Joan Sutherland "Alfredo di questo core" La Traviata

John Alexander as Alfredo; Cornell Macneil as Germont. Tokyo, 1975

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Opera
• Verdi
• La
• Traviata
• Violetta
• Joan
• Sutherland

[actor001]

Her voice is a miracle of nature , She will always be my favorite coloratura soprano

[Lindow]

Joan looks like the queen of the night rather than Violetta...

[ilzeroze1]

@actor001 My also for ever.

[Ariadne7710]

This is the worst Traviata I have ever heard in my life (and I have heard dozens and dozens). They are all past their sell by date and half asleep. And the orchestra is sounds in a trance too. The poor Japanese audience they had to pay for this!!!!

[Homoclassicus]

@galago38 That's funny, because both Netrebko and Fleming have stated absolute admiration for Sutherland's voice and singing. Netrebko even said she heard, at a store, a recording of "Casta diva" and thought immediately that was perfection only to notice afterwards that was Sutherland singing. There's no old opera: there's good singing and bad singing, and that's it. Of course, tastes do change, but if you think there's much vibrato in her voice here you probably wanna hear Kirkby singing Verdi.

[llamasaresmelly]

@MadonnaImperia It wasn't a studio recording. If you are talking about the one w/ Villazon, that was taken from live performances. Honestly, if you saw the position Netrebko had to sing it in, you'd be amazed at the sound she was able to produce.

I think both are great. I like Netrebko more because of her characterization, but I can totally appreciate your views on Sutherland.

Also, have you seen Treb's Mimi or her Manon? They are pretty incredible, and I think she honors the composers there.

[zurriussII]

@Lindow yeah but it's not her fault

[MadonnaImperia]

@monnfair ...It only contains a single coloratura passage and a rather simple on at that, but she doesn'tmanage to sing it without mistake - in a studio recording! I think that is a very clear indication of what I mean when I say that in purely musical terms, she is not a top singer, no matter how popular and sought-after she may be commercially or how compelling her stage presence might be.

[MadonnaImperia]

@monnfair Of course I'm serious. I'm well aware that she is a top singer in commercial terms and that is of course why she is hired at the top opera houses. But that isn't the same as being a top singer in purely musical terms. This page is full of examples of how the demands of a lot of the music she sings are too high for her limited technique. Another example: On the cd "Juan Diego Flórez Bel Canto Spectacular" she sings the duet from "I puritani" with Flórez....

[monnfair]

@MadonnaImperia You can't be serious. Do you think the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden and the Staatsoper, Vienna would engage Netrebko season after season in leading roles if she was not one of the very top singers today? As for Sutherland, bless her soul, her excessive vibrato is an indication that she is was well past her prime when this was taped. I won't comment on her appearence apart from saying they are not exactly ideal for the role of violetta.

[MadonnaImperia]

@galago38 Netrebko has been singing since the mid-90's so she's hardly beginning her career which only makes it even more embarassing for her that she is so technically inadequate that she can't be counted on to perform even the simplest fioritue correctly and yet sings roles that demands quite a lot technically. She may be slim and beautiful, but she's not a great SINGER. So when she chooses to sing roles that is above her level, she aims to satisfy her own wims, not to serve the composer.

[francescoeelisa]

RIP JOAN :(