Dame Joan Sutherland delivers a Magnificent Leonora (with the D6)

Highlighted comments from the commenters below:
-From Ygor Coelho:
In my opinion, this is one of her best vocal and dramatic performances in the 1980s. She sommehow sounds fresher in this 1983 performance than in other Leonora performances of hers even in the 1970s (with the notable exception of her excellent San Francisco performance in 1975). I think this role while not perfectly ideal to her late voice offers several great opportunities to show the best advantages of her voice (this act 2 finale is a particular highlight), so she wisely decided to sing it even if the voice was of course declining. Her ease and rhythmic accuracy in faster passages and in ornaments (absolutely perfect trills and much more) reveal the detailed beauty and propulsive rhythm of Verdi's music in a way that many singers simply can't. Her legato in "D'amor sull'ali" is also very remarkable, demonstrating that in her good nights she could deliver a cantilena with ideal flow and evenness.
Disclaimer - I own nothing

[@Knappa22]

Even offpeak she knocks today’s sopranos out of the park.

[@terrietackett8964]

Even in her, so called, " Declining years", she put today's sopranos to shame...

[@PapagenoHannover]

I never ever have heard such perfect trills. Very subtle and musical rendition. I do not like to compare the interpretation from different singers. Everyone has her unique and often beautifull expression. Callas dramatic and strong; Sutherland soft, dynamic and with subtle colours; Caballe pure beauty of tone and "con gran sentimento". It is their gift to render a special and unique performance. They are so good, because they are unique and do not imitate the others.

[@fan2jnrc]

Well. If you've heard Callas, you've not only heard such perfect trills, but more perfect trills.

[@xavieralberto1176]

Just listen to Sills for even more amazing trrrrrillz

[@pianistajs]

Couldn't agree more and excellently stated for each of those three beautiful treasures

[@TheDarkSongbird]

Whereas Callas's "D'amor" is filled with emotional desperation and pathos, Sutherland's is dream-like and tender. The high D-flat climax exemplifies that very well.

[@LohengrinO]

I completely agree with you... she delivers a more tender reading which actually Stands!

[@mscott3918]

Dame Joan was wonderful in this role, but my favourite Leonora was Rosalind Plowright.

[@SymphonyBrahms]

Callas and Sutherland were both great artists.

[@photo161]

How beautifully, how expressively she phrases...something she has never been given adequate credit for.

[@manolis.799]

One thing I can say about Dame Joan, is that she could almost always turn in an amazing Leonora until the very end of her career. It suits her voice perfectly. The trills, tender soaring passages (the high C and C#,) even her diction is good here. Considering how late this is in her career, it's phenomenal

[@LohengrinO]

well, her Miserere was never particularly good and a Leonora without a good Miserere is like a Leonora without a good D amor sul ali... and she did have the low extension, she just was too afraid that if she developed it her top would be ruined

[@jeanfourneau4411]

Indeed it is amazing for so late in her career and indeed (for once her diction is acceptable - This diction problem stopped me for becoming a great fan of her) In one occasion (cannot remember when and what) , it took me a few minutes to realize she was actually singing in English ...

[@jeanfourneau4411]

I had the same feeling the only time I saw her 'live' in Lucia (think it was at Covent Garden , many years ago - Maybe I was still a student) The performnce was very good but of course everybody was waiting for the Mad Scene , with it top , high notes for which she was famous ) and sadly enough she just 'hinted' those notes , not fully singing them at the top of her possibilitiés (possibly she was in bad condition that evening) but it was a complete disappointment to me and I never booked an evening with her as the major role . She hower got a tremendous standing ovation , but too bad ...

[@jeanfourneau4411]

What is left then ?

[@mscott3918]

Jean Fourneau A good question. Very few of any real quality, with properly trained voices. All they seem to do now is squeeze out a bat squeak of a high note and be a star overnight

[@johneslick5139]

I saw sutherland a number of times in Sydney and this production was the most beautiful i ever heard her voice.

