Joan Sutherland - Les Filles de Cadix

[@Hako2004]

Marvelous....such a rich and varied tone. I don't even hope to hear a voice like this again in my lifetime......but I continue to enjoy these recordings. Thank you again LadyArmide>

[@gflat7649]

I LOVE Sutherland. the greatest of all. that subtle elegance! the pianist is wonderful as well!

[@jesusnuovo5346]

Extremely gorgeous! Love this rendition of this piece. Dame Joan, the best.

[@janraffaello]

This is a recording I know very well as I have it on CD; it's marvelous and I've listened to it a great many times! It's part of the CD "BBC-recitals 1958:1960:1961". The Delibes songs are part of the 1960 recital. I love it because it is a perfect example of how her knowledge and experience with belcanto gives her the right approach to this music. Incredible how this enormous voice could produce such a clear silvery sound. It's one of my favorites!

[@albeer49]

Wonderful voice and the magnificent, very experienced execution! It is the higher class!

[@LLehmannfan]

One more fantastic rendition of this song by Delibes. Again made by a great opera singer...

[@albeer49]

And magnificent breath. The magnificent respiratory device. Sorry my english

[@piano2750]

much has been said about Sutherland....when you hear this though: the lightness, control, natural musicianship,,,,,,,,amazing.!

[@Kurkino2007]

... marvellous heavenly voice...

[@MrStpendouslvforjo]

She is perfect.

[@AndiniMako]

Very rich voice! Amazing!

[@opera60]

Recorded at home in Les Avants, Switzerland June 1978! with husband Bonynge at the piano.

[@Eiswirth1]

This is much earlier than 1978; early 60s is my guess.

[@willieluncheonette]

Up next in our comparison of different versions of Leo Delibes' The Maids of Cadiz is the wonderful Joan Sutherland. Here is what Wiki has to say about this very famous singer---" Dame Joan Alston Sutherland OM, AC, DBE (7 November 1926 - 10 October 2010] was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano noted for her contribution to the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s through to the 1980s. One of the most remarkable female opera singers of the 20th century, she was dubbed La Stupenda by a La Fenice audience in 1960 after a performance of the title role in Handel's Alcina. She possessed a voice of beauty and power, combining extraordinary agility, accurate intonation, "supremely" pinpoint staccatos, a splendid trill and a tremendous upper register, although music critics often complained about the imprecision of her diction. Her friend Luciano Pavarotti once called Sutherland the "Voice of the Century"; Montserrat Caballé described the Australian's voice as being like "heaven". Sutherland was the first Australian to win a Grammy Award, for Best Classical Performance - Vocal Soloist (with or without orchestra) in 1962." Some of the comments on this upload are quite interesting. Absolutely no one denies her elegance, exquisite voice or vocal technique, but some question her lack of feeling and questionable diction. One listener put it bluntly "She lacks good diction. Plain and simple." Others feel her diction is fine. Only speaking a little French myself, I'm not the one to chime in on this issue. Perhaps any French listener out there would like to give their opinion.

[@fabriziogarzi9892]

Ho ascoltato dal vivo tante volte Joan Sutherland. In teatro era stratosferica e la pronuncia, magari poco precisa, era l'ultima cosa di cui ti accorgevi e ci facevi caso. Callas e Sutherland sono state i due piu' grandi soprani del XX secolo.

[@AlexandraChernyshova]

agree with kremetart1 :) Sutherland - the best. simply beautifull interpetation and perfect vocal technique.

[@MadonnaImperia]

@RossiniSoprano That is correct, and it was recorded in 1960. Unfortunately that entire recital which contains such Sutherland rarities as Liszt's "Die Loreley" and Delibes' "Regret" is pitched a semitone too low on that cd. As for "Les filles de Cadix", Sutherland recorded it twice for Decca. First in 1972 with orchestra for the album" Son My Mother Taught Me" and again in 1978 with Richard Bonynge at the piano for the album "Serate Musicali"

[@RossiniSoprano]

@Nater389 When you listen to her other recordings, you hear examples of BOTH good and bad diction. Her diction is not bad in everything, but people feel superior by saying this about her.

[@blessOTMA]

They have to find something to disparage her it seems.

[@coloraturaElise]

@@blessOTMA Yes, the birds always pick at the best fruit! I used her recordings to learn these songs, so I must have been able to understand the words, right?

[@blessOTMA]

@@coloraturaElise Indeed. And I never heard of Pavarotti complaining about Joan's diction either. He just about worshiped her.

