I was at this performance when it was recorded. Before the opera began somebody came on stage to explain that Joan had been experiencing throat problems so she was apologizing to the audience if her singing was not up to her usual standard. The only thing I noticed was she cut the final high note short in the Bell Song. I was not disappointed at all. Even with a throat infection she carried on and gave a magnificent performance. Bravo Joan. You are sadly missed.
+george prentice Thanks George. It's good to get a nice comment. We all have our own favourite versions of the Bell Song but you don't have to put down other people's opinion of theirs. It doesn't cost anything to be polite.
I was onstage up the back in this opera . The one holding the basket of oranges. Joan was amazing. I was also her understudy. Her voice was so pure and magical. These recordings dont do it justice at all. You have to have been there. The hairs would stand up on end!
Joan Sutherland was one of the greatest voices of the 20th century; a great soprano and great prima donna. This performance brought tears to my eyes. This sometimes happens when in the presence of greatness. Brava Dame Joan! You are missed!
One of my favorite versions! Poor Joan receives so many criticisms- either because people don't think she was pretty enough, or because they think her diction is terrible- and while her diction might have left something to be desired, that wasn't why she became so renowned (and she constantly worked to improve it which is admirable). She was so revered, because she had a rare ability; which was, the ability to carry great in her voice throughout her singing range with utterly amazing effortlessness and technique. I won't lie- Lilly Pons was totally amazing, as is Dessay, but Joan doesn't do this song any injustices.
It is the concept that lies behind her as a musician what makes some of us to critizise her. Well, I really don't critizise. I just refuse to admit that she was in the same league with some other famous opera singers. She was an athlete. The fastest, the highest, the most powerful. But just an athlete. A vocal one. I think she never really intended anything else. And that is right. I believe it is what some of her fans say about her, comparing her to others, what we critizise. Still I love her. But I love others more and/or in a different way.
robert111k Sir....you are the FIRST person in YEARS of reading "You Tube" comments that has said this "athlete" concept about Joan Sutherland....and I couldn't agree with you more! You have really grasped what she was! She was the Michael Jordan of Opera Singers!
No doubt, the best ever!!!!, Joan Sutherland proved not only to be a great artist, but a wonderful person, that gaves over all this years, the great joy to share her art and talent. may The Lord keep her there at His side, leading his ensamble of Divine voices in heaven...BRAVAAAA!!!!, Viva Joan Sutherland forever!!!!
She was singing this when she obviously had difficulties with high notes. The cadenza at the start was transposed a third lower (instead of high e she sings c-sharp), she didn't sing high e in the middle. The last high e was good though, but she didn't hold it for long - obviously couldn't anymore. But the way she sang it here is still awesome
If only you younger UA-camrs had been there...you just had to be there to experience the impact of her voice in the theater, ...how it flooded the theater with sound...and to be able to truly bask in the sound which was always beautiful and embracing. Here in this clip, it sounds as if her voice is contained in a little box of sound around her mouth and the whole flood of sound that actually was always a part of her singing is totally absent...a travesty, really. So terribly sad...
Leo Delibes talvez tenha em Dame Joan a maior a melhor interprete de sua obra, Lakme que não é nem de longe uma das mais conhecidas das óperas, pelo menos para os brasileiros, teve a honra de ter essa grande interprete levando a muitos o conhecimento das canções Flower Duet e The Bell Song. Brava!
Cuando empecé a escuchar ópera pensé que está Joan Sutherland era lo mejor pero al tiempo al afinar mis oídos y mi cultura operística ver a otras voces de la misma tesitura vi las grandes deficiencias que tenía su falta de dicción su fraceo el no pronunciar el idioma correctamente el no entender que decía y que solo salía avante con la proyección de voz me hizo ver que lejos está de ser lo muchos piensan una diva se dice en México que no todo loque brilla es oro y esto es Joan Sutherland
I may be wrong, but here, it sounds as if she has transposed it to a lower key... I am not sure, but the other Bell Songs I have heard sound as if they are in a much higher key.
It would have been more surprising if she for once would sing an aria in the original key. She transposed so many arias just to be able to sing them instead of choosing repertoire that was within her range.
Well, now you have to have what has been recorded and be grateful.She was a perfect genius, but reading the comments on here one would think she was a novice and the writers of complints were the true artist. Charlatans all of you.