[@4caeruleus]

How big is a singer’s voice? There’s a world of difference between the sound of the great voices in the theater and those same voices as recorded. If you have only heard a voice in a recording, then you have not really heard all that that voice is capable of. Many of the most aggressive comments on KZbin seem to have been made by people who only know the voices in question in their recorded form. A huge voice is not necessarily a loud voice. In the theater, the great singers simultaneously produce at least two different sound phenomena: one is the “loud” sound picked up in recordings, the sound you hear in the theater when the singer in facing you. The other sound is the “huge” sound: the sound which produces the sense in the listener of being surrounded by sound, as if the voice were everywhere and not coming only from the stage. I heard Sutherland several times in the ‘60s, and both the “loud” and the “huge” aspects of her voice were very well developed then. I’m sure I’m not the only one who sensed during those performances that I was in the presence of not just another great singer, but was in fact experiencing a unique, once-in-a-lifetime wonder of nature.

[@romearomeo]

La Stupenda e Divina JOAN SUTHERLAND. Adoro questa cantante.

[@mymind7508]

For me this kind of music is THE PROOF THAT G-D EXISTS. What else could explain such perfection of the text. the instrumental music and THAT voice ?????? This applies to most pieces in this collection, most notably Alcina....

[@andrealupini6769]

Anche dopo tanti anni di carriera la voce della stupenda era perfettamente intatta! Se avesse risolto completamente la pronuncia Italiana non ci sarebbero più le battaglie dei vecchi o nuovi fans di altri soprani... Era dai Tempi della Tetrazzini che non si sentiva una voce e una estensione(anche di repertorio) di questo livello! E poi é stata molto longeva vocalmente da poter mantenere tutti i suoi (durissimi) cavalli di battaglia per tutta la carriera che é durata oltre 40 anni... Come persona era buona e dolce anche con i colleghi... Chi ha talento (quello vero) rispetta e ammira anche quello degli altri! E ne aveva così tanto che non aveva bisogno di dire cattiverie come alcuni e inutili leoni da tastiera.. Ebbi la fortuna di ascoltarla piccolissimo (alla mia seconda opera come spettatore) in una delle sue ultime apparizioni italiane(credo 82 se non vado errato) l'avevo solo ascoltata nei dischi ed anche se la sua presenza scenica un po' mi deluse sento ancora accarezzarmi l'orecchio dai suoi splendidi acuti! É proprio vero gli artistiche vanno ascoltati in teatro per poterli giudicare il disco (anche quello live) non potrà mai riprodurre le condizioni uditive di un teatro! .... Quando c'era lei sapevi che sarebbe stato uno spettacolo divertante e appagante! Manca a tutti! La grandezza dell'artista e la grandezza della persona..

[@carmeloserafin5101]

che piacere---leggere questa tua disanima...ad un artista Generosa...con un repertorio da Spaventare....e che non ha mai tradito....grazie

[@ygorcoelhos]

In my opinion this is one of her best vocal and dramatic performances in the 1980s. She sommehow sounds fresher in this 1983 performance than in other Leonora performances of hers even in the 1970s (with the notable exception of her excellent San Francisco performance in 1975). I think this role while not perfectly ideal to her late voice offers several great opportunities to show the best advantages of her voice (this act 2 finale is a particular highlight), so she wisely decided to sing it even if the voice was of course declining. Her ease and rhythmic accuracy in faster passages and in ornaments (absolutely perfect trills and much more) reveal the detailed beauty and propulsive rhythm of Verdi's music in a way that many singers simply can't. Her legato in "D'amor sull'ali" is also very remarkable, demonstrating that in her good nights she could deliver a cantilena with ideal flow and evenness.

[@LohengrinO]

You know I do not like at all Sutherland's post 1976 Voice cause a Voice that 99% of it was the quality of Sound after 1975 begins to develop a middle voice wobble that is the ultimate destroyer of sound quality... although while listening to this Trovatore, I didnt select some slightly wobbly parts, I was AMAZED that for some strange reason she actually manages here to make her Voice fresh again as if she goes back 10 years... I dont know how she does it here it is Phenomenal... and the size of the Voice: at 0:32 she OBLITERATES EVERYBODY and then here: 6:06 I dont know if she moves to some secret Sound Amplifying Box onstage where her sound goes that huge, but it is unbelievable... but above all, what I admire here is the Legato, the support of the Line which is amazing... I think that after the decline process begins the singer has to re-learn how to use the Voice and here she actually managed to MAXIMIZE the potential of her Voice at that particular era... and yes, I like this much much more from a mere vocal point of view than her earlier performances and one of the reasons is the acute attack on the D6 (I hate the other version where she does a little stupid coloratura scale to get there, it is completely out of the role)

