La Stupenda channels Turandot in her Herculean (best) Live Esclarmonde

Highlighted comments from the commenters below:
From MrJazzmeaux
I heard Sutherland about a dozen times and one of the great mysteries to me was that live her voice was so huge and round and none of her recordings ever captured it. It was enormous and I can only say that those who say she didn't have a big voice, or that it was light, never heard her live. When as Lohengrin says, she unleashed the Kraken, it did feel as if this wall of sound was going to pick you up out of the seat and hurl you against the back wall. It was truly amazing. Sometimes she'd even pour volume and resonance into the low notes and I'd think 'god where did that come from?' But then she'd rein it back in, maybe scared of Richard's reprimands. She could have done so much more with it. It was an odd mix though, such an amazing upper mid and top and an often unsupported mediocre low end.
Disclaimer - I own nothing

[@Homoclassicus]

I'd say this is even a Turandot on steroids. What a difficult music if it is to be sung as it should and is sung here, with very heroic and dramatic tone and a fantastic and even colum of strong sound from the middle to the high notes. All other Esclarmondes I've heard may even sing every note, but it simply doesn't sound this authoritative and fierce. It's a real challenge which Sutherland achieved with perfection in this live performance.

[@LohengrinO]

u mean t he ones who sang the G6s? dont even mention those girls... like the one who sang the Eb6 in Abigaile with the rest of the voice being an absolute nothing :D

[@Homoclassicus]

Yes, those girls sound at best like a Norina or a Manon lost in a Wagnerian opera... very far from this "coloratura Turandot" of Sutherland.

[@LohengrinO]

You knew this recording existed? I was notified of this 2 days ago by a commenter... he called this Herculean....

[@Homoclassicus]

When and where is this performance? I didn't recognize it. I have 3 live Esclarondes with her, one in SF 1974, the other at the Met in 1976 and the last one at the ROH in 1983. Is this from another source and venue?

[@photo161]

So well said and entirely true...

[@jmiller05]

Sutherland in OBLITERATING form. Her agility on those high staccato is frankly insane.

[@LohengrinO]

the power on the high notes... she unleashes the Kracken, literally singing with Turandot placement.. it is extraordinary

[@photo161]

I see you are a master of the understatement!

[@tonytony8747]

This can't be a real recording. It's not humanly possible!

[@jjh2456]

This is the role that made you realize how special Joan Sutherland was. This opera is rarely performed simply because there is not a soprano out there that can handle the demands of this Wagerian coloratura role. This role requires a true dramatic coloratura soprano. Joan was definitely that. Also let’s shout out the mezzo here. She was also fantastic.

[@LohengrinO]

indeed Esclarmonde is archetypical dramatic coloratura... and to even think he wrote a G6 in it.. which dramatic coloratura could sing a full body G6 in his times?

[@jjh2456]

Lohengrin O there is none to my mind.

[@manolis.799]

Lohengrin O Sibyl Sanderson, whos G6 was referred to as her “Eiffel Tower Note.”

[@manolis.799]

RicharddtheStar well normal size in 19th century may not equate to what we consider as normal size now... that’s my only explanation

[@greatmomentsofopera7170]

@@LohengrinO Dominique Gless sang a stonking high G in her live Esclarmondes. Celena Shafer was apparently also stunning, people who loved the opera were simply amazed, though I haven't heard it sadly.

[@Twisterjoe]

Her voice was so inhuman that the role of a divine sorceress makes more sense than most of the more human characters that many operas contain.

[@Twisterjoe]

Comparing her to Callas Is, to me, rather like comparing Sarah Vaughn to Janis Joplin. Their instruments and their vision with it brought out differences parts of human nature, and Sarah’s voice was probably never going to sound like rage or bitter anguish, no matter how much she might have envisioned those emotions.

[@dickn.ormous1064]

@@Twisterjoe It has little to do with the instrument.Callas was a far better musician.Better phrasing,better rhythmic sense,better sense for dynamics,articulation etc.Callas was probably the only singer ever applauded at La Scala for the delivery of a recitativo.With Sutherland it was like''just wait,in 5 minutes she will sing a high E-flat''.

[@Twisterjoe]

@@dickn.ormous1064 that deeply denigrates the musicianship of Sutherland. One does not hold a pipe organ to the same emotional expressiveness of a cello, even if they play the same tune. They have different emotional timbres built in. The two women were distinct musical visions that definitely were artistic, but that is the nature of art. No two artists are the same in any medium. A marble sculpture reveals something different about the subject than a bronze sculpture or a wood sculpture would reveal, and great artists utilize the medium for what it can do, not for what it cannot. Apollonian vs Dionysian is not necessarily a conflict, but each have their own place in our musical legacy. Dionysian is thrilling, but it risks self destruction. Apollonian is thrilling but it risks losing beauty for mathematics. Remind yourself who can sing Sutherland's repertoire today, and make the music flow as she did. Who? I hear a lot of clunky sopranos attempting fioratura, sounding like hippos on ice.