Feisenbach Sutherland had a very long career and she did not transpose pieces when she started out her career in fact she's one of the very few singers who sang castadiva and original key which is not a small accomplishment. I would much rather your Joan Sutherland transposed and in a comfortable key than anybody else in the right key. But that is just me
Unfortunately not her best performance. She was already 50 years old, much more of a Lucrezia Borgia or a Norma than a Lakmé, and she was apparently sick with a throat infection, you can hear her voice sounds drier and less stable than usual. Nonetheless, considering those circumstances, this is still a marvelous performance, especially if you pay attention at the little but all important (and too often neglected) details of the score, the subtlte fioriture and nuances of the phrasing, the musicianship is there in spades... and also consider this rounded and lush middle voice. You rarely get to hear a Lakmé with all those qualities, even young leggero sopranos in their prime.
@neneorganico And your point is? Sutherland is great because Callas was not great? How about something like "both of them were fantastic singers in different ways and different repertoires"?
actually a lo tof them come from singers who while appreciate her ...have to hold her to the same standards we were all held to ....that is how classical music stays at a good standard ...we are always finding fault ..seeking the inhuman...
@@silverkitty2503she helped set the standard you're attempting to hold her too, so I'm not too interested in that as an excuse. Her diction is mushy, but the sound itself is vibrant, well supported and consistent, to say the least. Just stop.
@@crazydiamond1273а при чем тут ее муж? Вы явно не слышали эту студийную арию Каллас. Она не просто гений, она и была опера. Сазерленд здесь вроде как технически хороша, но слышно как она подходит к каждой отдельной фразе, нет общего полотна, которое могла только Каллас делать,когда забываешь о пении и технических нюансах и погружаешься в транс арии, эмоции, смыслы. Здесь же все разрозненно, хотя и жмоционально. Но сравнивать это с Каллас немыслимо.
@@crazydiamond1273 куда уж мне до вашей объективности в обсуждении её личной жизни. И еще сделаем вид, что о её творчестве не было написано около 60 книг и монографий, в котором был разобран досконально каждый её выход на сцену. Куда уж всем этим авторам до вас.
C'mon. What are you saying? Excuse me, but I read comments to search for extra knowledge from others, or even to widen my views. I can't select what to read before I read it... and after I read it, I can't un-read it can I?
@donniecatalano Instead of hating UA-cam for the braggarts you so seem to despise, you should be thanking them for allowing you access to more video clips of music and more at your fingertips than at other time in history.
She is amazing of course but im just so in love with the way that Gruberova sings this area y think is better for a soprano coloratura. Anyway i love Sutherland acting!!!!
@TeePetersen: and I do love people for uploading stuff - don't get me wrong - I thank them all the time. What I hate is just the random people expressing their "valuable opinions" on anything, everything and everybody. That's the crap... and in a real conversation things would be very different.
I just read that she was experiencing throat issues at that time and it makes sense... I was about to ask if the two last notes were lip-synced. Anyone thinks the same? I don't know, there are like two voices singing the second last note and then at the final one she does it great, although her struggle to hit the same note previously... It's curious, because she is undoubtedly La Stupenda, but I kinda feel sorry for her having to lip sync this note, if it really was the case... You are really missed, Dame Joan Sutherland!
This is just *painful* , by today's standards. It's not merely that Sutherland is miscast as Lakmi, who is supposed to be in her youth and, one presumes, with a youthful figure and youthful energy, but her timbre is wrong for the role; it really calls for a proper coloratura soprano with a high, clear tone and good articulation, to be able to get that crystalline bell sound. And I'm guessing that Ms. Sutherland didn't speak French, or at least not well; she seems to not have much of a grasp of it here. Compare this with what may just be the reference standard for Lakmi -- Sabine Devieilhe: ua-cam.com/video/C-p-2JOHJ2Y/v-deo.html
I agree 100% with you. Besides all the things you mentioned, there's also the transposing of Lakmé's main aria, which only highlights the fact that Sutherland's voice doesn't suit this role at all. At least on the CD recording for Decca she transposed the entire aria just one half step down, whereas here she goes down a third in the opening vocalise and then up again in the main aria while ending below the original key and still having trouble singing the highest notes! Some singers are just desperate to sing roles they shouldn't even attempt, and they use their fame and reputation as an excuse. If Sutherland had sung this opera in the beginning of her carreer, we might have had a different story. But the video above is just embarassing.
