Joan Sutherland Live at the Promenade Concert (Aug. 1960)

Dame Joan Sutherland sang at the BBC Proms each year from 1954-1957. Her last two appearances were on these two nights:
00:00 I Puritani: O rendetemi la speme... Qui la voce sua soave
05:16 I Puritani: Vien, diletto
London Symphony Orchestra
Conductor B. Cameron
Royal Albert Hall, London
August 1, 1960
07:34 Alcina: Di', cor mio, quanto t'amai
13:38 Alcina: Tornami a vagheggiar
18:33 Lucia di Lammermoor: Regnava nel silenzio
*Charles Spinks harpsichord
22:46 Lucia di Lammermoor: Quando rapito in estasi
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Conductor Malcolm Sargent
Royal Albert Hall, London
August 13, 1960
*Picture: Joan Sutherland at Royal Albert Hall, 1962.

[@Capetenor1]

Hearing this it is amazing and a testament to her technique and talent that she maintained that purity, flexibility and power for so long in her career.

[@tjpark8609]

She is not human but goddess itself !!!

[@Eiswirth1]

The most beautiful, exciting voice the world has ever known.

[@liedersanger1]

Ponselle, Flagstad, Callas... then you can talk.

[@fernandodc5146]

@@liedersanger1 Done, just can say: The most beautiful, exciting voice the world has ever known.

[@highbaritone]

@@liedersanger1 we can all talk. No then about it. All the greats, were great for a reason. One of a kind. Recognizable from the first note. If you happen not to admire the note, that’s a personal matter. Just a thought.

[@gadenkrotis540]

@@fernandodc5146 ha!

[@fabriziogarzi9892]

@@liedersanger1 , Callas, Sutherlan ad aexequo, le altre nominate a molta distanza.

[@ef7952]

The Puritani and Lucia are amazing. The Lucia especially captures that huge voice!

[@bellini7verdi]

beatrice di tenda...................es una pasada de opera al completo..............increible...............pero .....CIERTO..............

[@barbaranorthwood]

She was a much admired addition to the Promenade Concerts. By the way they were called The Henry Wood Promenade Concerts then although the BBC always relayed them all during the season. Those of us who couldn't get to London were always glued to our wireless sets. Thank you for the lovely memory.

[@debbiewoodburn6786]

Just what I needed this morning. Her "qui la voce" is heart wrenching.

[@ajmoore5569]

Marvelous recording of Joan Sutherland at her peak, in London especially, her Lucia at Covent Garden had made her a star not long before this. Imagine being in this audience, what lucky people.

[@judynesher5898]

In April 1962 I was one of those "lucky people" at the same Royal Albert Hall for a concert she gave. It remains, to this day, one of my most unforgettable musical experiences.

[@williammaddox3339]

Even by her standards, Joan Sutherland was in incredible voice during these recitals.

[@MrMin316]

She’s a marvel...La Stupenda indeed!

[@highbaritone]

Just listened again. How bloody wonderful. Thank you 🙏🏼.

[@schneevongestern9898]

I don't love everything about her voice and style. But there is no voice or singer where that's the case. But what thrills me the most with Sutherland is that immense emission and projection of sound, produced absolutely healthy, with a brilliance and thrust to her high range, that's fantastic. I believe that her winning abilities where this thunderous, gigantic, yet brilliant high range, the alienlike agility in her prime years, the round sound, at least from c5 to d6, and also the longevity of her voice. What she, in my perception, wasn't a master at was drama, acting, diction (at least from the end 60s on), theatre. But nobody did what she did better than her. Same with callas. Not perfect, yet artistically and dramatically way more proficient. But she had her flaws. At least after the early 50s due to decline, her flaws grew. And she declined where early. But both where a miracle. Callas 1950 and Sutherland 1960. And also other singers like Moser, Fleming, Berger, schwarzkopf, lehmann, many more. All a miracle in their own way.