[@rakellcolotta3675]

@@Twisterjoe I love it, hippos on ice!!!🤪😂🥰

[@Twisterjoe]

@@rakellcolotta3675 It's true, isn't it. Thick, dark, weighty voices so often, although moving quickly, never giving the sense of the flight of the spirit, nearly incapable of the sound of exhuberance.

[@nathandavis3002]

Holy shit! I do believe if she could have been a great wagnerian soprano if she had followed that path, though I am glad she didn't. Its amazing hearing her sing a piece which truly uses all of her assets. There's the thrilling coloratura, trills and high notes she always excelled in, but unlike pretty much all the other coloratura roles, she didn't have to hold back here. She just opens her throat and lets the raging torrent of sound flow out unimpeded. And by the expressiveness she clearly was feeling the character as well. Do you know, is this whole performance recorded? If so I would like to have it even if I have to buy it.

[@LohengrinO]

wagner requires strong low register and she lacked that... but she could have been the greatest Turandot of the 20th century along with Birgit

[@nathandavis3002]

Lohengrin O i believe she had a strong lower register, she just never learned to use it properly. The belief then was that If you started using chest tones you would lose the top voice. Which may be true, maybe not. In her recordings the low notes are all there. They are just thin and unsupported. Occasionally you will hear a supported low note in her recordings but they are few and far between.

[@LohengrinO]

she never developed her low register to become strong... perhaps it could have... the Notes were there but atrophic and weak exactly b ecause she believed that developing her low would damage her glorious top... nevertheless Flagstad became the greatest Wagnerian without top notes but with middle and lower Voice... the opposite cannot be done

[@matthieudegott3154]

There is an excellent recording, very easy to find. It is the only one, if you except the one with Jacqueline Brumaire.

[@jjh2456]

Lohengrin O Here recording of “In Questia Reggia” to me is the best rendition of that difficult aria.

[@kpamina]

She has a big voice and an incredible flexibility for coloratura and high notes. A phenomenon.

[@ryan.engstrom]

Esclarmonde was the first opera I listened to completely on vinyl. I played the whole set in one evening, and followed along with the libretto. A few hours later, I felt a bit exhausted but thrilled by Joan's incredible singing and Massenet's intense and strange score. I would say this opera began my liberation from my bel canto bubble! And now look at me, a fervent admirer of Richard Strauss and Debussy! Among others of course, including Massenet. Thanks for posting!

[@LohengrinO]

Massenet isnt exactly the liberation from Bel canto though... Wagner, Strauss and Debussy most definetely are :D

[@vxhorusxv]

Joan Sutherland ... COME THRU!!!! That was utterly spectacular. I’m not always a fan of hers, but when she brought her A-game it was truly something spectacular. In addition to all of everything, just think about the breath support required to pull this off. Absolutely remarkable.

[@LohengrinO]

she sings here as she rarely sang at the begining of her career before the Bonynge influence... like she sings the Sonnambula under Serafin... Unbelievable singing!!! purely Dramatic in terms of Volume and Acute Attacks of Notes

[@vxhorusxv]

Lohengrin O totally! And I should’ve mentioned in the previous comment that the orchestra sounds SPECTACULAR under her here. The playing is very taught. Lots of tension.

[@LohengrinO]

very difficult to imagine why Sutherland released her kracken so very rarely onstage...

[@vxhorusxv]

Lohengrin O truth be known, it probably frightened her. She was a deeply musical person and that’s always the sense you get from her interviews, but she was not a dramatic person. She had a real Outbacker’s unassuming demeanor in many ways and I don’t think she really touched many of her roles deeply on the dramatic side. Even her Lucia’s - which are musically stunning - do you get the sense of true madness? Of a psyche falling apart? I never have. So, I think when she really let it out it frightened her.

[@LohengrinO]

she was frightened alright.. that she would lose the Diamond she has inside the throat, that was all she was afraid of

[@Bobrogers99]

Her power and range were extraordinary, and although recordings don't fully capture it, at least we have some examples of her amazing voice.

[@LohengrinO]

she sang Esclarmonde in Turandot vocal mode here... what a feat

[@JJoeisCooking]

I agree with what you said about studio recordings not capturing the size of her voice. I heard her live twice and was amazed that her voice was so large and rich. It seemed like no matter how forte she sang she could always give more and the size of her top notes was like no one else around.

