Cheap Complete Bell Telephone Hour Performances: Joan Sutherland, Vol. 1 (Video) (Joan Sutherland) Price

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Customer Reviews of Complete Bell Telephone Hour Performances: Joan Sutherland, Vol. 1

The most stupendous singing by the young Sutherland
This tape is phenomenal. Dame Joan never sang that spectacular again. It puts her Lucia tape and
her Lucrecia Borgia tape to shame. And I love her in those two performances.
Among the many highlight is the Mad scene from Hamlet which is sung even better than one she did
in "Art of the Prima Donna". Now that's a statement. Her coloratura here is so free and easy, and
her runs are so fast and accurate that I had to rewind and rewind to make sure I'm not dreaming.
She goes to a high F above high C in a chromatic scale in superhigh speed without missing even a
single half note. And her trills are the last word in the art of bel canto.
Another highlight sees the young Sutherland looking thin and beautiful. She must have been a size
10 when she did her Elvira in I Puritani. And she was so expressive as she glided down the steps
ever so gracefully. The "Vien Diletto" cabaletta is definitive.
To show that Dame Joan can act, a 1961 Desdemona is a "see to believe". She is beautiful here
too, and her performance is emotional and well acted. As good as any of Callas's.
The Bell song is sung so fabulously that you may want to throw away your other versions of it (the
non Sutherland ones, that is). Her staccato is effortless, and her runs are like strings of pearls, each
one distinct from its neighbor. While Lily Pon's Bell Song sound like dinner bells, Sutherland's
sound like church bells.
The "Sempre libera is the best that Dame Joan has put on tape. The trill before its cabaletta is the
best trill that I've ever heard, even from the "Queen of the trill" herself. And the high E flat is both
spine tinkling and HUGE. I think that high E flat is the biggest and the best E flat she's put on any of
her videos. Of course, you have to have this tape, even if it is just to hear that note.
There's also a gratifying Sextet from Lucia and a fab Quartet from Rigoletto. Note how fresh and
beautiful her voice was during this period. How powerful and full of ring her high notes are. She was
the "Queen of opera".
Of course the high point of the DVD is the mad scene from Lucia recorded in 1962. This is the best
"Mad scene" she's ever recorded. Infinitely better than the famed 1983 Met DVD mentioned
earlier. (if you have it, I dare you to make a comparison, you will be floored, as spectacular as she
was as Lucia in 1983, she is devastatingly electrifying in 1962 -- almost a totally different voice). In
fact, this "Mad Scene" is even better than her legendary 1960 complete recording with Cioni first
available in LP and now available in Cd. Most notable is her upward chromatic scale at the end of
her cadenza of the "Mad Scene"...its definition is so defined that it almost sound like she staccato it,
surely it equals that of the flute that preceeded her. Her trill here beats the flute, and the arpeggios
and staccati are so dead on that's it's just not human. She also absolutely nails and holds BOTH of
her high E flats. Needless to say, no opera lover should be without this Lucia selection.
Another very satisfying scene is from Act 2 of Tosca with Dame Joan singing opposite Tito Gobbi.
Her luscious tones are ideal for Tosca, and she sings and acts so beautifully here. Tito Gobbi was
said to have ask her to sing it with him on stage. A proposition that the great diva declined. With her
recorded Turandot being one of the best selling opera sets for Decca, I can't help but imagine that a
Sutherland Tosca with Gobbi would have been a sure hit. She surely shows Callas that she can sing
Puccini's most temperamental tragic heroine too.
All in all, this is truly a "must have", not only for Dame Joan Sutherland's fans, but for all lovers of
the art of great singing. This is my all time favorite opera video.

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The best singing you're likely to hear from a coloratura
The Callas basher here obviously never heard the YOUNG Sutherland's voice (circa 1960-1968
here). In those days La Stupenda is world renowned for having the clearest, most crystline voice in
the world. She's Justly famous for having one the most beautiful voice around. Trill for trill, runs for
runs, high notes for high notes, and staccato for staccato, she's unbeatable.

For over 30 years she ruled the operatic heaven as the Queen of bel canto. I think that's the reason
the Callas crowd has always hated her. It is so plainly obvious that Sutherland is vastly superior to
Callas vocally and technically. And her emergence in 1959 as Lucia made La Stupenda the
overnight toast of the operatic world and certainly help force the Greek diva into an early
retirement - not wanting to be second best.

This collection of the toughest bel canto arias sung by La stupenda sets the standards by which all
other coloraturas who follow should and must be judged by.

No one, and I repeat no one, past, present and in the future are likely to compare favorably to
Sutherland's command of the art of coloratura singing, let alone come close to these definitive
interpretations of these most taxing arias ever written.

If you want to hear mind boggling, jaw dropping singing that epitomizes a vocal virtuosa, this is the
DVD for you. For the shere beauty and possibilities of the human voice, this collection of bel canto
warhorses is invincible.

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Prima donna assoluta
This is the real Joan Sutherland. The greatest coloratura soprano in history. She sings the most difficult bel canto arias with ease and perfection. Her vocal technique has no flaws. Although her sense of drama has its limits.
But if you want to hear the possibilities of the human voice, I urge you to buy this cd and its companian.