Legendary Soprano: Dame Joan Sutherland (Opera Documentary)

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A fascinating portrait of Joan Sutherland, the Australian operatic soprano internationally acclaimed for her coloratura roles.
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From Opera Legends
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[@MrStpendouslvforjo]

I enjoyed that. Thank you for posting it!

[@crisha721]

I'm a massive Joan Sutherland fan. Although I enjoyed this documentary, a lot of information is inaccurate. It saddens me that there was not the sufficient effort in paying respect to this wonderful artist as it should be

[@luisvillalobos3452]

I love this kind of documentaries

[@smtaz7631]

Spectacular!

[@sutherland9]

25:55 - "set to debut on the Metropolitan Opera stage as Lucia di Lammermoor ... just before it was about to start she received the news that her mother had died" Sutherland heard the news of her mother's death in Feb. 1961, the day she made her New York City debut in a concert performance of Bellini's Beatrice di Tenda at Town Hall. Her Met debut was in November 1961.

[@jondavwal13]

Thank you. This is pathetic. They can't even get basic facts right. I'm surprised they didn't also say she was the first woman on the moon.

[@user-highbaritone]

@@jondavwal13the clips are great, but it is so inaccurate in so many ways. “Fake news”.

[@mauricioszwerdszarf1455]

Please do one on Leontyne price! Many Thanks!

[@delibeslakme6451]

La voz mas bella !!!! La Estupenda!!!!!

[@allanmoore4353]

There are quite few mistakes in the narration, but the clips of Sutherland's singing are marvelous, always a pleasure to listen to this marvel of a singer. I was lucky enough to see her multiple times on stage.

[@magicmonkichi]

Unfortunately in many of these documentaries by Perspective, there are many mistakes throughout all the singers they have featured.

[@loboestepario2424]

What is amazing is that Danielle De Niese, herself a soprano married to the manager of Glyndebourne festival, let so many mistakes pass. I understand she's not the editor, but I suppose she watched the documentary before releasing.

[@wotan10950]

This was great fun since I was privileged to see Dame Joan onstage at least a dozen times. But whoever produced/edited this video made so many errors, it’s almost laughable. She never officially trained with her mother, she didn’t make her Glyndebourne debut in Puritani, she didn’t sing a duet with Callas, Ayrton became one of her dearest friends, and the so-called Marilyn Horne shown here is actually Margreta Elkins. What a mess. The only thing they got right was that she was one of the great operatic artists of all time.

[@SpecialtyHorseTraining]

At 16 years old the first opera I saw was Sutherland in Lucia. Those high staccato notes like starbursts in the night sky!

[@pejr1982]

La Stupenda.... just beautiful

[@sutherland9]

8:20 - "In 1947 Joan was offered the role if Dido in Dido and Aeneas. Joan then received the shocking news of her older sister's suicide; a heartbroken Joan still found the courage to go on stage that evening" Sutherland sang Dido in 1947 but her sister's suicide was not until 1949, not on a day when Sutherland had a scheduled performance

[@sutherland9]

12:58 - "she sings a duet in Norma with Maria Callas" there is no formal duet for the roles of Clotilde and Norma, just a few lines exchanged to set up the scene

[@sutherland9]

18:56 - "Maestro Zeffirelli cast her in Lucia di Lammermoor" it was David Webster who cast her in Lucia di Lammermoor. Zeffirelli did not know her at all before the rehearsals started.

[@JoanSutherlandFan]

18:20 *Exclusive Decca artist* and they used a song she recorded under EMI.

[@ahogbin2644]

I'm a huge fan but there is much sloppiness in this documentary.

[@Eiswirth1]

I agree. One glaring example was the mention of her pairing with Horne in the Met's 1970 "Norma," and then cutting to her singing with an Australian mezzo many years later.

[@feeniix6]

La Stupenda

[@user-gt7xs1fc6g]

Sutherland never sang Turandot onstage. Her only singing of the role was the recording with Caballe as Liu and conducted by Mehta. It would have been nice if you had used a clip of Sutherland actually singing with Horne; the mezzo you show was Margreta Elkins who sang the of Adalgisa during the final Australian tour. Her Bolena was spectacular. I saw her in it in 1987 at the Lyric Opera Chicago.

[@tjw2469]

You should mark the year of the performance on each short clip presented in the video. People who are not familiar with her might get confused

[@sutherland9]

18:20 - "she was a Decca exclusive recording artist and she remains that throughout her career" she recorded Donna Anna in Don Giovanni which is available on EMI, not Decca

[@RequiemAeternam01]

As well as a series of Bach cantatas for EMI and Norma for Warner under Vittorio Gui.

[@joshuamcpherson007]

I enjoyed this video, even if there appear to be some inaccuracies. Her mother Muriel died on the eve of her New York debut performance of Beatrice di Tenda, not Lucia di Lammermoor. Also, her trill was always there, since girlhood...Richard played no part in her learning to trill.

