La Traviata Finale, Tokyo

Dame Joan singing beautifuly La Traviata. Tokyo, 1975.
This video belonged to loganfacincy, we miss you!!

Category:

Music

Tags:

• joan
• sutherland
• bonynge
• opera
• traviata
• verdi
• tokyo

[iriisblue]

Oh, splendid. Underplayed, subtle, but vocally scrumptous. As for the endless nits about Sutherland's acting, she was a competent on stage as 95% of all opera singers. In certain roles, such as this one, and in light comedy, she was better than most. But for this bel canto master, the performance, and the grand interpretation, are in the voice. Sherrill Milnes observed that astutely in the recent documentary on Dame Joan.

[iriisblue]

Interesting. I share your appreciation for Damrau, although her Fille was not especially memorable. To me, Dessay is a media darling; the most overrated singer of her generation. And Netrebko as Lucia? Whatever (obviously). My rule: No trill, no Lucia. A few other non-trilling coloraturas - Anderson, Gruberova, Devia.

[bellini7verdi]

ES UNA LEYENDA TOTALMENTE...........TODO LO QUE CANTA LO HACE ORO......LE DA LA DIMENSION...DE LOS SUEÑOS........EL PUNTO CONSISTENTE DE LAS NUBES....SOBRE LOS PICOS.....ES ESPECIAL ESTA MUJER.......

[iriisblue]

LOL. more likely, RS, we're just two of many who aren't easily impressed by press. although, now that i think of it, nurse ratched did move from pediatrics to psych.

[Richiesutherland]

Wow! I so completely agree with you, especially about Dessay. We we separated at birth?

[Homoclassicus]

Yes. I find it a little amusing that today's best trills come from lyric soprano Renée Fleming and not from the coloratura ones like Dessay and Damrau, whose trills are at most adequate, but often only an approximation of a trill (though I admire them both as singers, I can't overlook their flaws). :-)

[iriisblue]

Agreed. The "modern" emphasis on acting is excuse-making for the decline in vocal standards. But evidently many opera goers know as little about voice as they do about acting. So it goes. Like Scotto, if you put Callas' most compelling operatic performances on the legit stage, they would have been justifiably ridiculed as overwrought melodrama. Today, we have Dessay's on-stage self-conscious preoccupation with affect as a model for the fine "singing actress." But forget a decent trill.

[Homoclassicus]

Excellent comment. I wonder how people complain about her acting when it looks so sincere and subtle as in this video? It seems we are coming to an age where people think acting means sighing, moving arms all the time, shaking all around the stage, etc. Sometimes, especially in scenes like this one, just singing with sublety and few movements makes the best effect. Callas barely moved in this act of Traviata, and people got moved much more than by wavering singers crying all the time.

[Shellsings]

Beautiful as ever...thank you for placing this video on i am a great fan of Sutherland.Her voice was so pure and so beautiful.Verdi at his best with La Traviata.Perfect combo!

[coloraturafan]

Wonderful video, and yes we do miss loganfacincy26! :-(