JOAN SUTHERLAND'S CHEST VOICE (!!!!!!!!) [DRAMATIC COLORATURA]

To all these who claim that Joan never had Chest Voice!! She USED WHEN SHE WANTED AND NEEDED HUGE CHEST TONES!!!!! They Envy her because:
She had perfect Pitch and NEVER screamed!!!
She knew and used masterly TECHNIQUE (Breathing,trills,staccatti,diminuendo,pianissimo,forte and so so on!!!)
She had Developed Chest/Low range Properly
She sung up to High F EASILY!!!
!!!!!!!!HER VOICE WAS HUGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hope to Enjoy!!! And for those who dont agree hope to OPEN THEIR EARS!!!

[@highbaritone]

I was in her first Borgia and the chest notes that appear here at 2:29 rumbled and echoed around the theatre. I looked forward to them every night.

[@nathandavis3002]

She certainly excited when she opened up that end of her voice

[@thomasdahlen2158]

She was unique.One of the greatest.

[@LC-ig2jm]

THE greatest!

[@nolango6160]

I have been listening to her Trovatore lately, the 1975 one and even those in the 80s. Her Miserere is one of the best ever. The chest voice was there and EASILY HEARD OVER THE ORCHESTRA!!! She was one of the best Leonora in all time. Had she started singing earlier she would have owned this role too.

[@TheRicharddeacon123]

Not much to add about DAME Joan !!I know she worked hard on the bottom/chest and the passagio. She and RB may have been a tiny bit nervous that it may damage the top. However, she was an amazing lady. Not afraid of hard work but most of all her humility was her best attribute. No airs and graces.

[@magicmonkichi]

There's something to be said about not over working the chest, or top. To paraphrase Sutherland "If the middle is in order, the top and bottom will follow." For me, I like that she didn't become focused on the top or the bottom. When she delves into the chest register, it is good and makes you want more.

[@Hako2004]

The first vocal contests she entered in Australia were as a mezzo. That's what she thought she was. She did sing a few mezzo pieces later in career, and even recorded some. Her low A at 2:28 in this piece is lovely...the whole piece is. kzbin.info/www/bejne/gIPcfnypj7Gtnck

[@thewaywelooktoartists3684]

La Stupenda!!!! The best vocalist ever

[@TheRicharddeacon123]

DAME JOAN, please, she had it all. Most of all humility, amazing technique, amazing professionalism ,let's not forget the timbre, oh God that timbre and those amazing trills, but most of all, she was a beautiful person. I don't recall her saying anything bad about anyone ever.

[@blessOTMA]

Well said.

[@joebloggs619]

Many don't know it, but Dame Joan Sutherland had quite a strong, deep voice whenshe first started singing but, over time, with training, her voice developed into the ethereal sparkling high coloratura we are familiar with in her later singing career. If you only heard her later vocals it would be hard to believe she could sing in this dramatic chest voice. But she could and did and sounded good, too. But her higher coloratura vocals were the most spectacular.

[@Homoclassicus]

Sutherland simply sang the best chest note I have ever heard in "tanto, taaaaaanto" (the recitative of Desdemona). It's stunning. In fact, her 1981 Desdemona (after her prime) has some of the best singing of that role I have ever heard, particularly - yes - in the lower passages that are often undersung by other performers. Also, by far the best chest note in "con esso è morto" especially in her 1977 performances live.

[@MrStpendouslvforjo]

I enjoyed this post immensely thank you.

[@vrouwejusticia]

Phenomenal!

[@yoramchaiter3569]

Joan Sutherland was a phenomenon. Her technique was legendary, the voice was beautiful and huge. She could've sung much more roles but chose carefully. Her Turandot on record is fantastic. And I can think of one role she should've reprised at least on record:Abigaille in Nabucco. She would be a phenomenal Abigaille.

[@anonymous-cq7wj]

I agree about Abigaille. I wish more dramatic coloraturas sang that role!

[@Tdvc]

Imagine how much better she coud have been if she had one Elvira de Hidalgo as teacher.. For the first time in my life I hear something from her that I can like, her chest tones had a lot of character, it was a crime she didnt use it/developed it fully.