[@sutherland9]

10:37 - "It wasn't a big role, she'd be in the chorus" - Sutherland was never a member of the chorus. She began at the Royal Opera singing secondary roles

[@sutherland9]

17:40 - in the poster the name Giuseppe Verdi is incorrectly spelled Guiseppe - no, not the fault of the producer of this documentary but risable all the same.

[@Eiswirth1]

She wasn't "one of the greats"...she was THE greatest.

[@davidallen508]

My thoughts exactly.

[@sutherland9]

30:13 - "when Joan performed in Puccini's Turandot alongside Montserrat Caballe she actually, to avoid dramatic clash, she stepped to the side and let Montserrat Caballe take the center stage position ...." Sutherland and Caballe never sang together in a live performance. Sutherland and Caballe made a studio recording of Turandot. There was never a performance in which Joan stepped to the side for Caballe.

[@jefolson6989]

Lots of silly, lazy mistakes in this. They speak of her lifelong friendship with Marilyn Horne, but show a video of someone else. Guess they thought we are all too dumb to notice.

[@sutherland9]

@@jefolson6989 There are three biographies and 1 autobiography of Joan Sutherland that have been published. That should be enough available sources for the script writer to get the facts right. This video is a travesty

[@davidallen508]

Never mind, let’s just continue to relish that superlative recording.

[@PragueImport]

Thanks for correcting all their errors! These "Perspective" documentaries are bloody full of them. I am still determining where they get some of their facts from. Wikipedia??

[@sutherland9]

The person who paid the producer of this program should demand a full refund.

[@user-gt7xs1fc6g]

I feel i must point out again that Sutherland nevev Never Never sang Turandot on stage. She recorded it with Mehta conducting and Caballe as Liu for London [Decca] but this was the only time she ever sang Turandot.

[@artistinlederhosen]

30:42.... umm, that is not marilyn horne.

[@ef7952]

Not even close!! Oy

[@magicmonkichi]

It sure is not Marilyn Horne. She is indeed the great Margreta Elkins, an Australian mezzo!

[@matthewtravisano1097]

These documentaries are a bit sloppy. The Caballe one has a pretty unforgivable error.

[@davidalbro2009]

31:00 That is not Marilyn Horne nor does it sound anything like her. Yes, there are quite a few problems with this doc.

[@kennethvarner7694]

❤️🎶❤️

[@sutherland9]

36:13 - "in 1988 Joan performed with Opera Australia as Hanna Glawari in The Merry Widow which is really late-career, new ground breaking ... too much of a strain on her voice" It was not new or ground-breaking since Sutherland sang The Merry Widow beginning in 1976 and this role did not put a strain on her voice. Her 1989 performances of Norma and Lucrezia Borgia put the strain on her late-career voice.

[@uppityglivestockian]

Why isn't La Superba's thumbnail showing her upside down?

[@PragueImport]

They would only show this kind of disrespect (upside down Otello) to Placido Domingo. These "Perspectives" are full of b.s. Much of it needs serious fact-checking. They found these "experts" in the only pub near a parking garage.

[@sutherland9]

34:51 - "after four decades on the stage together Joan Sutherland and Luciano Pavarotti ...." they sang together on stage from 1965 to 1987. That is not four decades

[@logansrest]

Why, oh why is there nothing about Mimi Coertse? Coloratura soprano and "Kammer Sängerin. Joan Sutherland - a wonderful voice 😊

[@skyhunk]

One of the things I love about Sutherland is that she confessed to not having perfect pitch -- for example, she couldn't tell you whether a note on the piano was a C or a C sharp. BUT, what she DID have was perfect 'RELATIVE pitch', whereby she could sing the next note on the scale no matter what came before. It was how Bonynge 'tricked' her into singing higher and higher notes without her even realizing it. Also brought into the picture is that Pavarotti could never read music. Would that have made the slightest difference to anyone who heard him sing? I think not! But there are egos and resentments everywhere, including in opera. Bonynge needs to stop disparaging Pav because he never learned to read music. Pavarotti's fans only care about what they hear coming out of his throat -- not whether he can name the next note in the score.

[@Eccsodus]

A lot of the information her is incorrect. Please read Joan's autobiography or any of the other biographies.

[@sutherlandfan64]

What a mediocre piece of broadcast about a true legend of opera. Very sad...

[@jolynnwhite7946]

Sumptuous 😍😇🤓🌷👌🏾🧕🏿

[@user-me8kr6mv5l]

Amazing! utube smile by john bavas

[@jochemb.1748]

This is really stupid, talking about the collaboration of Joan Sutherland with Marilyn Horne in Norma and then showing Margreta Elkins!👎👎👎

[@richardvergara]

That voice was amazing. Just wish her hair was amazing.