Oooh, it’s lowered? so that totally means it isn’t high at all. I mean a Db6 and an Eb6 aren’t high notes...😒 Where’s your beautiful top notes. Ooh it was lowered. Guess what even Patti, Malibran, etc lowered things.
Evan every venue has different acoustics, Joan was very mature here, Sydney Opera House recorded by THE ABC. IN THE EIGHTIES. ETC ETC. Listen to every recording and be thankful for them.
I was at this performance when it was recorded. Before the opera began somebody came on stage to explain that Joan had been experiencing throat problems so she was apologizing to the audience if her singing was not up to her usual standard. The only thing I noticed was she cut the final high note short in the Bell Song. I was not disappointed at all. Even with a throat infection she carried on and gave a magnificent performance. Bravo Joan. You are sadly missed.
yes
I admire you that you were there!!
+george prentice Thanks George. It's good to get a nice comment. We all have our own favourite versions of the Bell Song but you don't have to put down other people's opinion of theirs. It doesn't cost anything to be polite.
Gordon Dutton I'm glad you told us about the announcement before the opera started!
Whenever they announced that ... she was always even more brilliant! No recording does her justice, except maybe the Esclarmonde.
I was onstage up the back in this opera . The one holding the basket of oranges.
Joan was amazing. I was also her understudy.
Her voice was so pure and magical. These recordings dont do it justice at all. You have to have been there. The hairs would stand up on end!
shes a troll. I thought I recognized her profile pic and I was right. shes a troll.
I so believe you!!!
Don' t why you hate? she's s perfect
Thank you for your memories! I wish I could have been there to hear her live in this opera!
topazinoz Yeah, and I was the one applying the hairspray to her horrendous wig when she went off stage :)
...is she even trying? It's demented - she doesn't even look like it takes the slightest effort to sing this. Brava, as always, Ms. Sutherland.
I love her, can you hate her???!??
Joan Sutherland was one of the greatest voices of the 20th century; a great soprano and great prima donna. This performance brought tears to my eyes. This sometimes happens when in the presence of greatness. Brava Dame Joan! You are missed!
Dame Joan Sutherland is extraordinary. Her soprano voice is magnificent. Her stage presence is full of confidence. Lovely.
So impressive! It seems so effortless to Dame Joan to toss off the runs, trills and high notes like nobody's business.
her vocal chords were as responsive as anything
Saw her live in concert in NYC in 1981
No way to describe how much even Better she was Live!!!
Oh. My. God. She is the premier vocal athlete of the opera world! RIP Dame Joan Sutherland.
Omg the hours of practice to make it so heavenly appealing. Absolutely enchanting performance. Practice makes perfect indeed!
Great as usual. Joan was a star. Just enjoy her singing at any time.
Wow ! reading the subtitles and understanding the song's context makes it so much more exciting!!!
Fantastic!!
One of my favorite versions! Poor Joan receives so many criticisms- either because people don't think she was pretty enough, or because they think her diction is terrible- and while her diction might have left something to be desired, that wasn't why she became so renowned (and she constantly worked to improve it which is admirable). She was so revered, because she had a rare ability; which was, the ability to carry great in her voice throughout her singing range with utterly amazing effortlessness and technique. I won't lie- Lilly Pons was totally amazing, as is Dessay, but Joan doesn't do this song any injustices.
It is the concept that lies behind her as a musician what makes some of us to critizise her. Well, I really don't critizise. I just refuse to admit that she was in the same league with some other famous opera singers. She was an athlete. The fastest, the highest, the most powerful. But just an athlete. A vocal one. I think she never really intended anything else. And that is right. I believe it is what some of her fans say about her, comparing her to others, what we critizise. Still I love her. But I love others more and/or in a different way.
robert111k Sir....you are the FIRST person in YEARS of reading "You Tube" comments that has said this "athlete" concept about Joan Sutherland....and I couldn't agree with you more!
You have really grasped what she was! She was the Michael Jordan of Opera Singers!
