One for the opera queens

[+ Charlie]

Whipped - I was fascinated by this. One of my favorite Sutherland recordings is her Met NORMA with Marilyn Horne -- sheer perfection.

That is also my favorite Sutherland recording.

[whipped guy]

Interestingly, my two favorite studio recordings of Norma are Sutherland's first where she is vocally near perfection, but dramatically somewhat subdued and the second Callas recording, which while riddled with vocal problems, finds La Divina as simply embodying the dramatic essence of Norma. Essentially the recordings are complete opposites. Bonynge leads a lyrical and mostly uncut version of the score and Serafin a forceful reading with traditional cuts. The supporting casts are a study in contrasts as well. Bonynge had the lighter voices of John Alexander and Marilyn Horne and Serafin the stentorian Franco Corelli and surprisingly Christa Ludwig in a rare foray into Bel Canto.

 

Incidentally, in the live MET recording referenced above Sutherland is more into the drama while still bring impressive vocally. Still, my desert island Norma is the 1955 live La Scala recording with Callas, Simionato, and del Monaco... a magical evening for Callas where she had her voice under total control.

 

Getting back to Bonynge it seems strange that a pianist from Down Under would even have a clue about Bel Canto back in those dark days. Let's just say the planets were perfectly aligned and that put him in the right place at the right time and hooked him up with the right woman...

[+ Charlie]

The studio recording was the one I was thinking of in my preceding comment. I saw John Alexander a number of times, but I thought he sounded more impressive here than in most of the live performances I saw.

[whipped guy]

Charlie... I always though that John Alexander was better in lyrical/Bel Canto as opposed to heavier roles. I saw him in Norma (with Sills) and he was just as good (if not better) and also in Fille with Sutherland where he nailed all nine high C's effortlessly. (That was the year that Pavarotti made his big splash at the MET and why Bing did not have him do the entire run is a mystery...but Alexander was still quite good... and much better than the awful Enrico di Giuseppe who incredibly got the broadcast!!!)

[sydneyboy]

In this old thread I alerted opera queens to the existence of 2 cute conductors, Andrea Battistoni and Robin Ticciati. I have discovered a new one (or new to me) Domingo Hindoyan. See for yourself on http://www.facebook.com/Domingo.Hindoyan. An assistant to Barenboim in Berlin. My idea of tres cute.

[sydneyboy]

I am reviving this old thread to announce that the divine looking conductor Andrea Battistoni, which prompted me to start the thread, is conducting ''Tosca'' at the Sydney Opera House next month. What have I done to deserve such luck! With an international cast of singers the performances promise to memorable indeed.