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Rating:  - To be treasured
The reviewer who nastily shows his bottom and ridicules Sutherland's accent and sobriquet "La Stupenda" should be stood up against a wall and have old tomatoes thrown at him. What nonsense! She was a singer, for god's sake, not a linguist! So she couldn't pronounce Italian, so what! Incidentally, this reviewer (an Italian) who donated his invaluable time to crucify Sutherland's Italian accent could use a few lessons in English grammar. I'd seen Sutherland's Lucia (the MET version) on VHS and liked it (and have since bought it on DVD), and very much wanted to see this collection of arias. I was not disappointed. I dislike (as I do with Sills) so many of the tunes Sutherland chooses to excerpt that it's painful (like that minor or modal (I'm no musician) mad scene from Hamlet, or the Bell Song from Lakme, or the bouncy thing from the end of Sonambula, to name just three), but it was worth it just to see as well as hear her. Have you noticed that her eyebrows usually go up when she sings a high note? I found that in Lucia long ago. I recommend this DVD, these numbers received the deluxe treatment, sets, costumes, chorus members, and star-studded ensembles for the quartet and sextet. The mad scene from Lucia is breathtaking. I was disappointed in only one thing (beyond her selection of arias), and that was that Desdemona's final aria was truncated, I almost didn't buy the DVD when I read that (only The Willow Song), I was very unhappy, but am glad after all I bought it. I'll watch this DVD a lot of times. A note. Sills I think was just a nice person. Sutherland though a nice person always strikes me as having been a little cold, not much of a mixer (this could be completely wrong, it's just an impression I get from watching her), though she was close friends with Noel Coward. Callas on the other hand (and I'm about to take down my picture of her) was not a nice person. I have an example of her supercilious venom on a live CD I bought many years ago. She was just sublimely gifted. I love her voice, but (alas, I like to think well of my heroes) I do not love not her. Such cruelty is ridiculous. But not to end on a negative note, this DVD of Sutherland is well worth the money, and it's not very expensive either, oh yes, and the recording is fine, sound and picture.
Rating: - The Queen of what?????
Ask any Italian person if they can stop from laughing when they listen to Sutherland distorting their language not only to the point of being non-coprehensive but to the point of endless laughs even in the most dramatic parts. That was not articulation... she didnt simply confuse the consonants and swallowed the vowels... she could sing a dramatic phrase so STUPIDLY you could start lauging when she was actually dying on stage!!! That was the reason of the dreadful title "Stupenda" which she hated because she knew it was a word game with the word "Stupinda" which means totally stupid.
Sutherland could be killing her children in Norma and making us either sleep from boredome or die from laughing with her articulation problems and total lack of drama She was singing Dormono entrambe as a lulluby, In mia man alfin tu sei as a Love Duet and Deh non volerli vittime as if she were in her garden playing with her flowers. And all that I suppose for keeping her voice until she was 90 years old. I wonder now that she looks back... was it worth keeping her precious top notes for being such a bad interpeter? Bellini sounds like Piccini and Donizzeti like Lampugnani, Verdi sounds like soft Mozart.
The only thing valuable in her singing were the 3 minutes of coloratura in each aria of hers... We had to wait to get there, and God helped if she didnt actually get there fast... the audience would fall asleep. I remember seeing her falling down as Lucia...my God what a laughter...
And above all how about the non-existing low notes in her voice. When the score demanded low notes she was't singing she was MURMURING as if no-one was watching her, trying to pretend she was not there...But we were there yes... laughing...
A miraculous coloratura is not enough not to be the Voice of the Century but not even the No1 of the decade.
Rating:  - Well, as for a review
I too am floored by this exquisite DVD but not by some of the most ignorant reviews here of which I wish to correct one in particular.
"Everyone who is an opera lover knows that as a coloratura soprano, Ms Joan Sutherland is beyond compare."
If that were the case one might sue all the critics and experts who did just that. Sutherland as a singer was human, she too had flaws. But to that later.
"Her trills, runs, arpeggios and other tricks in her formidable bag of coloratura gems are so close to perfection that she has been called the "Voice of the Century"by her legions of devoted fans. This recital, "Bell Telephone Hour, 1981-1868" is her greatest hits."
Tricks, a good word to describe it. Why not one word on her interpretation? Did her Traviata move you? Did her Casta Diva deliver the agony of a tormented woman? (To me it does on this DVD but not to this raving reviewer?)
"She sings that very aria here, with a high E that will floor you. It is spectacular, huge and full of ring(sqillo). The coloraura is incomparable, the highest of tessitura is easy for her, effortless, to be sure. I can see you will rewind and rewind to realize what you've heard!!!"
Coloratura, eh? Anyway, amazing to see that one high note is all being described here. Since "Ah forse lui" is neither a coloratura-fest nor a tricks-gallery I wonder why there is no description of inflections, interpretation, drama and vocal colouring? What did Sutherland do with the role, the text and Verdi's concept?
"She is the "Voice of the Century", and the greatest coloratura in the traditional of Grisi, Malibran, and Jenny Lind...except even better...much better."
This is absolute nonsense for several reasons. A) Neither of us has heard Lind, Grisi or Malibran, so saying Sutherland was so much better is ignorant. Malibran had NOTHING in common with Sutherland, she was a soprano sfogato. The comparison to Lind and Grisi makes sense but not the judgement on singers one cannot have heard because they never made recordings and lived over 125 years ago. So singers one has not even heard of have to be bashed in order to praise Miss Sutherland? That's ignorant humbug.
"To conclude, I'm not tryint to exaggerate, but a voice like her's only comes once in a lifetime, if that. Surely, the greatest singer of the last Century, at least."
Sure, you're not. But answer me this: Have you heard ladies like Patti, Melba and Tetrazzini to make such a bold comment?
As for this DVD: It IS a must buy for every operalover and indeed, Sutherland is in spectacular form here.
Rating: - 6 Stars again Dame Joan
I am obvously a big fan of Dame Joan.Her coloratura is definitely incomparable. The video and sound is reasonable, bearing in mind it was recorded forty years ago ( Hence that captured her absolute prime ).I don't want to be lengthy, as most customers already gave this a great review.Just buy it and there'll be no regrets---garanteed.
Rating: - A testament of a great singer
Nothing more needs to be said that has not been said (especially by the descriptive reviews here). Miss Sutherland sings all her signature arias and scenes perfectly. She is a true bel canto princess and will always be known for her voice and flexible technique. Get this DVD to cherish one of this century's most beloved sopranos.
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