Mado Robin et mady mesplé
she truly is a master at her craft and has great love for the role
Superb. The one and only.
wonderful Joan!!great, great!!!
Absulutament fantastique et magnifique.💖🌟🌹
Wonderful Joan Sutherland
Her final high note and trill was superb. Great job as always!
No doubt, the best ever!!!!, Joan Sutherland proved not only to be a great artist, but a wonderful person, that gaves over all this years, the great joy to share her art and talent. may The Lord keep her there at His side, leading his ensamble of Divine voices in heaven...BRAVAAAA!!!!, Viva Joan Sutherland forever!!!!
there is always beauty in her voice, and she sang this with such easiness.
Magnificent 🎼❤️🎼🕊🌏🕊❤️🙋♀️
Awesome!
La stupenda!
so reliefing,, heavens voice
Bravo !!!!!!!!
Brava Brava
wonderful
thank You
E ' assolutamente Magnifica!!!! Mari
Pretty amazing marvelous!
...no words needed!
She was singing this when she obviously had difficulties with high notes. The cadenza at the start was transposed a third lower (instead of high e she sings c-sharp), she didn't sing high e in the middle. The last high e was good though, but she didn't hold it for long - obviously couldn't anymore.
But the way she sang it here is still awesome
+akherousia Yes she was.
she was sick for god sake
Actually, Dame Joan does sing the high note in the middle as written - but she does not hold it as is sometimes (often?) the case.
She had a throat infection.
@@lemgull7865 that person meant that Joan was obviously sick.
Straordinaria! Come sempre! 💘💘💘
Brilliant
Simply marvelous!!!!!!!! Bravisima!!!!!
No one sang it better than THE DIVINE.
beautiful la stupenda trills spot on.
If only you younger UA-camrs had been there...you just had to be there to experience the impact of her voice in the theater, ...how it flooded the theater with sound...and to be able to truly bask in the sound which was always beautiful and embracing. Here in this clip, it sounds as if her voice is contained in a little box of sound around her mouth and the whole flood of sound that actually was always a part of her singing is totally absent...a travesty, really. So terribly sad...
eoselan7 I like that you remind us of this!
If you listen closely, you can hear her projection in the house.
@@cizzam21 it would be difficult to hear presence because the Sydney Opera House has no acoustic whatsoever.
The best ever!
this is wonderful, especially the beginning...
Bravíssimo!!!
Esta opera, mas eu acho estupenda!!!
Obrigado pelo vídeo!!!
Sublime! Brava!
Bravo!!!!!
at 5:59 she looks like my grandma climbing on to that podium my GOD now I love her even more
Eximia Joan Shuterland
Leo Delibes talvez tenha em Dame Joan a maior a melhor interprete de sua obra, Lakme que não é nem de longe uma das mais conhecidas das óperas, pelo menos para os brasileiros, teve a honra de ter essa grande interprete levando a muitos o conhecimento das canções Flower Duet e The Bell Song. Brava!
Como gostaria de tê-la conhecido.
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Suddenly, everybody is a great expert, the finest listener on the planet!!!! :-S I hate youtube for this
People, listen carefully to the Moffo version [ with orchestra] on youtube!
La tecnica de Joan aun esta por superar.Nadie la iguala.
Yo la amo.siempre te amaré Joa3
She was fireworks. Beautiful fireworks. Colourful fireworks. Powerful fireworks. But just fireworks.
She remains the greatest singer who ever lived.
it's so cool to be french and to understand what she says without at the subtitles, ^^ cause usually it's in german, or other languages
without looking*
+Ben G I'm polish and I don't understand, what polish singers sing polish operas, so… you should be happy of understand french libretto.
+Ben G Huh- I don't llkelistening to opera in English without subtitles.
Hahaha Same here
she is the goddes
Cuando empecé a escuchar ópera pensé que está Joan Sutherland era lo mejor pero al tiempo al afinar mis oídos y mi cultura operística ver a otras voces de la misma tesitura vi las grandes deficiencias que tenía su falta de dicción su fraceo el no pronunciar el idioma correctamente el no entender que decía y que solo salía avante con la proyección de voz me hizo ver que lejos está de ser lo muchos piensan una diva se dice en México que no todo loque brilla es oro y esto es Joan Sutherland
I had to come here and listen to what it should have sounded like having listened to Florence Foster Jenkins
LOL Meryl did a magnificent job nevertheless
I may be wrong, but here, it sounds as if she has transposed it to a lower key... I am not sure, but the other Bell Songs I have heard sound as if they are in a much higher key.