[@larrywoods6318]

and she would have had a 10 yr career just like Callas

[@Tdvc]

@@larrywoods6318 not rly. Joan didnt have one tenth of Callas artistry, nor the balls to put off what Callas did. Callas had the same vocal weight, power, flexibility, agility and ability to pour drama on all 3 registers. Its foolish to compare that with Joan who was great in just one register.

[@larrywoods6318]

@@Tdvc Such childish remarks. I don't remember Calls "attempting" Esclarmonde, not could she ever pulled it off even on one of her rare good days.

[@Tdvc]

@@josephhapp9 Thats all you can add to the subject? Well, but I dont blame you, One cannot go against what I wrote, simply because its true. Callas was a hell of a technician on all 3 registers, while Dame Joan was a hell of a technician on the top register only.The other 2, equally important for the art form, were non existent. Callas was a complete, all round and singular artist who single handedly changed the course of history when It comes to Opera. Joan was a housemaid who happened to sing very well, and lacked all sorts of innate artistry.

[@Tdvc]

​@@larrywoods6318 Please tell me you're kidding or joking. Esclarmonde? For real? Esclarmonde is a role based solely on the top register, offers virtually no challenge at all for a singer of Callas' caliber who exceled in the higher, lower and middle range of the human voice. Im sorry to burst your bubble but Esclarmonde is absolutely nothing in terms of difficulty compared to the Assoluta repertoire that Callas still owns to this day. Even the Assoluta repertoire didnt offer much of a challgenge to Callas in her prime. Proof of that is the incredible easiness in which she performed Nabucco, Lady MacBeth, Medea, Armida and etc. Mind you that many of those she had just 7 days to LEARN the entire role, and even in such short notice she managed to give defenitive performances. She was a genius. Sutherland said she had to practice Norma for like 10 years before attempting it. Its ridiculous to compare both. Joan practiced Mozart's Constanze for 15 years and in the end gave up because she couldnt do it. Freaking 15 years sitting on a role. And about your remark on Callas career lasting 10 years. Im sorry again to present you the truth, but Callas professional debut in Opera was in 1939 as Santuzza and her career lasted up to 1965. Thats 26 years of HEAVY singing. She never once played secondary roles, only main roles from Wagner to Bellini, from Puccini to Beethoven. So you see, you just a parrot repeating non sense you read somewhere. In what world 26 years of Heavy roles in considered a short career? Not to mention her mind blogging skills which allowed her to alternate roles meant for different singers: friday night she was Elvira in I Puritani, and on saturday night she was singing Wagner's Brunhilde. She made the impossible possible. One year alone of Callas career was more vast and wide ranging than Joan's ENTIRE career (look it up if you dont believe me). I guess this fact alone speaks volumes on why they cannot be compared. PEACE, and I hope you learned a thing or 2 on why Callas is considered the greatest soprano of the century and why shes a historical figure.

[@schneevongestern9898]

I wish, she had developed the register earlier and more profoundly. I'd would have made her voice yet another bit more exciting. Imagine the coloratura fireworks and gigantic high register around 1960 together with a vibrant and resonant low register.

[@williammaddox3339]

She had well before 1960. There are examples on YT from the 1950's.

[@jondavwal13]

You can't keep them both and sustain them over a career. One has to choose or you wind up basically finished at 35.

[@blessOTMA]

Wonderful!

[@nwdixieboy]

I'm not sure what she is singing from around 6.45 mark but it is some of the most dramatically involved singing I've ever heard her do. It is really spectacular singing !!!! Wonderful chest singing.

[@magicmonkichi]

If you meant at 5:45, that is the Act III finale from Adriana Lecouvreur.

[@juanjosedubal]

I like she did not pretendet chest voice. She only used a few times.

[@quaderno13]

that's what we call VOICE ;D

[@-giakhanh--kayden-8337]

Her chest voice timbre is beautiful. Not so large or full as the top notes but it's there. She could've have developed much more but i'm sure her husband would object to it

[@ryan.engstrom]

Divine! What is the final piece?

