Rossini - Semiramide - Act II Arsace - Semiramide duet - Joan Sutherland, Marilyn Horne (1965)

[@mark63dc]

Any recording that involves Dame Joan & General Horne will always be the standard for Soprano/Mezzo (contralto) duets without question!!!

[@vanmusician]

I was at Sutherland and Horne's very first Norma performance here in Vancouver in 1963. At the end of the run of five performances there was a gala concert with Sutherland and the male leads in Norrna - John Alexander and Richard Cross. Horne wasn't able to take part because of other commitments. Sutherland sang this duet with Dorothy Cole, and also sang 'Bel Raggio', 'The Soldier Tir'd', the Lucia love duet, the Rigoletto quartet and the Hamlet Mad Scene. I think we got our money's worth!

[@jasonblack4208]

John Alexander is an underrated tenor imo. Not sure how he didn't get more popular given all the performances he did with Sutherland. A powerful, masculine voice with a solid technique. He should have caught on more.

[@barrynicolle1821]

What a joy to hear these two wonderful voices again. Probably the greatest pairing in operatic history

[@Eiswirth1]

The greatest soprano and the greatest mezzo of the 20th century...these two will never be equalled.

[@denisribeiro42]

These duets must be THE vocal highlights of the century - no question!

[@TheVaughan5]

Absolutely! No singers, then or now, could come near Sutherland & Horne for sheer technical perfection and Bonynge is supreme in this music. Extremely doubtful if they will ever be equalled - a true "golden age" of singing.

[@denisribeiro42]

Totally agree.

[@lauraservidei5728]

Going to hear Joyce Di Donato and Daniela Barcellona next month, and Iäll let you know.

[@vic-iv2ff]

Rossi was quoted as crying three times in his life.. the first was when his first opera failed, the second when he heard Paganini play and the third when on a boating luncheon, a truffled turkey fell over board! I’m sure he would have also shed some tears in hearing his music sung with such perfection…

[@bellini7verdi]

jamas podran se igualadas........................esto ha sido un regalo de los dioses.............................

[@bellini7verdi]

las voces mas grandes ...................impresionantes..............impetuosas............y fantasticamente expuestas en todo su explendor................................la gloria de la musica clasica operistica..en estado supino...........................las dos mas grandes de todos los tiempos......................una fabula de canto.....de locura....grandiosa......................

[@bellini7verdi]

viva rossini......maravilloso

[@AnnaRitaTocca]

Sublime,anzi di +.

[@mrrkdino]

You will never get singing of this quality again. Magnificent.

[@WelshHomo87]

Not in a million years

[@niconico7281]

Dos Monstruos Vocales!

[@luismontecinos5810]

Decca records made in England have a fabolus sound in this case the two ladies show their perfection in singing. For God's sake who nowadays could sing this belcanto pieces. From Santiago of Chile Febrero 2018

[@sayersbrock]

Everyone, including myself, keeps saying it over and over again...and it never gets old...this is absolute singing PERFECTION!!! Singers of this generation need to pay special attention to the control on display in this recording. What I mean is the ability of both Sutherland and Horne to keep a focused, resonant, controlled sound that is actually quite high and bright, which allows them to move the voice for the difficult coloratura and the exceptional trills. Today's generation is too infatuated with manufacturing a huge, dark sound that it becomes too open and spread, which leads to a loss of control and flexibility which leads to muddy, slow coloratura and barely adequate trills.

[@arthurparada3251]

I can't listen to them this is all I listen to. I won't pay the met and I am the target audience so I wouldn't be surprised if they go out of business like I hear a bunch of actual Met artists talking about.

[@wilsonwatt9283]

We who love the art of operatic singing were given a great gift that these two singers were in their prime during the same time period. Although Sutherland also sang with other great mezzos, the match between Horne and her vocal quality and technical skills in bel canto repertoire were beyond all other partnerships. Neither ever has to hold back when performing these great duets with the absolute vocal perfection they demand.

[@wilsonwatt9283]

I think we also hear here something that Price called "singing on the interest". Sutherland, in live performance [saw her in a total of 8 live operas], always gave the impression that, although she was filling huge houses [Chicago Lyric, The Met, Covent Garden] with her voice that she could have doubled the volume easily without any loss of speed, quality, or technical accuracy. This simply added to the listener's experience of something beyond belief when one heard her live.

[@jeffreyhunter7635]

Very good study!! It’s so true when in a different hall the singer and voice match that acoustic by listening to one’s inner ear and using that splendid vocal phenomenon to resonate sound. Sutherland proves this in the recording of Turandot and you can hear her vocal weight regardless the tessitura

[@debbiewoodburn6786]

Loved the way they understood and supported one another. Wonderful to listen to.

[@luismontecinos9916]

Nowadays we do not have singers of this quality, I suppose. May 2017 Santiago of Chile

[@arthurparada3251]

No we do not

[@merandhi]

There are other great singers but these ladies voices matched each other perfectly as did their techniques. Dame Joan and Maralyn reintroduced the "Bel Canto" repertoire because they could sing the material they way it was meant to be sung. If you really want to swoon check out the Lincoln Center recitle with the ladies and Pavarotti. It was the opera experience of my lifetime.

[@wilsonwatt9283]

Also, another absolutely marvelous thing was the availability of a great bel canto basso [Ramey} for at least some of the careers of these two. This made for spectacular live and recorded versions of a number of great operas.

[@jordancosta6289]

Thanks for posting!

[@operalover42]

Comment peut-on chanter aussi bien ???!!!

[@cliffgaither]

_If Ramey is going to be mentioned w / these Phenomenal Singers, then Joseph Rouleau should be mentioned as well. He was the Greatest 'Assur'._

[@mattd.c.7157]

There are NO true Bel Canto singers anymore. Hopefully, there will be some day, but these 2 women will never be equaled.

[@arthurparada3251]

Definitely not for me these singers are part of my identity

[@barrynicolle1821]

Of course I meant to write Duets NOT diets. Slip of the finger,!!!

[@barrynicolle1821]

I think the almighty created these two ladies together purposely to sing the Semiramideand Norma diets together