[@coloraturaElise]

@@blessOTMA Right, and he had great diction. I think a lot of people also don't take into consideration the acoustical properties of voices of different sizes. I've noticed that small, light, less dense voices have fewer overtones and it's MUCH easier to understand the words with them, even sopranos, who are at a natural disadvantage because of the range we sing in. Vowels modify above a certain frequency, so no matter how much you try to sing different vowels, when you're up high, they all sound the same! (I found a wonderful article in Scientific American magazine about this.) Joan's voice was a truly unique phenomenon, with incredible, unmatched size, by the accounts of all who heard her live. There's so much more 'ring' or 'buzz' in the sound, which is the overtones that help carry that huge voice over any orchestra in any size venue. There is no doubt that those overtones make the clearest diction very difficult to obtain. Listen to someone like Sarah Brightman, for instance, and then Joan, and hear the great difference in color and overtones, to see what I'm talking about.

[@emily-crawford-soprano9181]

I'm not sure if it would be" better suited" for a mezzo-soprano. I consider myself a soprano, but I've never had trouble in my lower register, and certainly not in this piece. It spends a lot of time in stratosphere, so I believe it is a song with a huge range, therefore in the middle ground between soprano and mezzo territory. Then again, maybe I'm actually a mezzo. Any soprano with a good strong chest voice can perform this well.

[@petenoles5979]

Such a rich golden torrent of opulent wagnerian sound

[@birindar6363]

I don't find that her diction leaves to be desired... French is my mother language and she's good. She prononces well... But I respect your point of view :)

[@zoricabelic8534]

Goddess *

[@orianamoussali3344]

What a beautiful voice I love it thank you ! Discovery for me :)

[@CaptFitzbattleaxe]

@MadonnaImperia And a third time in 1969. This last recording wasn't released until 2004, however, in the Art of Joan Sutherland 6CD set.

[@DiomedesDioscuro]

@mymz01 There's no third stanza, that's an addition of some singers.

[@WBFbySteefen]

Stopped by after listening to a recording by Victoria de los Angeles. I was wondering how Joan sounded on this.

[@violettatraviata8838]

I have just done the same thing 2 years later! :)

[@RossiniSoprano]

I think this is from the cd "BBC recitals 1958-1960-1961" put out on the Bella Voce label.

[@birindar6363]

Tks X your advice Nater389, I'll do it :)

[@save312]

PERFETTA ma dove sono la bartoli, la netrebka, la tedesca lirico leggera senza acuti

[@fabriziogarzi9892]

save312, sono ad attendere di essere dimenticate.

[@DiomedesDioscuro]

However, I don't find her diction bad at all here. I think that it becomes less plain and simple when you start to find native speakers that disagree.

[@TCt83067695]

No one is beating Natalie Dessay so far

[@fabriziogarzi9892]

Ma per carita'. Una orfanella...per fortuna abbiamo altre da ascoltare.

[@coloraturaElise]

Chacun a son gout!

[@Nater389]

Well, you would have to listen to other recordings besides this one. Critics critized her diction throughout her entire career.

[@Nater389]

"but people feel superior by saying this about her" Not sure what you mean by that, and I don't want to argue with a Sutherland fanatic. Her diction is bad, for the most part. I respect your opinion though. Don't get me wrong, her high notes are thrilling and unrivaled. However, she lacks good pronunciation. Plain and simple. Obviously, people hear different things even when it seems obvious...somehow. Cheers.

[@carlocruder]

This is made for Victoria de los Angeles

[@Nater389]

It seems also, sometimes, she lacks feeling.

[@matthieudegott3154]

As always, she sings like a nithingale, but in a private language. Pour un français, c'est insupportable.

[@DiomedesDioscuro]

Tu veux dire que c'est insupportable pour toi, peut-être. Tu trouveras parmi les commentaires des éloges d'autres français qui ne trouvent pas ça insupportable du tout.

[@fabriziogarzi9892]

I francesi non hanno mai avuto una voce così e storpiano del pari l'italiano. Hanno brutte tecniche, cantano col naso e credono che la Denise Duval sia stata meglio della Callas. Non siete perfetti. La pizza'.. la torta'...la porta'...

[@fabriziogarzi9892]

Anche i francesi che cantano il repertorio italiano sono insopportabili...ammesso che abbiano dei veri cantanti.

[@Nater389]

She may be technically superior, but her diction leaves much to be desired. I find myself asking "What did she say?" a lot when I listen to Sutherland.