[@ygorcoelhos]

Yes, her voice sounds here a lot fresher than her usual in the 1980s. I have also hear a few other performances from the same period in which her wobble is almost nonexistent and the voice sounds as if "renewed". I think that during the 80s Sutherland's voice became less and less consistent, so you're likely to hear performances with different qualities of sound and vocal support despite very close dates. But she still had the means to deliver a smashing performance. This Trovatore was one of those special nights and thankfully it was recorded in video (Sutherland wasn't very lucky to have only her best nights videotaped). As you say, it's not only a matter of (fresher) voice, but the way she sings with her best legato and most solid attack. In the final moments of "D'amor sull'ali", her singing sounds almost as seamless as in the early 70s.

[@fjaporto]

She sounds amazing in this aria!

[@flyinghow]

The trills!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Brava!!!

[@calebfrager]

Her trill is unrivaled.

[@LohengrinO]

the last one you mean? the sustained one... it is Amazing.. I think she decided to sing this role even that late because of the written trills...

[@dramaturge231]

I think he meant her ability to trill in general. I've never heard anyone do a trill better than LA STUPENDA!!! :-D

[@dramaturge231]

Preach!!! :-D

[@musiktranen]

@@dramaturge231 Callas's trills were equal in mastery, but Sutherland's were prettier and softer in my opinion. Dame Joan was very delicate and sweet in her singing, a nice contrast to the gigantic explosion of sound Callas was. Not saying Sutherland's voice was small, far from that, but her approach was much softer.

[@barbaranorthwood]

A treat to be able to see as well as hear. Thank you.

[@christopherpericolosi-king4979]

I would have payed good money to see her perform live.... now I can, without paying! Shes absolutely breathtaking in her deliverance of any part she plays!!!

[@MrQbenDanny]

Bravo! Bravissimo! I admired her in the roles she was wrong for because I believe one must embrace the roles that you are wrong for and she did that with Leonidas. I saw her last one at the Metropolitan Opera house with Luciano, it was a disaster, but no one cared, it's JOAN.

[@UglowD]

We should also be talking about the excellence of the tenor, Kenneth Collins.

[@georgioverini2299]

WOW! Never heard such Leonoras before! Fabulous!

[@wotan10950]

I always thought Leonora was the perfect role for her. It demands perfect technique, and it's rather static -- which is what Sutherland delivered. I saw her in Trovatore (in New York) as late as 1988, and she was still magnificent. In 40 years of operagoing, I never thought of Sutherland's voice as smallish -- it was actually a big outpouring of sound.

[@LohengrinO]

still her Miserere was always horrible that means that overall her Leonora was problematic...singing one part of a role particularly well as she does here does not mean the the entire role was sung well

[@SymphonyBrahms]

I heard her sing live in concert in 1980. It was a large auditorium (2500 seats) and I sat in the last row of the top balcony. And her voice was huge. It filled the theater.

[@robertmwoodley1502]

Joan is performing here with the Australian Opera in the small Opera Theatre under the sails, now named after her. You can see how small the stage is. An easy sing after all those big houses in Europe and the US. And she's in her home city so she probably felt pretty good!

[@barbaranorthwood]

I agree. It's strange that it should be so small while the concert hall in the same venue is much larger. It was probably built to compare with the smaller population of Australia and the less than enthusiasm for grand opera then.

[@SymphonyBrahms]

@@barbaranorthwood In the original design the large hall was supposed to be for opera and the small hall was supposed to be for symphony concerts. But they switched it around during construction. The opera company is always complaining about how small the stage is in the opera theater.

[@barbaranorthwood]

@@SymphonyBrahms The construction of the house was not altogether a popular project. The"money could be better used for..." factions made their views known. The iconic superstructure was ruinously expensive and no doubt took away money that ought to have been spent on the interior space. I think the city planners lost sight of the fact it was supposed to be a grand theatre with fantastic acoustics and space, not something to enhance the harbour view. I expect the decision would be different now.