[@sutherland9]

30:40 - that is not Marilyn Horne

[@misanthropelife]

Did they even get anything right in this documentary? LMAO 😂

[@loboestepario2424]

15:20 Guajnerian soprano? Oh dear.

[@vaughangarrick]

Woohoo

[@ef7952]

Thumbs up for Dame Joan. Thumbs down for whoever put this together with all the mistakes and the "hosts" who contribute nothing. They don't know anything about opera, they're just reading.

[@jondishmonmusicandstuff2753]

And Thumbs DOWN to you being a stick in the much and so damn negative. So many of us don't get to watch even this and we have to put up with your "Debbie Downer" I know more than Jesus attitude. And then you walk out of the door having no mate and flip burgers. JUST STOP IT ALREADY. You are miserable.

[@sutherland9]

4:22 - "wonderful mother, Muriel,..... she had been taught by Mathilde Marchesi" Muriel studied with Mr. Burns Walker, a pupil of Mathilde Marchesi. She did not study with Marchesi herself

[@jessicarinaldi7742]

Anvi balence, keep deep breathing

[@Eiswirth1]

I wish they'd done a better job of using clips from her career that paralleled the dialogue's timeline. Talking about her education in London in the early 50s and showing her as Lucia in '82 is annoying to me. I know I'm nitpicking, but I don't care.

[@richardvergara]

Yeah, that woman is NOT Marilyn Horne.

[@davidallen508]

No, it’s Margareta Elkins.

[@jefolson6989]

@31:00 that ain't Marilyn Horne! But who is it? She's actually better than Horne. Nevertheless, a rookie mistake

[@LarsGsanger]

How could he be a dame?

[@jondavwal13]

Her mother did not die before she sang Lucia at the Met. Her mother died before she sang Beatrice di Tenda at Town Hall almost a year earlier. This is pathetic.

[@operafan9162]

Some of the facts are not accurate

[@MATTHEWDECORA]

That ISN'T Marilyn Horne in the Norma clip!!! And this documentary has sooo many other errors. I can't even finish watching it!!!!!!

[@beachfanatic2010]

Sutherland had an operatic voice size instrument. Why do people always have to exaggerate the size of her voice? Pre 1960’s 8 out of 10 people had huge voices. Let’s take for instance Luisa Tetrazzini - now she had a bigger and heavier voice than Sutherland by far. Yet I don’t read and hear anybody exaggerating her vocal size. What’s the point? Opera voices should ve large. Period! What all of this people need to understand is that they are not doing opera any favors cause by being obsessed of making Sutherland’s voice so big when it wasn’t they are making other upcoming singers believe that they can not have the same by working and developing. So what ended up happening is that we have smaller and smaller mosquitos in the field. Sutherland’s voice wasn’t bigger than Tebaldi, Nilsson, Grob-Prandl, Edda Moser, Leonie Rysanek, Clara Petrella, Elvira de Hidalgo, Tetrazzini, etc. etc. etc. and even less was her instrument bigger nor heavier than Callas. The obsession and exaggeration with her vocal size has to STOP! Cause her vocal size wasn’t unusual at all for real operatic standards.

[@jasonblack4208]

Someone...gets...it.

[@Homoclassicus]

I'm very impressed that you had the chance to listen to Tetrazzini and De Hidalgo all the way to Grob-Prandl (who, like Tebaldi and Nilsson, wasn't a "usual" soprano at all for her time as far as vocal size is concerned) and later Moser and others live on the stage, having a direct and accurate aural perception of how their voices projected and spread through the space. Amazing longevity and memory!

[@ajeansmith5478]

Loved it. Love her

[@michaeldelos2863]

So much misinformation here. Wrong dates, wrong sequence of events. Just plain lazy scholarship throughout. Had to laugh when it was stated that she 'sang a duet' in NORMA with Callas. Honestly. . .

[@PragueImport]

Agree 100%. All these documentaries seem to come from Wikipedia, and some so-called "experts" give it a suitable polish to entice subscribers.

[@joevasquez3434]

Joan was good; just good; not great, too bad she was prettier; few and far between great moment's on stage.

[@karalozdan4414]

Was she a he?

[@simone222]

No

[@dudeforcaster8630]

And you are a waste of life not even worthy of contempt.

[@karalozdan4414]

@@dudeforcaster8630 why?

[@dudeforcaster8630]

@@karalozdan4414 Are you really that stupid?

[@LohengrinO]

... her later years Drag Queen Style was actually a choice of her Husband who was Gay... but there are rumours she was a Lesbian herself... in her early years though, she was a Rose: kzbin.info/www/bejne/a6iVaaadmpuqpM0

[@JPalma-gt7ow]

Maria is the only choice for me.

[@jimbuxton2187]

J. Palma....then just don't listen to anyone else.

[@JPalma-gt7ow]

@@jimbuxton2187 jimbuxton.....your advice - insert it up your *backside*.