[1962 live] Joan Sutherland - Les Huguenots at La Scala - O beau pays de la Touraine

Joan Sutherland as Queen Marguerite de Valois in the first run of Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots at La Scala in the 20th century.
Performed in Italian
Les Huguenots (Gli Ugunotti) - Act 2 (Act 1, Scene 2 in the cut La Scala performance)
Lieto suol della Turenna... Che la lotta fatal
Marguerite de Valois ... Joan Sutherland
Urbain ... Fiorenza Cossotto
Maids ... uncredited
Performance also included Franco Corelli, Giulietta Simionato, and Nicolai Ghiaurov!
(There's a photo of Sutherland singing this aria on horseback, but I couldn't find it. If I do, I'll put it in a future video.)

[@ian.marais1202]

Good heavens. Joan Sutherland was phenomenal. What a voice, technique what else the list is endless. I am completely bowled over. Absolutely fantastic.

[@bosiewilder4945]

Someone pick me up from the floor - Joan's singing has just bowled me over.

[@vettegaddia6234]

+Bosie Wilder Of course.

[@tjw2469]

Not possible, cuz no one is standing

[@dianaventura7999]

99% of her singing was in Act !. But Sutherland was so fantastic here that after the four hour long opera ended, the La Scala audience gave La Stupenda 28 curtain calls.

[@magicmonkichi]

I haven't heard anyone sing this as well as Dame Sutherland. Brava!~

[@thomasdeansfineart149]

What wouldn't you give to have attended that performance!

[@jambones100]

No one since Tetrazzini has sung like this. The voice like a bell, like a bird, like a flash of lightning. Amazing.

[@vettegaddia6234]

+Jim Fitton The difference between the great tetrazzini and Joan is Joan has a more silvery and even larger voice, her trill is even better than Luiza. And Joan's high notes have no equals.

[@jambones100]

+Vette gaddia I respect your opinions but I am sure you would agree that it is difficult to assess the quality and power of singers whose voices are only preserved on acoustic recordings.

[@vettegaddia6234]

Jim Fitton There are documents of how large Tetrazzini's voice. Joan can sing Wagner and did so in her 20's, Tetrazzini cannot. The acoustic recordings may be slightly speed up, but even with that, you can tell that Joan's trill is not only faster, but more defined.

[@charleswebb8230]

+Vette gaddia let us all enjoy two great singers. They are worthy of our appreciation. Henry Webb

[@forgottensound8845]

Her voice was so fresh at this time! Beautiful.

[@markbeck8384]

She really is a sound and power that has been unsurpassed. So glad she tried some fringe repertoire. and made it relevant again. I also credit her super-talented husband for his taste in the more Obscure. There are Operas and Ballets I love only because of them, and I am grateful.

[@Shahrdad]

This era of Sutherland is my favorite, when her voice had that fresh, crystalline sound, which it would lose as soon as she started to darken her sound for Norma. She was a true vocal miracle.

[@Eiswirth1]

She was the greatest singer in the past 50 years. No one else had a voice with such power, range, agility and beauty. This is a perfect example of her art in her prime years. Unsurpassable!

[@LC-ig2jm]

the most spectacular cadenza @ 5:11

[@alangregory9229]

The only words to describe this......haven’t been enunciated yet in the history of human speech.....there are no superlatives worthy enough!!!........THANK YOU GOD!!!

[@davidallen3687]

Incredible - however much you're fan of Dame Joan - it still knocks you over, stuff like this!!

[@jondavwal13]

There is just nobody who could do this before or since. I just can't imagine what audience were thinking in the early 60s the first time they heard this kind of singing live,.

[@MrKvarner]

Perfection!!!

[@meltzerboy]

Joan Sutherland was the greatest vocal technician of my lifetime, not excepting Marilyn Horne. I was amazed the first time I heard her, especially in the opera house. With regard to bel canto (both the "bel" and the "canto" parts), she is the vocal equivalent of the exquisite Amelita Galli-Curci of a previous generation and, most likely, Adelina Patti before that. She is not the greatest vocal interpreter--for that one must go to singers such as Callas--but with a sound and technique like hers, who cares?

[@LC-ig2jm]

Ah, yes, I do agree. She is unsurpassable.

[@toscacallas4861]

BRAVISSIMA,STUPENDA,NON CI SONO PAROLE!

[@alexanderkutaladze5334]

უდიდესი!❤❤❤

[@gerardmignon700]

Inégalable et extraordinaire. Qui aujourd'hui? Ne cherchez pas.