[@LohengrinO]

if u pay attention to the comparison of volumes u pretty much get the idea

[@子建李-i5p]

Can her live voice fill the Metropolitan Opera

[@emmanuelchaparro552]

This is sublime. The best parte is that nothing sounds pushed, she sounds really comfortable singing. Sometimes I think of Joan’s voice as a higher version of Flagstad’s (dont kill me haha). It has a similar roundness, that I havent heard in other sopranos. I always wonder how huge it truly was, since everyone says recordings dont show it. Thanks for the video.

[@LohengrinO]

Twin sisters I call Sutherland, Ponselle and Flagstad... or the Marble Voices

[@emmanuelchaparro552]

Oh yes, I forgot about Ponselle really round sound, she would be the sister with the darker sound lol.

[@LohengrinO]

indeed darker sound... for years I also thought of Sutherland as a coloratura Flagstad

[@dianereeves5090]

They do indeed sound somewhat similar in terms of the timbre (Flagstad & Sutherland). Both have that melancholic, regal, liquid gold quality with a lot of silver. Recordings REALLY do not do her any justice (JS). I’ve heard Sutherland a couple of times during the 70s/80s, (including in Esclarmonde), and “sound” wise it really was the most incredible acoustic experience live. The size of the voice was absolutely enormous, like some gigantic pipe organ. Such a resounding, lavish, omnidirectional instrument, a niagara of golden sound. Even in the lightest roles, she always sounded very opulent and heroic.

[@wotan10950]

It’s interesting that I saw her onstage a dozen times, and I thought she sounded exactly like her recordings. Many other singers sounded utterly different. Bonynge and Sutherland apparently adored Kenneth Wilkinson, their Decca engineer, because they felt he captured her sound so well.

[@debbiewoodburn6786]

Glorious. The incomparable Joan Sutherland.

[@romearomeo]

Geniale! Stupenda! Divina! Io adoro la grandissima Joan Sutherland.

[@stevenrahn38]

The entire performance is beyond ordinary sopranos. Astonishing at any age, and my eyebrows were raised more than once...in a good way. She actually hit F above C in her wail of despair 11:16. She mentioned years before, around age 50, that she couldn't hit that note anymore. Maybe she meant "sustain" it, but she could still reach it. Epic performance.

[@LohengrinO]

Βeyond ordinary? this is as rare as the appearance of another planet in our solar system

[@stevenrahn38]

@@LohengrinO Her entire performance is "Beyond ordinary SOPRANOS". "Beyond ordinary" sounds like a back-handed compliment lol.

[@fclpjg]

Thank you! I used to adore her to bits when I was younger, but her diction and swooning manner got to me in the end. The way she sings this so evenly and with all the coloratura in place.. Brava!

[@Tenortalker]

I guess the mezzo singing with her here is Tourangeau - she recorded it with Sutherland too. Dame Joan's voice was like a wall of sound in the opera house and I usually prefer her ' live ' recordings. Some how the studio recording process particularly in her later career didn't capture the full impact that her singing could make. What a pity she had to pull out of her Covent Garden Esclarmonde's, even if everyone got the pleasure of hearing Elizabeth Vaughan's very special interpretation of Madama Butterfly instead. It has to be said that the unique voice of Dame Joan Sutherland is still missed in the operatic world today.

[@Tenortalker]

Meant to add Dame Joan sang two performances of this at Covent Garden through bomb scares - what a professional! A later performance had to be cancelled.

[@tristyquesadilla]

Her voice had so much color. Swooning as usual.

[@shahabispahani3273]

Anyone know when and where this was ? Yes truly one of her most magnificently sung roles I was lucky to get some performances in London

[@julesmanresa2302]

God, I wish Sutherland developed her middle voice more and sang with this sort of declamatory force more often. Imagine all the assoluta, middle-voice heavy roles she could have sang.

[@raybercse1]

Sutherland is volcanic here. Please let me know the year and where this performance took place.

[@shannonlewis8906]

I absolutely love this picture of her.

[@LohengrinO]

gary oldman in Dracula??

[@scataplaft]

@@LohengrinO hahahahah

[@thesoubretteoftheopera7313]

A rare glimpse of the Joan Sutherland that could have been. Now I'm not saying was she anything short of great and always had a near unreachable level of technical excellence. But it isn't often you get the full force of her voice and the emotional and dramatic mastery from her recordings.

[@LohengrinO]

Im searching the moments she unleashed the Kracken like crazy... that's my aim

[@adrianmartinez9448]

Lohengrin O please do it!