+Sojeet Sharma You are right. This version is 3 half notes lower.
+Seleuce No, that's incorrect. It's one half-tone lower. She sang it in E-flat instead of E.
It would have been more surprising if she for once would sing an aria in the original key. She transposed so many arias just to be able to sing them instead of choosing repertoire that was within her range.
Well, now you have to have what has been recorded and be grateful.She was a perfect genius, but reading the comments on here one would think she was a novice and the writers of complints were the true artist. Charlatans all of you.
Feisenbach Sutherland had a very long career and she did not transpose pieces when she started out her career in fact she's one of the very few singers who sang castadiva and original key which is not a small accomplishment. I would much rather your Joan Sutherland transposed and in a comfortable key than anybody else in the right key. But that is just me
her voice combined womanliness with girlishness
@ok260474, yeah I agree. But love the little bell player at 5:30 .
The guy in the blue in the back keeps falling asleep... :P
8:24 is it dubbed over?
Also her diction is pretty good here. Usually I can't understand a single word she sings in French.
Unfortunately not her best performance. She was already 50 years old, much more of a Lucrezia Borgia or a Norma than a Lakmé, and she was apparently sick with a throat infection, you can hear her voice sounds drier and less stable than usual. Nonetheless, considering those circumstances, this is still a marvelous performance, especially if you pay attention at the little but all important (and too often neglected) details of the score, the subtlte fioriture and nuances of the phrasing, the musicianship is there in spades... and also consider this rounded and lush middle voice. You rarely get to hear a Lakmé with all those qualities, even young leggero sopranos in their prime.
This new kids in youtube so stupid...
Joan you is amazing Diva so good aria i love you voice♡
Is down a full tone? Sounds like a completely different aria..
What happened to the orchestra at the end!!
they probably think she is gonna hold the note longer
@neneorganico And your point is? Sutherland is great because Callas was not great? How about something like "both of them were fantastic singers in different ways and different repertoires"?
VOINEA RULES THIS ARIA.
The orchestra messed up at the end!! I wish I could have seen her live!
@windstorm1000 does the MET currently have any sopranos that have these high notes?
My head actually hurts from the idiocy I've seen in the comments.
actually a lo tof them come from singers who while appreciate her ...have to hold her to the same standards we were all held to ....that is how classical music stays at a good standard ...we are always finding fault ..seeking the inhuman...
@@silverkitty2503she helped set the standard you're attempting to hold her too, so I'm not too interested in that as an excuse. Her diction is mushy, but the sound itself is vibrant, well supported and consistent, to say the least. Just stop.
This sounds low to me. Did hubby transpose it?
@donniecatalano I agree with you!
si vous écoutez bien, à la fin, sur l'ultime aigu, une soprano la seconde en coulisse ;)
Sutherland was great. Callas was great. Both were unique, very gifted sopranos.
Yes, Sutherland was great, but Callas was a genius.
@@3uHo4ka все, что имела Каллас - хорошего мужа и неплохие данные. Гением она была только в Ваших фантазиях.
@@crazydiamond1273а при чем тут ее муж? Вы явно не слышали эту студийную арию Каллас. Она не просто гений, она и была опера. Сазерленд здесь вроде как технически хороша, но слышно как она подходит к каждой отдельной фразе, нет общего полотна, которое могла только Каллас делать,когда забываешь о пении и технических нюансах и погружаешься в транс арии, эмоции, смыслы. Здесь же все разрозненно, хотя и жмоционально. Но сравнивать это с Каллас немыслимо.
@@alexdus4435 это только ваше мнение, а не объективная оценка. "Гений", "она и была опера" - это все эмоции, не имеющие объективности
@@crazydiamond1273 куда уж мне до вашей объективности в обсуждении её личной жизни. И еще сделаем вид, что о её творчестве не было написано около 60 книг и монографий, в котором был разобран досконально каждый её выход на сцену. Куда уж всем этим авторам до вас.