[@LaDivinaLover]

Phedre’s monologue given by Joan as Adrianna from the opera Adrianna Lecouvreur.

[@juanjosedubal]

She only used a few times in her carriere because she could not use it always in her singinging.

[@stephenbeale4765]

You can tell her chest voice wasn’t as developed as a lot of other singers though. It’s there, but a bit weak.

[@LC-ig2jm]

If you heard the size and totality of her voice, you would never say that. They said there are only 5 Sopranos who had her volume.

[@emmanuelchaparro552]

@@LC-ig2jm It´s amazing that in a clip where she and Birgit are demonstrating some vocal stuff with a piano, Joan´s middle sounds more voluminous that Nilsson´s (of course recorded clips may fool us).

[@raynardi7243]

Bisogna tacere di fronte a tali artisti

[@nathandavis3002]

What are the two clips 0:07-0:47? I know them, its on the tip of my tongue but I just cant remember!

[@OperaMyWorld]

Nathan Davis Otello Di Verdi!!!

[@christiaandhooghe]

@@OperaMyWorld such a pity there was no official recording made from this opera. On the other hand her pirate recordings show give her instrument more credit. 🙏😇💖

[@nathandavis3002]

Gah! Thank you! She really did use her chest voice a lot more in otello than most other operas.

[@emmanuelchaparro552]

What is that at 0:40 ?!?!???! Surprised.. The pic is hilarious!

[@OperaMyWorld]

Emmanuel Chaparro Otello Di Verdi!!

[@Empoweredwoman1234]

This is very interesting, and I don't recognise the voice as belonging to Sutherland at all. I think there is a lot of confusion about what chest voice and it's use in opera. I'm not that educated about, but have done some research. I also used to sing as a young girl but didn't pursue it further. I've just started practicing again the last couple of years but cannot see a teacher due to a medical condition that I'm trying to recover from. So I'm left to do things myself and have to learn from experimenting. I do know what constriction feels like, and what freedom is, because I've experienced both, thanks to my medial situation. I'm not especially talented but I'm doing my best to build a good technique.I don't think Callas would have said that building one register collapses another. What I think she might have meant was that both registers must be developed in equal measure, or there will be problems. I think she commented about the importance of chest notes, and her teacher said chest voice is important for development of the high notes. I believe that chest voice is the stabilising mechanism for the entire vocal instrument when developed and coordinated correctly. It will not limit the upper range. The biggest myth about singing is that chest voice automatically constricts the throat. I don't think this is really true. However, forcing the undeveloped chest voice higher than it's current limit, rather than slowly increasing the limit, will indeed cause dangerous constriction of the voice. This is similar to what happens when singers are trying to push their voices to sing too far outside their range in the upper range. It's ok to sing slightly outside your comfort zone, as this develops the muscles, but going too far will damage the voice.When people are learning, their muscles are not yet trained and coordinated. This means that when practicing, the singer may experience what I like to call 'developmental constriction'. This is very minor of course, and does not shut down the voice. Breathiness may also occur in the lower register at this stage. The muscles have to slowly learn how to sing, so there is a degree of discomfort, and the singer should only use chest voice up until that slight tug appears for the time being, this is the current limit. This limit can be gradually increased, one semitone at a time using each of the 5 Italian vowels. Once the muscles are trained, along with the smaller head voice muscles, then the 2 registers can be properly coordinated. Dangerous constriction happens when the singer closes the throat by not breathing properly, and pushing the tongue down onto the lower teeth.When using chest voice, there should be as much head voice participation as possible, and when using head voice, there needs to be at least a little chest voice muscle participation. The percentages depend on the singer. Unfortunately, the development of chest voice is extremely difficult for teachers, and they don't like taking the time to study the old singers/teachers in order to better teach their students. Everyone wants to learn singing at supersonic speed, which does not happen.A singer with no chest voice is like a yacht without a keel in female singers, and collapses into a falsetto kind of sound when there is no microphone. Listen to today's singers fake darkening their lower and middle notes because they were told to eliminate chest voice. they sound woofy, like having a plum in their throats. The singers will not be heard in the lower range, and parts of the middle. So the singers might sound quite audible at the top, somewhat audible in the middle, and barely heard at the bottom. So the voice must be fully developed and audible right through from top to bottom. This applies just as much to coloratura sopranos as it does to contraltos within their ranges. Old singers all sounded big, even the highest sopranos. You can hear the lower notes sung fully, without constriction.Well done, great video.