[@twainhouson-frederick1847]

@@LohengrinO JOAN SUTHERLAND "ATTILA"

[@dustydragqueen]

Stunning! More like Brünnhilde on steroids!

[@greatmomentsofopera7170]

This is incredible! One of my favourite Sutherland clips you've posted.

[@LohengrinO]

yes I will use that in my Epic Blasters series when dame Joan makes an Appearance... today we will have the DampfSirene... I was wondering which second gem should I use for dame Joan's blasts, early Joan was FULL of them

[@vanmusician]

I heard both Sutherland and Tourangeau live many times here in Vancouver. I was saddened to hear that Tourangeau passed away a couple of weeks ago.

[@highbaritone]

John Mitchell also admired Tourangeau. What an amazing sound. She had a beautiful personality.

[@子建李-i5p]

Can her live voice fill the Metropolitan Opera

[@manolis.799]

I’m surprised that Boynage didn’t threaten to divorce her for singing like this. Glorious singing for sure.

[@LohengrinO]

this is probably the only time in her later career she sang like this and I dont think that it is by accident that one year later we have the first signs of middle voice wobble

[@manolis.799]

Lohengrin O it had to be, especially considering how middle voiced a lot of Esclarmonde is. Coupled with the blasting of those high notes. Vocal meat grinder.

[@nathandavis3002]

People who saw even her lighter performances at the end of her career have remarked how thunderously her voice echoed through the theatre, in a way never captured by recording devices. I shudder(with pleasure) to imagine how thrilling it must have been to hear this in person.

[@LohengrinO]

imagine the sound rebouncing and reverbarating in the walls of the House

[@MrJazzmeaux]

I heard Sutherland about a dozen times and one of the great mysteries to me was that live her voice was so huge and round and none of her recordings ever captured it. It was enormous and I can only say that those who say she didn't have a big voice, or that it was light, never heard her live. When as Lohengrin says, she unleashed the Kraken, it did feel as if this wall of sound was going to pick you up out of the seat and hurl you against the back wall. It was truly amazing. Sometimes she'd even pour volume and resonance into the low notes and I'd think 'god where did that come from?' But then she'd rein it back in, maybe scared of Richard's reprimands. She could have done so much more with it. It was an odd mix though, such an amazing upper mid and top and an often unsupported mediocre low end.

[@LohengrinO]

my brain can somehow imagine all this by comparing her sound to that of the orchestra and the other singers in her recordings... there is a moment in this at 0:32 kzbin.info/www/bejne/jH2ce5ajg8iaqZI where she slowly turns towards the audience and sings a middle to high note and everybody disappears... and she doesnt even sing forte.. she had a bazookas inside her throat and I sincerely believe that if she had decided to sing Turandot live she would have been the greatest but it would probably cut her career shorter...

[@MrJazzmeaux]

It would have been amazing her Turandot yes, you're probably right that it would have cut her career, but it would have been worth it (as long as bonynge didn't conduct it)! In the main she was timid when it came to really using her voice. Imagine if she had had the strength, bravery and musical intelligence of Maria. I know that's asking a lot of imagination... I really would have liked to have been in the audience of this performance of Esclarmonde though. It is astounding. Even Bonynge has picked up his game. And I love the burnt honey tone of Tourangeau.

[@MrJazzmeaux]

Yes that's an amazing thing isn't it where she floods the air with sound and drowns everyone without trying! Thank you for all the amazing posts you put up by the way, but way beyond that, I'm in awe of your knowledge and the insights you share. You've certainly opened up my mind to a much larger world of vocal splendour and musical discrimination.

[@saidmrabet4474]

She said in an interview this is her favorite opera. It sure sounds different from Massenet's other operas. Maybe I should check it out sometime...

[@LohengrinO]

this is her Turandot! :D no wonder that 1 year later, her middle voice broke :D

[@JoanSutherlandFan]

Esclarmonde ain't her fav opera. She considers sing this role as the greatest achievement on her career. ***She was near fifty years old at the time.

[@JoaoVitor-vp1ql]

Magnificent

[@cappycapuzi1716]

Quite something! I enjoy Massanet's operas. Always a great deal of color. This one has a solemn, Wagnerian sound. But, I would ding him for writing an opera which can only be sung by one singer in a generation!

[@LohengrinO]

by NO singer that has ever walked this earth... this role demands a dramatic soprano coloratura with the ability to sing a G6!! it contains a G6 that dame Joan never attempted

[@fan2jnrc]

As usual, the high notes are absolutely dazzling and matchless. This almost would make forget how the middle and low are weak and even sometimes inaudible. Almost...