[@joliegarrett]

That D6, WOW!

[@tomslovejs]

Joan Sutherland's voice is pure beauty

[@JoanSutherlandFan]

Sydney - 1983. Joan was magnificent in this performing.

[@eloyguevara9447]

como me gusta esta mujer...........................madre mia...........................ES MAS QUE FANTASTICA...............................MAS QUE ESTUPENDA............ESTUPENDISIMA.............EN SUS MULTIPLES ROLES.....Y A TODAS LAS EDADES HASTA SU RETIRO......................ES UNA VOZ SOBREHUMANA.................IMPONENTE..................COMO DECIA EL GRAN PAVAROTI............MARYLINE HORNE............Y MONSERRAT CABALLE.......Y KIRI TE KANAWA.............LA MEJOR VOZ DEL SIGLO..............Y DE TODOS LOS TIEMPOS.....OPERISTICAMENTE HABLANDO....................LA FARAONA DEL BELCANTO...........................

[@carmeloserafin5101]

Cosa si Può dire di una Vera studiosa e Artista così completa?... Chapeau!!!!

[@cinziavidali411]

D'amor sull'ali rosee cantata con tenerezza sommessa da una simile voce è un'esperienza esaltante

[@jmiller05]

D'amor sull'ali rosee- Verdi's Casta Diva :)

[@LohengrinO]

0:20 the Nun with the Candle is over-acting :D extremely funny ahahah she stops moving though when Joan turns towards the audience and unleashes the Cracken at 0:28 (what a Volume.. I instantly went to Caballe's, she pales in the 0:33 note)

[@becipulaj6606]

For my this is first in the word .Glori

[@akechijubeimitsuhide]

I can't stop laughing at Manrico's costume. He looks like he dressed for a Fanciulla XD His bro on the other hand looks mighty hot in that uniform.

[@aldoramos1970]

Bravo Dame Joan Sutherland!

[@ohmy5650]

My goodness... "D'amor sull'ali rosee"💎💎💎

[@arnoldamaral7406]

So sad to hear this. Dame JOAN was incredible in her prime. HER middle voice is gone but I love her STILL! sincerely Arnold Bourbon Amaral

[@LohengrinO]

still Magnificent here...

[@arnoldamaral7406]

Lohengrin O This morning I was watching her Lakme in Sydney SADNESS 😥 her voice is in sad shape & that Boyne$$$$ conducting oye vay!!! Help me DAME JOAN!! Arnold Bourbon Amaral

[@SymphonyBrahms]

@@arnoldamaral7406 I'll never understand why she had Bonynge conduct all of her performances for the latter part of her career. Was it because he was her husband? Or because she felt safer with him conducting? It's a mystery. Because he was a terrible conductor.

[@alioffe4321]

@@SymphonyBrahms she talks about that in an interview with Charlie Rose. It's here on youtube.

[@hectorhugomoyano9518]

BELLEZA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@MrKvarner]

Perfection!!!

[@4caeruleus]

Thomas Condenzio made a comment about meeting Joan Sutherland at a book signing in Washington, D.C. I was there too, and wrote about it for my blog here: mcwort.blogspot.com/2010/10/great-voice-stilled.html

[@theartfulme1898]

This was MUCH better than I had expected her to sound so late. The wobble that tormented her after 1975 somehow seems to have faded away, even if just one evening. But did you listen to the Miserere? She just doesn't have the low notes to pull that off. And the following cabaletta [Tu vedrai] is done in a way that doesn't sound at all like Verdi, at least to me. All in all, a commendable effort.

[@LohengrinO]

that is why those are not included... if I ever make a channel about problems, I will post those :D

[@theartfulme1898]

Well, it's not nearly as pronounced here as it was in her other 1980's recordings. It was so intense and all over the place that almost disrupted her legato.

[@Amanda-sf3fx]

that would be Jonathan Summers there! Bravo!

[@Khalid7a]

While I truly believe the only reason she sang the role because she thought "oh, there are plenty of trills here, let me sing it" the trio and the duet with the count (vivrá) were in fact good.

[@jorgehoraciomilaragna3889]

Bravooo...bravísimaaa

[@SymphonyBrahms]

Joan wasn't a great actress, but gosh could she sing! Incredible!