[@debbiewoodburn6786]

I just love how evocative her singing is in these arias from i Puritani. I adore Alcina but I am loving these early recordings of i Puritani.

[@user-ms1pm5xt2x]

Богиня! Прекрасное исполнение.

[@bellini7verdi]

UN SUEÑO.................................MARAVILLOSO.......................

[@gerardmignon700]

A cette époque c'était merveilleux.

[@crisha721]

diminuendo at 20:00 is amazing. lovely recital, thank you.

[@Tkimba2]

And people say she didn't have dynamics... Oh, well... Not people, idiots.

[@crisha721]

@@Tkimba2 Her singing is full of dynamics. My impression is the voice is very round and homogenous so you don't notice when she goes from piano to forte and viceversa. Most sopranos squeeze the tone in the piano notes or resort to excessive squillo in the forte high notes to project the sound, but they sacrifice the beauty of the sound.. Joan always goes for the high notes with her full body supporting the sound. Also when she diminishes her huge voice to a piano or pianissimo she does it smoothly and not exaggerated

[@sergiomoreira3271]

Thank you so much for posting this!

[@MrStpendouslvforjo]

Where did you find this Vinicius? I loved this....especially the baroque arias....

[@paullewis2413]

The aria from Lucia is simply extraordinary almost from another World not even Maria for all her talent could match this for sheer effortless glorious sound.

[@mariocarfora5814]

❤❤❤

[@bellini7verdi]

POR TODO LO EXISTENTE ...................ME PREGUNTO.............COMO ES QUE ESTA MUJER HA CANTADO ASI.......?????????......CON ESE PODERIO FUERA DE ESTE MUNDO.................ES UNA LOCURA........DESDE QUE EMPIEZA HASTA QUE TERMINA.............EL DOMINIO DEL CANTO Y DE SUS CUERDAS VOCALES ES TAL QUE TE DEJA ...........TRASPUESTO.................

[@bellini7verdi]

una mujer increible................en todos los sentidos..............colosal total............UN COLOSO VOCAL.............HUMANO.............

[@misanthropelife]

That’s her prettiest quando rapito

[@LaDivinaLover]

This sounds much later than 1960 Sutherland to me...

[@theon9575]

To me too...bit darker and the very late '60s. Strange. But the tempo unbelievably slow, not Bonyge. ?? Different to Amsterdam recording about the same time (on You tube). Maybe just Albert Hall acoustics :(

[@robertcarlin3536]

@@theon9575 The conductor of the 'Puritani' is Basil Cameron - English conductor: 1884-1975. The second section is conducted by Proms 'darling,' Sir Malcolm Sargent - 'Flash Harry' as Sir Thomas Beecham used to call him!

[@robertcarlin3536]

Must be early - you can practically hear every word!

[@robertcarlin3536]

There is also a recording of Callas accompanied by Sir Malcolm Sargent, including in 'Una voce poco fa'

[@richardholmesmusic2128]

@@robertcarlin3536 and another concert with Sargent where Callas manages to sing the second verse of “L’Altra Notre” from Mefistofele first and then repeats it.

[@Tkimba2]

Is the photo from the concert?

[@paullewis2413]

As it taken in the Royal Albert Hall it is almost certainly from one of her proms performances. The description above gives 1962 as the date for the Lucia aria and 1960 for I Puritani.

[@JoanSutherlandFan]

*The picture is from another concert at RAH given in 1962. These recordings are from August 1 and 13, 1960 respectively ;)*

[@photo161]

@@JoanSutherlandFan- Such a gift! Thank you.

[@domi2020]

@@JoanSutherlandFan does the 1962 concert exist?

[@judynesher5898]

@@domi2020 It 'exists' in my head! I was there that night; it was unforgettable! The whole Hall erupted and refused to let her go. She gave an encore from Traviata with the conductor standing in for the tenor!! I collected all the reviews from the newspapers the day after and I keep them safely in my copy of Russell Braddon's biography of Sutherland. I suppose that makes me a fan!!!