Bellini: Norma MET 1970 Sutherland Horne Tagliavini Plishka Bonynge

*Thank you Nick and Martin for providing multiple recording of this performance to make this recording possible!!*
Here is one of my favorite performances the the 1970 Met Normas. The date is December 19th 1970. Bonynge takes the tempos a bit slower here compared to the more famous performance in April with Bergonzi. Tempo-wise, I'd say this performance is more comparable with the 1967 Covent Garden run of Norma. Sutherland is splendid as always. Horne is in wonderful voice as well. Tagliavini's voice seems to have matured more here compared to the 1967 Covent Garden Normas. Plishka is wonderful as well. The sound was already perfect as it's a broadcast. I've spliced on some portions of some other sources of this recording as the primary recording had some digital distortion (present on a DAT tape) that needed to be cut out.
Enjoy!
Cast:
Norma: Joan Sutherland
Pollione: Franco Tagliavini
Adalgisa: Marilyn Horne
Oroveso: Paul Plishka
Flavio: Rod MacWherter
Clotilde: Carlotta Ordassy
Conductor: Richard Bonynge

[@davidhansel897]

Thank you for posting this! Opening Announcements: 0:00 Overture: 02:16 Act 1, s.1: 08:52 "Meco all'altare di Venere": 18:54 "Casta diva": 34:00 "Sgombra è le sacra selva": 46:14 Act 1, s.2: 1:02:36 "Oh! Rimembranza!": 1:10:18 "Oh! Di qual sei tu vittima": 1:21:22 Act 2, s.1: 1:32:33 "Mira, o Norma": 1:48:58 Act 2, s.2: 1:56:30 "Ei tornera": 2:04:37 "In mia man": 2:16:47 "Deh! Non volerli vittime": 2:33:12 Closing Announcements: 2:37:28

[@kennethvarner7694]

Saw this live performance…great memories!!!

[@rdberg1957]

I saw a performance of Norma at the Met in April 1970 when I was in New York with my father. Standing room only tickets. Joan Sutherland's voice filled the Met. I was 12.

[@richardmccowenclark2412]

THIS RIGHT HERE!!!!!! YEEEEEESSSS!!!!!! This is proof that there is Heaven here on Earth!!!!

[@MrQwerty88]

Wonderful upload! This is noticeably better sound quality than the 3 different sources I had

[@gabrielefontana908]

Strepitosa edizione con le ineguagliabili SUTHERLAN HORNE e gli altrettanto grandissimi TAGLIAVINI PLISCHA sublime l'orchestra ❤❤❤

[@alfvillanueva]

Another superb transfer of another of Dame Joan's greatest ( and not THAT easy to find) performances ! Great work l Bless you !

[@johnpickford4222]

All of the MET performances have been digitally remastered and preserved. The MET is literally throwing money away by not making their entire broadcast history available for purchase through CD on demand as many people (like myself) like to have a copy on CD instead of trying to catch the performance on Sirius radio (☹️). The MET issued performances on CD through Sony years ago but that was stopped, sadly.

[@jorgealbertolettera4027]

Maravilla!!!!!!

[@eloyguevara9447]

una locura ...................alucinante.......................precioso hasta el estasis....................

[@robertvanmackelenberg7319]

Thank You.

[@DCFunBud]

As stated, this is tenor Franco Tagliavini (1934-2010), not tenor Ferruccio Tagliavini (1913-1995), nor bass Roberto Tagliavini (b. 1976, after this performance).

[@UMVELINQANGI]

Stupendous!

[@chrisfinlay3274]

kind of puts into perspective what we heard from the Met over the last month when they performed Norma.

[@fabriziogarzi9892]

Che brutta prospettiva.

[@johnpickford4222]

A very small distorted perspective from this performance. Reminds me of the comment that many are called but few can answer.

[@jjlungdoc7472]

Casta diva sounds on the original key as opposed to so many other versions transposed down.

[@TimothyJonSarris]

Tagliavini sounds amazing, here at 67 years old he’s sounds better than Pavarotti did at 62!!

[@AkaiGX]

Franco Tagliavini and Ferruccio Tagliavini are 2 different people. Franco was born in 1934 which makes him 36 here. Ferruccio was born in 1913

[@TimothyJonSarris]

@@AkaiGX sorry, my mistake

[@dr.keithheimann3963]

PLISHKA!!!! PLISHKA!!!! PLISHKA!!!! PLISHKA!!!! PLISHKA!!!!

[@johnpickford4222]

Paul Plishka was a last minute replacement for Cesare Siepi.

[@jefolson6989]

​@@johnpickford4222 nothing wrong with pliahka, but if Siepi had performed, this would be even greater.

[@Tkimba2]

​@@jefolson6989well the bass sings 4 minutes in the opera anyway, so....

[@theonlygoodlookinghabsburg2081]

@@Tkimba2 The introduction though...

[@clefnoteproductions6695]

Sutherlands diction is quite good in this performing 😊.

[@eloyguevara9447]

esto es atmosfera.....................belcantista pura.................donde wagner................en el siglo 19..............no pudo.........aunque lo intento..................modificar......................al final se dio cuenta..........que el gran BELLINI.........................ESTABA PERFECTO........................Y NO HABIA QUE CAMBIAR ALGO.....................ALGO...............INCAMBIABLE...................WAGNER........DE LOS MAS GRANDES..................EN UNOS TERMINOS MUSICALES.........JAMAS..............PUDO SER OTRO.................NI OTROS.......QUE NO VOY A NOMBRAR.....................WAGNER ES WAGNER...............Y NO SIGO PARA NO FASTIDIAR.........................

[@eloyguevara9447]

todos cantan como los mejores..........sin duda........................pero....................sutherland.................no baja un punto ni de milagro........................acojonante......................puro dominio del temple vocal......................con fuerza de otro mundo.........................................un rayo laser...disparado con lujurioso poder..............arrolladora.................ella es la opera.................absoluta total................................un barco en el mar donde no hay aguas que se le resista...............................

[@liedersanger1]

The ending is strange in one respect. I cant really hear Sutherland’s final high C through the chorus and orchestra. Perhaps she was far backstage. Can anyone tell me why?

[@AkaiGX]

Most likely the chorus was closer to the mic and she was towards the back

[@clefnoteproductions6695]

I would also suggest that perhaps she was facing upstage, which may have an issue?

[@robinstamper2446]

Yet at the end of the first act, the high D is bigger than everything else on the stage combined . I’m assuming you could hear that…?

[@robinstamper2446]

At that point Norma is invariably upstage (not ‘back stage’) en route to the pyre. Oh.. and it’s a B natural, not a C 😊

[@wotan10950]

Unfortunately, I never got to see Dame Joan (or Marilyn Horne) until 1973, when I finally changed from an opera-hater to an opera-lover! But I saw them many times after that. Let's be honest -- a lot of us really enjoy the "aural porn" at 1:29:30.