[@Michael-hz2pl]

Cristina Deutekom has comments saying that she couldn’t act her way out of a paper sack lol But everyone loves her singing to the point in which they can look passed mediocre acting. The voice is always the most important

[@predickament]

Her voice did the acting - pure voice and technique!

[@FranciscoFerrerGaliana1930]

Magnifico..¡¡

[@asdfopera7661]

I'm glad you like most of Sutherland's Il Trovatore Leonora, but I remember years ago finding it so funny how much you hate her act one cabaletta for the extra trills.

[@LohengrinO]

I ll have to re-listen... but I dont think that I ever truly disliked anything Sutherland sang except from her Bolena which came too late in her career for absolutely no reason

[@alexandremassipe8781]

De toute beauté !

[@delroyroberts9244]

Leonore Sutherland

[@josecarrerastema8654]

Magnifica,sempre

[@Operaandchant90]

Yay Ken Collins!

[@nelifitkova8568]

Grandios!

[@massimoiapichino6257]

Il canto

[@tneprescintr]

I love Sutherland, she's certainly on the top 5 best sounding voices of recorded history, but somehow I've never been able to enjoy most of her attempts at Verdi roles. She's was a great Gilda and I've heard some fantastic Sempre Libera renditions. But this one feels like a miss to me. I don't know if it's the quality of the sound at this point or the atitude (she's a bit self-indulgent with the tempo here), I just feel like she doesn't get Verdi's intentions. Leonora might be one of Verdi's heroins closest to Bel Canto (which was where Joan shone the most), but there's a certain artistic rigour that may be needed for this that she doesn't seem to hit.

[@LohengrinO]

I love her Leonora because it is extremely difficult to sing and dame Joan simply faces no difficulty at all (except from Miserere which needs strong chest)... I dont like at all hearing singers struggling to sing Leonora no matter how "dramatic" they are

[@tneprescintr]

@@LohengrinO oh yes, the apparent ease with which she sang is indeed astonishing. One of her greatest qualities as a singer IMO

[@LohengrinO]

@@tneprescintr but she was a miracle of Nature dame Joan, you relax and enjoy the sound... and she should have sung Leonora and Bolena in her prime, mid-60s and ofc I will never forgive the Bonynges for dame Joan not have sung Kostanze (fatal error)

[@deadwalke9588]

Quick Question: When can I expect some Sherrill Milnes or Leyla Gencer?

[@LohengrinO]

Gencer never? :D

[@jmiller05]

Hahaha. I laughed.

[@deadwalke9588]

Lol! You absolutely hate her don't you?

[@LohengrinO]

hate is a sentiment we apply to someone we admire enormously but we envy... she doesnt exist to my ears

[@jmiller05]

Plus even Gencer's better singing was done better than others. Why listen to Gencer when there is Callas, Sutherland, Caballe? People nowadays cling to mediocrities for absolutely no reason other than to hate the greats.

[@natanaelgorrin9473]

La Stupenda es admirable aquí ya pasaba los 50 años de edad y su voz se mantiene hermosa, la técnica perfeccionada, un legato magnífico, sus agudos cortantes, aunque me parece sus trinos bastantes exagerados para el rol que cantaba, tiene intencionalidad dramática, pero no es Verdi lo que está venerada artista cantaba y no interpretaba, le falta algo y aquello de llegar al alma. Yo la amo, pero me pasa eso y en este rol ella no está acorde, lo digo con todo respeto. Brava la Stupenda.

[@massimoturrini9146]

She never had the voice for such a role..

[@LohengrinO]

she didn't have the chest voice but the rest omg... exactly THIS voice type Leonora was written for

[@jenniferlogan4914]

Loved Joan Sutherland, despite the muffled diction, and thrilled to many of her performances in London, but, sadly, she is just not a Trovatore Leonora. She simply does not understand who this character is, nor how to bring her to life. She has all the high notes and trills, but the role is so much more than that. Wonderful voice, but Leonora is not Lucia.

[@muzhelozhstvo007]

MAGNIFICENT!!! (although choreography wise lame)

[@memoirsofanimperfectbaritone]

TBH they didn't stand a chance...she just turned around & drowned them out

[@davidgoulet399]

Who are the men?

