The Art of the Prima Donna
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Free Music Notes for The Art of the Prima Donna
Free Music Review: prima donna assoluta per sempre!
Hit: 5 Stars
All of the glowing reviews here are not just the result of a bunch of opera nuts engaging in hyperbole. This recording is a milestone in the history of opera. No one, past or present, can match Sutherland in terms of being able to hit the high notes without the voice thinning out. Sutherland never loses her luster, no matter how high the note is. And she delivers the trills and other coloratura tricks in a superhuman manner. In terms of soprano wizardry, I can only include Monserrat Caballe in the same league, for her breathtaking pianissimo.As another reviewer stated, Sutherland did develop some nasty singing habits after this recording. But part of that was due to a persistent, nasty sinus infection, and having all of her teeth capped with porcelain. However, to her credit, I would like to defend her in this regard, and suggest that there were later recordings that are better than the ones here. I'm specifically thinking of Son Vergin Vezzosa. The recording included in this recital is lacking, in that the rest of the quartet is left out. To have an idea of how early Sutherland sounds with the quartet intact for Son Vergin Vezzosa, listen to the selection included on the La Stupenda recording (which is taken from her first studio recording of the complete opera). You will realize how much joy is missing from this polanaisse when the rest of the quartet is excluded. And, to here Sutherland sing it with more meaning, listen to her second studio recording of this opera with Luciano Pavarotti (which, sadly, is currently out of circulation). I write all of this about one selection, because I don't want opera fans to walk away thinking that nothing Sutherland recorded after Art of the Prima Donna is worth owning.
One of the best selections here, for an opera that she never recorded in the studio or performed live, is Martern aller Arten from Abduction from the Seraglio. She absolutely nails this one, attacking the diction, coloratura, and tempi with bravura. It's such a shame that she and her husband, Richard Bonynge, rejected early offers for her to sing it at the Met. By the time she got around to considering it, she was already too far past her prime to do it justice. Wisely, she recognized this, and just shrugged her shoulders about the whole affair.
The diversity of this recital is almost unparalleled. She excels in everything from Handel to Verdi to Delibes to Mozart, all with stunning results.
There is another recital that Joan recorded before this one, which was rereleased some years ago as part of Decca's Grandi Voci collection. It repeats Casta Diva and Vien Diletto, but includes highlights not included in Art of the Prima Donna, such as those from Attila, Ernani, Linda du Chamonix, I Vespri Siciliani, and Lucia di Lammermoor. If you find it, snatch it up, and together with Art of the Prima Donna you will have a testament of the dawn of one of the most glorious careers in opera history.
Free Music Review: Joan was never better
Hit: 5 Stars
This album is a bittersweet experience. In 1959, Joan Sutherland, a friendly, down-to-earth Aussie, burst onto the scene as Lucia di Lammermoor. She became an overnight sensation, her bright, bell-like voice and seemingly perfect technique wowing everyone. The record companies quickly noticed. This album, a 'tribute' to past prima donnas, came out in 1960 and demonstrates what the fuss was all about. Joan had ARRIVED -- she was now a great Prima Donna. The clear, silvery, bell-like voice, the incredible upper range, the amazing trills, and, most of all, a freshness and youth that made listening to her like drinking a glass of bubbles. Of all the selections I am particularly fond of the Sonnambula scene. I really felt like I was possibly listening to Jenny Lind. But all of the selections are wonderful. A particularly lovely moment is her top B-flats in Casta diva (sung in original key for once). The brightness and radiance of her voice is truly like listening to a bunch of singing diamonds. There is perhaps not much deep characterization, but the purity and sumptuousness of her singing is valuable enough in itself. Then, in 1961, something happened. Her technical wizardry remained untouched, but it was a different singer. The voice became much darker, lost all its silvery sheen, and she developed rather annoyingly 'droopy' mannerisms. She started to slack behind the conductor's beat, as if she were a perpetual turtle following a hare. Worst of all, her diction became atrocious (for anyone who thinks she started out with bad diction just listen to this album, where it is fine). The consonants (particularly 'b'and 'd', which are for all intents and purposes indistinguishable) became soft and mushy, the vowels distorted (everything became 'aw' and 'ooo'). Diction hit rock bottom in her 1964 recording of Norma, which is completely incomprehensible. By the 1970's she got some of the consonants back, but the lovely, youthful sounding, bell-like voice heard in 1959-60 was gone forever. People speculate on the reasons, but most people think it was some sort of health crisis that prompted her to rework her voice.
For this reason listening to this album is bittersweet. Joan just wasnt the same after this. But GET THIS ALBUM! Even for non-Joan fans, this is a must for great singing.
Free Music Review: Bravo
Hit: 5 Stars
Gorgeous! Sutherland displays total control and ease in these most difficult of all arias. Surely, a ravishing trill, a stunning staccato, and gigantic top E's(and E naturals). You have to hear what this woman is capable of...She is the best, absolutely incomparable...
Free Music Review: Girl, this is fabulous
Hit: 5 Stars
Dame Joan Sutherland, what a diva. Girl, I tell you, this is the most fabulous recital I've ever heard. And I've been around a long time, honey. Frankly, everytime I hear this I get goose pimples. I don't go to the opera too much these days. I just put on a CD by Sutherland or Price and I'm set for the evening. This is fabulous, absolutely fabulous.Free Music Review: The Grand Dame of Opera
Hit: 5 Stars
She is the Queen, the mistress of bel canto, the great Joan Sutherland. She was at the height of her immense powers in this early recording. She will be known as La Stupenda. But she will never again be as stupendous as she is in this 2 Cd collection. Included are virtually all of the arias that are the ultimate test of a coloratura soprano's art. And she makes child's play out of them. This is the most superlative collection of the art of bel canto ever made...