since seeing that more than a decade ago and have never seen it since. It's become my Joanie Holy Grail so here's hoping a kind YouTuber can help. Thanks.

[Joeleole]

THIS IS SPECTACULAR! I wish I'd been alive at this stage and a trillionair so i could see all the performances i wanted. But just brilliant!

[BeauTenor]

Sutherland and Horne BOTH. I never saw Joan live, but I did see Horne on her farewell tour; she was STILL amazing. Absolute goddess. Although, doesn't it seem like she runs out of breath after the Bb at the end?

[mariogorga]

I was lucky I have seeing Joan in more than 30 operas as well as 4 diffrent productions of Norma.She was THE Norma of her time!!no doubt about it,and I people criticizes Joan's Norma is because they never actually seen her!

[nectenorboi09]

Thank you soooo much for posting this! I have the sound recording but have ALWAYS wanted to see it on video... they really were amazing, eh? Joan Sutherland continues to reign supreme on my list of worship-worthy divas.

[visiter88]

I signed up youtube just to make this post. Sutherland's simply amazing. This concert took place in NY Opera in 1988. I have the Decca sound recording of this event. Just look at that amazing high D at the end!!!

[visiter88]

I signed up youtube just to make this post. Sutherland's simply amazing. This concert took place in NY Opera in 1988. I have the Decca sound recording of this event. Just look at that amazing high D at the end!!!

[tklogan11809]

this was 1981, not 88, and Avery Fisher Hall, not NY Opera, it was NYC Opera Orquestra however. You are right about the amazing D!

[zoozooyou]

WONDERFUL SUTHERLAND!

WONDERFUL HORNE!

WONDERFUL PAVAROTTI!

WONDERFUL! WONDERFUL!WONDERFUL! WONDERFUL! WONDERFUL! WONDERFUL! WONDERFUL!

This is what singing is all about. Never has this music been so well sung, and perhaps never will. I could watch this a million times and still be far from hearing enough.

[tklogan11809]

this is the real thing, no one can touch you, Sutherland.