[@joshuamcpherson007]

The wall of sound is almost Wagnerian, so of course the high notes will penetrate or sail over...and this is a live recording, so the voice can get lost depending on the singer's stage position, and the direction of the voice etc. Her voice was not "weak" anywhere, even if this recording gives that impression.

[@eddiebuenaventure3666]

I was there! And, it is probably my favorite thing of Sutherland's. The opera is a dog and not worth performing EXCEPT as a vehicle for her. It was a marvelous opportunity for her to just let that voice do what no other could. PS: Aragall was rather wonderful also.

[@LohengrinO]

Dog u mean unworthy musically? it is GORGEOUS music... GORGEOUS

[@wotan10950]

I disagree. There are so many fantastic musical ideas in the score, especially the magnificent choruses. And while Sutherland is the gold standard in this role, a subsequent recording (with Mazzola as Esclarmonde) is very very good.

[@子建李-i5p]

Can her live voice fill the Metropolitan Opera？

[@octaviohernandez18]

The opera is a rarity, seldom performed. One of the most demanding operas in the repertoire? Who can meet the challenge today? Who has the stamina?

[@casagrandecantatas]

Wonderful!!!

[@lavozporexcelencia]

Sorprendente y maravillosa en este repertorio francés... Ninguna soprano posterior la ha igualado ni de cerca en está interpretación ❤️❤️❤️

[@contraltissima]

just incredible!

[@eberlinpascal2837]

Le rôle à été écrit par Jules Massenet ,expressément pour la grande Sybil Sanderson ,fabuleuse coloratura américaine qui pouvait chanter sur plus de trois octaves .

[@gregberg5559]

When and where was this remarkable performance?

[@joaocampelo3725]

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@lenapietersen4229]

Where and when was this performance?

[@tjw2469]

10:21 that's an E6, not a scream, but sounded like one.

[@tjw2469]

11:15 I would believe if you tell me that's a flute

[@tjtyjtj65tj651tj]

This music is insane.

[@LohengrinO]

she sings it in Turandot vocal mode....

[@rogalesi58]

eccezionale

[@pammyjones1151]

Interesting!!....

[@BrunoACFernandes]

Haunting...

[@sergiosanchezsanchez8712]

Estupenda!👏👏👏👌

[@stevenmathers6661]

I saw her sing this rolevat Covent Garden. She was utterly incredible.

[@子建李-i5p]

I have a question. Can her live voice fill the Metropolitan Opera？

[@jackbulmash4247]

I agree with your description having seen her in her prime. What was always lacking was the articulation of the text and the coloration of individual phrases into a dramatic structure.

[@LohengrinO]

yep I agree... but my description has to do with the Dramatic Volume of a Big Voice being able to sing Coloratura upon all that with Heroic weight... I think that is the true definition of a Dramatic Coloratura (and not the ability to add drama by vocal colors and musicianship)

[@matthieudegott3154]

On ne peut pas ne pas regretter, comme toujours chez elle, cet usage du "private language", dès qu'elle chante autre chose que l'anglais ou l'italien. Mais tant pis: ce qu'elle fait est tellement beau, tellement parfait! Et dans ce rôle de magicienne, elle est totalement crédible. Cet enregistrement (c'est LE disque...., les applaudissements sont factices!) a été un peu snobé à sa parution, et c'est iinjuste. C'est un des plus beaux Massenet qui soit, et l'interprétation est superlative.

[@alandun27]

I thought it must be the studio recording too because of the quality - but it really isn't. Lohengrin keeps dodging the question but this is San Francisco in 1974 - kzbin.info/www/bejne/fJu8gIitlNyEY6M Alan

[@martincroft4997]

I’m sure the coughing audience isn’t added. It’s live.

[@Alksinder]

C’est pareil pour moi quand j’entends Sutherland et Caballé. J’entends des voix tellement superlatives que je ne suis pas attentif à ce qu’ils ne prononcent pas correctement et parfois ils changent même les paroles de ce qu’ils chantent. Ce sont des voix sublimes qui atteignent l’âme. Involontairement pardonné ce qu’il n’y avait pas avec d’autres chanteurs

[@krystianblake5162]

Remarkable. Where and when was this, and is the full performance available on CD?

[@LohengrinO]

Μonumental indeed.. she unleashes the Kracken

[@lawhitesell]

This is the live performance from San Francisco and has been available on CD.

[@krystianblake5162]

Thanks!

[@raybailey7888]

Anyone know who the tenor was?

[@Hako2004]

I believe it was Aragall.

[@CarlosHernandez-vv6bx]

Jaime Aragall

[@javiersantacruz680]

Aragall, of course. He's also amazing, his voice is pure gold.