Joan Sutherland & Shirley Verrett (private films from backstage)

Puritani & Siege of Corinth

[@jlb9368]

Verrett!!!! I have always been in awe. And Sutherland sings as effortlessly as though she’s doing household chores. What voices we used to have...

[@marcusrockishe3636]

Verrett was so under rated she was the total package dramatic acting, flawless technique, even sound though out the rang and agility like none other. Brava

[@Hako2004]

No one emoted more naturally and convincingly through the music than Verrett, especially in Verdi. I was always in awe of her ability to touch me, and draw me into the emotional experience of the character. I loved her voice. She was extraordinary.

[@rakellcolotta3675]

This makes me wish I could be transported back in time to her live once more! It was an experience that defies mere words. I still get breathless and my heart still races when I hear Joan and Pavarotti. Brings a tear to my eyes also. ❤️

[@direfranchement]

Incredible that she had the agility to move such a large instrument like that.

[@secretofsinging]

FABULOUS VERRETT !!!!!!!!!!

[@ViardotVSGrisi]

happy bday Dame Joan, we miss you/NEED YOU terribly!

[@MrStpendouslvforjo]

I LOVED THIS THANK YOU

[@johnruggeri843]

Joan is a wonder.Happily I saw her on stage @ 10 times.

[@SilfredoSerrano]

That is one big voice! I'm talking about Verrett! To think she was singing soprano parts, but could still summon the low voice like this!

[@foropera]

Silfredo Serrano YES and 2 months later she sang the high D flat of Lady Macbeth at la Scala with such ease! And the next year Norma, and Verdi Requiem's soprano solo. Btw the tape doesnt run at the good speed in Assedio...

[@liedersanger1]

@@foropera D-flat.

[@liedersanger1]

@vdarte Maybe, but if so, not "far."

[@direfranchement]

@@barbaranorthwood She was actually a Dramatic Soprano.

[@UncleLouie867]

@sillsfan2002 By the time Sills got to the Met. the voice was not "what it had been". Verrett was really the star of those performances.

[@photo161]

----very true, Sills committed a kind of vocal suicide singing far too often and taking on rep that was much too heavy and dramatic for her. voice

[@bellini7verdi]

esto un publico que quiere a la artista.............hasta el punto de interrumpir la opera...............esto es único..............

[@bodiloto]

in questo video /e non soltanto/ La Sutherland e' semplicemente divina . il vecchio

[@emmanuelchaparro552]

What year is this from? Great clip!

[@magicmonkichi]

I'm gunna give a guess at 1976, MET.

[@ChrisStockslager]

Mid-70s?

[@65attila]

I gather the Sutherland piece is a dress rehearsal.

[@riccardocallas2301]

Wow, I had NO IDEA Verrett could sing like this. MAGNIFICENT....................... Her voice is twice the size of Sutherland's, and that's saying a lot.............................

[@paullewis2413]

Agree completely with what you say. When artists reach a particular (very) high standard it's not wise to make comparisons as to who is the best because they all have their particular style and excel in what they do.

[@jondavwal13]

@Imagique Sutherland said early on that she could not be the same kind of singer as Callas or it would rip her voice to shreds.

[@jondavwal13]

Having heard them both live, the converse is true. Sutherland's voice was Wagnerian when she wanted it to be. Verrett's voice was big but not as big as JS.

[@Hako2004]

@@jondavwal13 This is true. Recordings can be very deceptive. Sutherland had a dramatic voice, Verrett's was good sized, but she had much more important gifts than vocal size.

[@KathrynARyder]

And whose fault was it that Sills' debut was so long delayed? The public were demanding her debut at at the MET and Sir Rudolph may well have said "who needs both at the MET" but since the MET had Pavarotti and Domingo concurrently, I think they could have done very well with two superstars.

[@jondavwal13]

I think it was her fault. She sounded like a chicken.

[@tklogan111809]

Rudolf Bing once said: the MET has Joan Sutherland who needs Beverly Sills? He was right, and that's why he was in charge of the greatest opera company for 22 long years.

[@NLidar]

astroboy royale greatest opera company? Are you kidding me?

[@jondavwal13]

@@NLidar He had ears.

[@assindiastignani]

Sir Rudolph Bing tried a number of times in the late sixties to hire Sills. He offered her debuts as Lucia, Violetta and even the title role in the new Luisa Miller production. She turned everything down.She wanted a new production of Puritani, an opera Bing hated and which he had also been denying Sutherland also for years.

[@wotan10950]

assindiastignani You've got that story a little mixed up. Bing resisted hiring Sills for his entire tenure, offering her 'Martha' and other dates where she was already booked. Goren Gentele, Bing's successor, was eager to present Sills, and offered her Puritani. Neither Gentele nor Sills knew that Sutherland had begged Bing to present this opera. When she found out, she was rightly furious. Sills understood completely, and they decided she would make her debut in La Scala's production of 'Siege of Corinth.' Gentele died in a freak accident before he could take over at the Met, but both Puritani and Siege productions went forward with Sutherland and Sills, respectively. And both were huge successes.

[@assindiastignani]

Sills said on the Dick Cavett show that she had turned Bing's offer of Lucia and Traviata down because the productions were old and bad. (Which is true, they were, buit that's not the point.) Please I grew up in NY in the 60's and 70's, was at the MET and the NYCO all the time. One of my teachers was a pianist at the MET, and he knew everything that was going on in both houses. Bubbles had a chip on her shoulder, and was only going to go to the MET if they made a fuss over her, which Bing was not prepared to do. He just didn't like her or her singing. Plus he never forgave her for scooping his Donizetti Tudor Queen project, which he had planned with Caballé. I was there at the time

[@wotan10950]

assindiastignani OK, if you insist. But both Sills and Sutherland explained their versions of the story in their autobiographies, which I paraphrased above. I think I'll go with their version of events rather than the backstage gossip you were privy to. But thanks for the info.

[@assindiastignani]

Ah, but the insider info or as you call it "backstage gossip" is always closer to the truth than the highly subjective and biased personal views of the main players. Either way, Sills came and went at the MET. Sutherland stayed for a very long time.

[@krunoslav1271]

Sorry, but as any soi-disant insider would know, Bing did not offer her the new production of LUISA MILLER, which was always for Caballe. He offered her a few later performances, not even in that show's first season. I think Gabriella Tucci, then on the wane, sang them. Adriana Maliponte came along and cleaned up in the role.