PRICELESS/SIN PRECIO!:-)
The only coloratura role Sutherland could not sing well was the Queen of the Night. Other than that, she was flawless...
she was old here
C'mon. What are you saying? Excuse me, but I read comments to search for extra knowledge from others, or even to widen my views. I can't select what to read before I read it... and after I read it, I can't un-read it can I?
J'aime beaucoup mais que Nathalie dessay est excellente pour cette interprétation
That was pretty great considering a throat infection!
@donniecatalano Instead of hating UA-cam for the braggarts you so seem to despise, you should be thanking them for allowing you access to more video clips of music and more at your fingertips than at other time in history.
She is amazing of course but im just so in love with the way that Gruberova sings this area y think is better for a soprano coloratura.
Anyway i love Sutherland acting!!!!
,,The bell song''---1. J. Sutherland 2: L.Pons 3.A. Gali_Curci 4. E. Gruberova 5. N. Dessey
05:10
@TeePetersen: and I do love people for uploading stuff - don't get me wrong - I thank them all the time. What I hate is just the random people expressing their "valuable opinions" on anything, everything and everybody. That's the crap... and in a real conversation things would be very different.
I just read that she was experiencing throat issues at that time and it makes sense... I was about to ask if the two last notes were lip-synced. Anyone thinks the same? I don't know, there are like two voices singing the second last note and then at the final one she does it great, although her struggle to hit the same note previously... It's curious, because she is undoubtedly La Stupenda, but I kinda feel sorry for her having to lip sync this note, if it really was the case... You are really missed, Dame Joan Sutherland!
Sop leggero
This is just *painful* , by today's standards. It's not merely that Sutherland is miscast as Lakmi, who is supposed to be in her youth and, one presumes, with a youthful figure and youthful energy, but her timbre is wrong for the role; it really calls for a proper coloratura soprano with a high, clear tone and good articulation, to be able to get that crystalline bell sound. And I'm guessing that Ms. Sutherland didn't speak French, or at least not well; she seems to not have much of a grasp of it here. Compare this with what may just be the reference standard for Lakmi -- Sabine Devieilhe: ua-cam.com/video/C-p-2JOHJ2Y/v-deo.html
I agree 100% with you. Besides all the things you mentioned, there's also the transposing of Lakmé's main aria, which only highlights the fact that Sutherland's voice doesn't suit this role at all. At least on the CD recording for Decca she transposed the entire aria just one half step down, whereas here she goes down a third in the opening vocalise and then up again in the main aria while ending below the original key and still having trouble singing the highest notes! Some singers are just desperate to sing roles they shouldn't even attempt, and they use their fame and reputation as an excuse. If Sutherland had sung this opera in the beginning of her carreer, we might have had a different story. But the video above is just embarassing.
Here La Stupenda admits herself that Lakmé wasn't right for her: ua-cam.com/video/l6-3PgJ0zD0/v-deo.html
We just watched Florence Foster Jenkins singing this in the movie. This is definitely a better performance, in my opinion.
why doesn't the MET do this opera???
EXQUISITA
I'm no donniecatalano or anything, but she seems to have made a name for herself.
It was really too high for her, but this remains pure good.
But her french diction is just ridiculous...
Julien THERA you obviously don’t sing this repertoire,,,
maria callas ' s version is my favourite
+Anubhab Chatterjee Mine too. La Divina
+Jagoda Sawczuk mine to as well as mady mesple.
has maria sung it live? i'm only aware of a studio version.
@@ksionc100 not in live! In recording
"these high notes?" shes singing this is a lowered key
Oooh, it’s lowered? so that totally means it isn’t high at all. I mean a Db6 and an Eb6 aren’t high notes...😒
Where’s your beautiful top notes.
Ooh it was lowered. Guess what even Patti, Malibran, etc lowered things.
Evan every venue has different acoustics, Joan was very mature here,
Sydney Opera House recorded by THE ABC. IN THE EIGHTIES.
ETC ETC.
Listen to every recording and be thankful for them.
After she got warmed up a bit, she wasn't too bad.. can't match Bev Sills, of course, but then, no one ever could or ever will again, imo.
kerryincolumbus I like your sense of humour.
Whatever your smoking, it must be powerful shit.
le rebota algunas notas
This is a lovely performance but I prefer the one by Lily Pons