[@PABLOGARCIA-gb5ih]

No eh escuchado otro Con esso e morto como el de La STUPENDA... BRAVA!!!!

[@markdarenvillanueva7740]

what aria is 1:50 hehehe

[@OperaMyWorld]

Non piu di fiori from La Clammenza di Tito of Mozart! It was recorded in 1956 and it contains a Low G!

[@markdarenvillanueva7740]

@@OperaMyWorld nice thank you! yes i have here a recording of Lucia Popp and was familiar with it but cant recall the aria. Thank you hehehe

[@thesoubretteoftheopera7313]

My word she sounded like La Callas with her chest voice.

[@deadwalke9588]

You're high or drunk. Go and rest it off, dear.

[@thesoubretteoftheopera7313]

@@deadwalke9588 Nah just don't have a bug up my ass dear

[@thesoubretteoftheopera7313]

deadwalke ok Jeremy Silver. Go back to listening to your 120 year old records, dear.

[@deadwalke9588]

@@thesoubretteoftheopera7313 Jeremy SIlver? Do I look white to you moron? Do I LOOK like him at all? Please, stop making idiotic comments like that. And good lord you really think everyone is Jeremy Silver just because they don't think Sutherland had chest voice (she had a complete mid-career wobble in her middle and lower voice which proved the "chest voice" or lack thereof were aspirated). Go away please.

[@deadwalke9588]

@@rugby8-Philadelphia Takes one to know one, ain't that right ass clown?

[@arnoldamaral7406]

She only had the high F for one year. But DAME JOAN had no equal in her prime my friend. She was called LA STUPENDA. for obvious reasons. You don't need to post this for those that understand the human VOICE . Sincerely Arnold Bourbon Amaral 🌿🌏🌎🌍🌹

[@deadwalke9588]

This isn't chest voice though as it's manufactured and whoofy plus, it takes away from the top notes as well (the midcareer wobble she developed in her middle to lower voice proves she didn't have chest notes because she herself said it was "detrimental" to the female voice). I can't forgive Sutherland and her idiotic notion that Callas killed her voice because of this same thing where we listen to excerpts of her operas and without chest tones which are vital in opera and most specifically bel canto, she's boring and doesn't bring the role to life.

[@OperaMyWorld]

Ofcourse I hear Chest Tones! I don’t hear any wobble!! And she was at her 60s in most of these recordings!!! She did have Chest but She did not used it as frequently as she may could!

[@deadwalke9588]

@@OperaMyWorld Which means she wasn't consistent and the voice is a consistent instrument not meant to be played around like that. This is a small glimpse of "chest" but raw and pure chest voice, she had none and the mid voice and lower voice wobble proved that very point.

[@richardholmesmusic2128]

@@deadwalke9588 you're making up what you want to believe. Sutherland NEVER said that Callas ruined her voice through chest. Callas was quite capable of doing that all by herself with her register separation. I know you. You just love raw chest and make up unfounded "technical" mumbo-jumbo.

[@meltzerboy]

No, Sutherland never had a wobble. Late in her career, her wide vibrato at times displayed a beat, but not a wobble. Even that was not really noticeable in the theatre, only on recordings. I heard Sutherland live at the beginning, middle, and end of her career, and I must say that some of her LATE performances were most beautiful. Particularly in Lucrezia Borgia, she revealed a wonderful chest voice as well as astonishing high notes and a solid middle voice.

[@deadwalke9588]

@@rugby8-Philadelphia Inaccurate? Where my fellow ass hat? Judgmental? That comes with the territory of singing music in public; not all will be buttered up and politically correct like your drizzle you've been spewing on my comments? Opinionated? Yes, just like you my fellow ass clown and whether I like what you say, I still have to appreciate your tenacity in saying it.