[@robertmwoodley1502]

Manrico - Kenneth Collins ; Count di Luna - Jonathan Summers

[@MyTimeOutt]

"Sutherland never had a voice to sing Il Travatore...?" Rubbish! She certainly did.

[@Nightmarigny]

Absolutely astounding. It really doesn't sound Verdi at all, though.

[@MisterSoprano]

Not my thing - Sutherland as Leonora, I mean.

[@robertmonthe9750]

I feel like she got a high larynx here

[@henryv69]

Ma quanto cantano male gli altri

[@fan2jnrc]

Sorry but if you hear her "D'amor sull'ali..." and Callas' one, that's cement compared to porcelain.

[@LohengrinO]

No one can approach Callas' Trovatore Leonora but vocally here dame Joan is as usual Spectacular

[@fan2jnrc]

@@LohengrinO Certainly but except for the high notes, I never liked the timbre of Dame Joan's voice, all in the throat. Pure matter of taste.

[@Samuel6969ify]

Lei canterà anche bene ma il resto del cast fa pena, è uno dei peggiori trovatori in circolazione!

[@stefanogennari435]

Un leggero che canta drammatico di agilità: ottima tecnica ma fuori repertorio.

[@fabriziogarzi9892]

Stefano Gennari, tu non hai mai vista e sentita la Sutherland in teatro dal vivo. Non era un leggero. Aveva la voce scura che salendo si alleggerita. Era perfetta. Anche come Leonora.

[@stefanogennari435]

@@fabriziogarzi9892mi si riportano testimonianze discordanti. Il suo timbro nei centri era si scuri, ma proprio perché si allegeriva negli acuti non era un drammatico, bensì un leggero dal timbro scuro, con una tecnica eccellente.

[@fabriziogarzi9892]

@@stefanogennari435 , alleggeriva perché sapeva cantare. La Nilssson faceva lo stesso. Se avessero calcato avrebbero calato sempre e non sarebbero durate. La Dimitrova non alleggeriva e calava già sul La4 ed era un drammatico.

[@stefanogennari435]

@@fabriziogarzi9892 mio caro la Dimitrova aveva un trans peso vocale che non avrebbe mai potuto alleggerire. Con una voce come quella serviva un controllo estremo: è come portare un tir in centro abitato, le voci più piccole invece di controllano meglio. Io poi tutto questo come scuro nella voce della Nilssin mai sentito, era più scura una Vaniglia una Milano, potentesi ma scura no.

[@fabriziogarzi9892]

@@stefanogennari435 , ma i grandi cantanti si distinguono per quello. La Nilsson aveva il triplo della voce della Dimitrova, eppure...forse non hai ascoltato Suthetland e Nilsson dal vivo. Chi si basa sui dischi e sul sentito dire non lo capisce...alleggerendo il suono e' corposo e corre lo stesso. Se lo sai fare.

[@primotenore709]

She was great singer but she never moved me emotionally, find her somewhat boring and her acting is not the best. I have seen her live in Norma and andriane lecouvrer.

[@MisterSoprano]

I share your opinion! Finaly someone who shares my opinion about here - I admire her vocal skils, some roles were great (like Marie in Fille du regiment), but usualy I stay cold.

[@puppetoz]

@@MisterSoprano and Primo Tenore - you two must be confusing us with people who care what you think....

[@MisterSoprano]

@@puppetoz No, we just try to be polite and respect other people's opinion.

[@jenniferlogan4914]

Why does someone always have to be crass, respect other peoples opinions,and they will respect yours.

[@samueljaramillo4221]

@@jenniferlogan4914 Opera queens are always crass and obnoxious. Think they know everything. And don’t respect other’s opinions.

[@kgarmaker123]

She could be wonderful.. but her diction, and that mushy sound.. do not fit a Verdi Opera where there is a plot and stuff happening.. This is what is fundamentally wrong with Joan.. Her lower and middle voice are totally manufactured.. the top is lovely.. but this is so far from Callas.. who actually interpreted music and the text.. Not the role for Joan as far as I see.

[@leilaguimaraes6226]

Calante,sorry

[@feeniix6]

The Icon