THIS PROJECT IS RESERVED ONLY FOR THE GREATEST! Please comment Dame Joan Sutherland!
Joan Sutherland, Soprano (1926-2010)
Giuseppe Verdi - Rigoletto
Caro nome
With Riccardo Cassinelli, Tenor
Christian du Plessis, Baritone
(Recorded 1971)
My personal opinion: "That woman is putting my work back a hundred years." Not exactly nice words Maria Callas had for Joan Sutherland. The australian primadonna as well reanimated belcanto-singing anew, but Callas was a dramatic, Sutherland a virtuoso. Callas was in the tradition of Giuditta Pasta and Lilli Lehmann, Sutherland a successor of Adelina Patti, one of 19th century nightingales. Sutherland stepped into Callas´ footprints in 1959 singing Lucia under Tullio Serafin at Covent Garden. When Callas passed her prime in the early sixtys, the career of a new primadonna began: Joan Sutherland, shortly afterwards called "La stupenda!"
Sutherland was born in Sydney. At 18 she started studying voice. In 1947 she made her concert debut as Dido, in 1951 her stage debut. Then she went to London to further her studies at the Royal Opera School. ROHCG engaged her as utility, in 1952 she sang Clotilde in Norma beside Callas. One month after that, she sang her first leading role as Amelia. In 1954 she married australian conductor Richard Bonynge, who convinced her to sing the coloratura Fach and that she should explore the whole repertory of Belcanto. 1960 she recorded the album "The Art of the Prima Donna", a collection of known and unknown coloratura arias.
In 1961 she sang Beatrice at La Scala and Lucia at the Met, 1962 again in Milano Semiramide. She added the great heroines of Belcanto, and with her Marie in Donizettis "La Fille du Régiment" she proved her hilarious talents. And sometimes (on record) she stepped aside to sing a part out of her repertory, for example Turandot in the famous 1972-recording.
Just like all great singers Joan Sutherland possessed an unique timbre, but she almost never used it to characterized a role: May I say, all her portrait´s are very similar? Sutherland always was herself, no matter what she´d sung. Many times we heard a mushy diction, I couldn´t understand a word (Indeed she knew this and discussed it many times). But her technique and personality and charisma thrilled people all over the world. I don´t hesitate to term her the last great classic soprano primadonna the world had (and a very great personality too! I met her many years ago in a record-store and she was very modest and funny). When she retired in 1990 from stage, a great piece from the Golden Age of Opera died.
On YouTube we find Miss Sutherland´s whole repertory and many renditions of "Esclarmonde", in her own opinion her best. Sorry, I´m a little bit sentimental and I would like to present you my very first Sutherland-experience: "Caro Nome" from the magnificent 1971 "Rigoletto"-recording with Pavarotti and Milnes.
Today, on october 11th 2010 the sad message goes around the world: Dame Joan Sutherland died in Switzerland age 83. The operatic world lost one of the greatest sopranos ever!