[@bellini7verdi]

bravooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

[@piustwelfth]

Joan Sutherland sang in the stratosphere. It's amazing her career lasted as long as it did. A similar singer, Natalie Dessay, had a much shorter career and many vocal crises.

[@65attila]

Simionato is so great that ir would be hard to imagine any better. GS's voice was under prefect control and she could act also so I am told. Regards-John

[@lauraservidei5728]

Here is the pic of Sutherland on horseback: www.classicfm.com/artists/dame-joan-sutherland/pictures/iconic-photos/horseback/

[@Leanrosso]

MAS BRILLANTE...IMPOSIBLE!!!!!!

[@dianaventura7999]

Rita Streich and Beverly Sills also sings this scene extremely well. Too bad I can't find a Callas version of the Queen's aria. Where is the "duet" between Corelli and Sutherland? La Stupenda sings the most difficult cadanza at the end of that! Just like that amazing cadanza right before the cabaletta that supersedes "Oh Beau..." here. Wow, what a high D!

[@65attila]

Thank you for being accurately honest !!!!! Regards-John

[@bellini7verdi]

ella era un caballo en el escenario..............en todos los sentidos.................libre y poderosa y bella..........y magnifica..................

[@CaptFitzbattleaxe]

@RicharddtheStar Yes. Dame Joan later recalled that Callas never said exactly why she declined. What a performance that would have been!

[@bellini7verdi]

E NCANTARIA SABER MAS DE ESE COENTARIO TUYO................

[@ChrisStockslager]

Yeah, and Callas' voice was beginning to fall to pieces by 1962.

[@jondavwal13]

1956

[@АлександрЯрков-ш2з]

Браво блестяще спела

[@zachnzxt7203]

5:33 La tenera parola il ciel, la terra avviva L'eco di riva in riva va ripetendo amor La tenera parola il ciel, la terra avviva L' eco, l'eco ripentendo amor in riva ripentendo amor La tenera parola il ciel, la terra avvia L'eco di riva in riva va ripetendo amor L'eco, ripetendo armor

[@fabriziomariagarzi5534]

Perche invece di imitare la Callas le cantanti di oggi non provano a imitare la Sutherland?

[@jondavwal13]

Impossibile. Una cantante che ha la capacità di cantare cosi arriva ogni cent'anni.

[@Tkimba2]

Di solito quando qualcuno imita un cantante me imita solo i difetti. Questo accade con Joan. Con Maria... Beh, nessuno può imitarla...bene...

[@giudiciadanna4550]

@@Tkimba2 beh, la Scotto comincio' per prima con il far oscillare i sopracuti...quali difetti vengono imitati della Joan?

[@Tkimba2]

@@giudiciadanna4550 cosa intendi per la Scotto e gli acuti? Col commento su Maria intendevo che imitarla sarebbe impossibile per chiunque.... Per dire, chi potrebbe imitare la Callas come Abbigaille o Leonora? Nessuna. Di Dame Joan di solito adottano le suo vocali un po' strane nei centri. Nonostante questo è giustissimo prenderla come modello (insieme ad altri)

[@giudiciadanna4550]

@@Tkimba2 si, i soprani fanno ballare l'acuto perché cosi si sentono piu' "callasesche", E' la connotazione piu' vistosa e facile da eseguire. Si sono provate alcune a imitare la Maria quale Abigaille..la Scotto, che alla fine pareva la favola, Esopo o Fedro..non ricordo, della rana e il bue...e rifinire eccessivamente una frase che diventa, in bocca alle altre, pura leziosaggine. Della Joan si desidererebbe che adottassero il modo di usare la zona acuta come faceva lei, con semplicita'...ma la Joan, mi disse Bonynge, studiava molto.

[@ChrisStockslager]

@CaptFitzbattleaxe She probably didn't want to be in Joan's shadow.

[@RicharddtheStar]

Wasn't Callas expected to sing Valentine in this production ? Is it true ?

[@LC-ig2jm]

She did not because she knows Dame Joan will overpower her and totally dethrone her. Wise decision. You can't compare Dame Joan's uncanny voice to Callas's declining voice. One decade ago's Callas may have a slim chance to challenge Joan.

[@bellini7verdi]

LO CURIOSO DE TODO ESTO......ES QUE A LA CALLAS....EL PAJARILLO EN AIDA......YEL ACOMPAÑAMIENO DE SUHERLAND...EN NORMA A EDAD TEMPRANA DE JOAN...A LA CALLAS LE SALIERA CARO........COSAQUE A SUTHERLND JAMASLE SALIO COMPETIDORA NI D CERCA............

[@ChrisStockslager]

It's what I do best. Haha. I think Callas was wise not to do so. Sutherland totally would've upstaged her vocally, and though Callas' acting would've been better, I don't think anyone would've cared, and people would begin to compare her unfavourably to Sutherland. All the same, though, it would've been incredible to hear!!

[@jondavwal13]

Callas retired every role Sutherland sang and she did NOT want to be on the same stage with her. It is well documented. Supposedly she even made her insecure at the 1952 Norma's at Covent Garden.

[@ChrisStockslager]

@@jondavwal13 Makes me a bit sad for Maria.

[@jondavwal13]

@@ChrisStockslager Callas was special. It's too bad she didn't make more prudent choices with her instrument, but she wanted to be a blazing comet. Sutherland was content to be the sun for a long time. Neither is really wrong although it would have been nice if the Callas voice had lasted past her mid-thirties. 5 years earlier I think she should have done this with Sutherland. In 1962 her voice was practically gone and she might have been embarrassed next to this level of singing. You can't blame her. I hate Callas's lunatic fans with a passion (who insist she was worth listening to into the 1970s, ugh because . . . . acting) but there is no disputing her greatness when you listen to her prior to 1952.

[@CaptFitzbattleaxe]

@ChrisStockslager Possibly, though it's hard to image Callas being anything but utterly memorable in a role. She probably didn't want to invite comparison to Joan. Or she just didn't like the role; I think that's why she never sang Lucrezia Borgia on stage. Or she just didn't want to learn a new role. She was still in concerts-only mode in '62 while that whole Onassis thing broiled. Regardless, I'm sad it never happened.

[@bbailey7818]

Brilliant, and unmatchable today, but the final cadenza of 'A ce mot' is not nearly as virtuosic and stunning as the Suzanne Adams (not Melba) Mapleson cylinder. Though Sutherland has the better top Db.

[@tklogan111809]

Just miraculous, can you imagine Tebaldi or Nilsson attempting this or worse, Scotto? yikes at least Callas was smart enough not to sing it.

[@jambones100]

+tklogan t Well, it's not at all part of Renata's or Birgit's repertory. Similarly, Joan would not sing Isolde, even though her voice may have been equal to the demands of that role.

[@tklogan111809]

+Jim Fitton Sutherland could sing Isolde on the treadmill while knitting a sweater.

[@KarineRibbens]

+tklogan t Hahaha

[@Dadacomero]

+astroboy royale you're right

[@mikeb6450]

She never did--under any conditions. With good reason.

[@Operacrazed]

All at once Joan's singing is both thrilling and yet totally boring. I am a fan ! But there was always a lack of passion and emotional involvement. Her technical prowess is never to be doubted, neither is her coloratura finess and skill. This AMAZING soprano introduced me to opera and Bel Canto in particlar. However, her total dramatic involvement in roles leaves me cold.

[@jondavwal13]

I honestly don't understand taking this away from her singing. The thrill is in the voice and in what she does with it. It's like listening to musical miracles. There is nothing to be bored about. If you are looking for drama then maybe you are in the wrong place. Callas sang like she had a personality disorder and it was very interesting for sure. All her interpretations made the character at least bipolar and in most cases schizophrenic. But her voice was cringeworthy even at its best. Even at its peak I find it hard to listen to on a regular basis. I find the sound so unpleasant even in the middle where she doesn't go full fire engine. Maybe it takes that kind of psychotic commitment to make these operas dramatically involving because the stories in opera are so ridiculous that they stretch credulity. I mean in Traviata, she's leaves him because his sister wants to get married and that proves her love. It's ridiculous and without great singing there is no drama beyond acting sad or angry about the most ridiculous of circumstances. As literature or drama operas are stupid. But calling this singing boring is strange.

[@3uHo4ka]

@@jondavwal13 If the opera did not need the plot, text and emotions, they would not exist. It would be just the vocals.But unfortunately for Sutherland, it is not.

[@jondavwal13]

Зиночка yeah poor Joan Sutherland. 30 plus years as the #1 soprano in the world. It’s tragic. Yet still all you Callas morons still flock to her videos to post because of your massive insecurities and failing ears.

[@gokouson180]

@@jondavwal13 Umm the first poster did not mention Callas. All he said was her acting left him cold.

[@jondavwal13]

@@3uHo4ka If you ever heard her live you would understand there was more to her than just voice. She had undeniable charisma on the stage and she was a serviceable actress. The thrill was in her singing. Most singers who "act" too much are compensating for something lacking in their ability to sing. Yes, it's such a shame for her failed 40 year career being the highest paid woman in opera. So unfortunate.