Customer Reviews

Bellini - I Puritani / Sutherland

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This is the 1962 version of Puritani that shows the young Australian diva at her most spectacular voice. Back in the early 1960's, she can do no wrong. All of the diva's later droopiness are non existent here, and the voice is so gorgeous that it leaves you breathless. Equally good is the Sonnambula of the same period.

The cd here is the masterpiece of our time... the tour de force of bel canto...but what happened to the Sutherland/Pavorotti Puritani they did in 1976??? That was one of the great bel canto recording of the 20th century. Why is Decca not releasing it???????? Granted, the cd here is a force to reckoned with, but we still need to have the 1976 recording.

In her first and better Puritani, Sutherland is phenomenal. No one can touch Sutherland when she was in her vocal prime as she is here. Fioritura, trills, staccati all done to perfection as always. But her high notes have to be heard to believe. Unlike Callas, who was terrified of the extreme high notes of "D" and "E", Sutherland is at most glorious there. A must have for the bel canto lover.

Sutherland will never sing this beautiful in her career again. This is even better than the 1960 Lucia.
The voice is girlish, clear as a bell. The coloratura completely effortless. And oh! What a gorgeoue mightly sound she produces. And the high notes Wagnerian in size.
I think this ranks only with "Art of the Prima donna". And certainly beats the formidable 1973 remake of Puritani with Pavarotti.
Hear Sutherland before her husband started to conduct for her and turn her sublime voice into a moaning old maid.(Luckily that was a slow process, the diva remain supreme in the 60's and only sounds old in the 70's)
This shows Sutherland in her full potential. No one in history can compare. Callas also sang a fine Puritani, but it is still far away second best. That's how good this one is.

I must comment on this Puritani. It is on a higher level as both Sill's and Callas's efforts. And it's on a higher level than the later 1973 Pavarotti edition. The reason is Puritani is the epitomy of a bel canto opera, and opulence of tone and impeccable technique is a must. With the drama being of less importance since the plot is so silly.
Because of this, Sutherland's earlier Elvira with its radiant tone and classic coloratura is my favorite. But I can see how others would consider the Callas, Sills, or even the later Sutherland Elvira as being the best. It's all a matter of taste. And all of these puritani is delightfully delicious to me.
Elvira aside, I will have to say that Pavarotti in Sutherland's later set is the classic Elvino. With his sweet tenor, he handles the fiendishly high tessitura effortlessly, edging out Gedda.
So this makes a difficult decision. Which Puritani is the best overall. I still say the Sutherland's first one because Sutherland's then clear silvery tone is just too beautiful to be true. But I also have Sutherland's second Puritani, Callas's, and Beverly Sills, and enjoy all of them immensely.

Sutherland recorded two fantastic Puritani. The first one with Duval has a girlish, opulent, open sound, with bigger voice and more spectacular high notes. The trills are stunning, as is the runs and chromatic downward fioratura. So it's my favorite. It is certainly infinitely superior to Sill's or Callas's.
The second Puritani finds a more mature Sutherland. The voice sounds bored at times, but the coloratura still stunning. But the voice have lost half its size. Although still big enough to compete with the great Luciano Pavarotti. (usually Dame Joan's high notes drown out everyone, including the chorus). But in the 1974 recording the highest notes are half it's former size. So it is up to Pavarotti to make the second set competitive with the first since Sutherland's first finds the soprano in so much better voice and high notes.
I'm not a huge fan of Pavarotti's. But he must be given credit for singing all the notes written by Bellini for Rubini. And that is quite an accomplishment. The opening aria for the tenor is splendid, the D flat a knockout. But it's the two high Ds in the last end that floored me. They were huge, and for the first time ever, he upstage Dame Joan in the above high C stratosphere. Plus Pavarotti is in his absolute prime in the second Sutherland Puritani, making that an essential recording.
Actually, both Sutherland's Puritani's are essential recordings. The first, the one feature here, has Dame Joan with a superhuman voice and even more breaktaking coloratura and especially HUGE high notes. The second Sutherland Puritani features a more refined Dame Joan with smaller and less spectacular high notes and slightly less perfect coloratura. And the Sutherland's glorious tone in this first set is definitely superior to the second set. A fault that is made up for by pavarotti's best performance on record.
So which set to get? I have both, and so should you. Callas also has a nice one, but it is tame next to Dame Joan's.
P.S. I have both, but I prefer to the one review here(the first Puritani, that is) because Sutherland's tone here is equal to that of her in the "art of the Prima Donna", and that recital is my all time favorite operatic album). Enjoy

La stupenda sings so freely here that I can't describe. But the most notable thing about Sutherland before she got old was the "squillo" that she had so much of in her youth that she lost later in life. That was what made her unique among colorturas.

But this is great singing. And it's not even difficult for her. She remains the " Voice of the Century" as her legions of fans said. And she's not even dead yet, and when she does die, she will be remember as the undispute prima donna assoluta of the 20th century, pushing Callas to the second position.

There seems to be some confusion about just which Puritani this is. It's the Bella Voce 2CD BLV107.227. (Not Decca, not Bonygne). It was recorded live in Palermo ,1961, with Sutherland, Raimondi, Mazzoli, Zanasi c. Serafin. And it's FABULOUS....but, the sound is not so good if you expect studio quality. There's lots of stage noise, prompting, and a very vocal Palermo audience. Sutherland and Raimondi are simply superb. Serafin makes you cry with the beauty of the tempi. However be warned - this is not studio. The men record well and they alone make it a wothwhile buy, however you may think Sutherland sometimes sounds 'thin' especially in the upper register. Apart from the obvious, some highlights are a very moving "Sai com'arde in petto mio" (Sutherland/Mazzoli) and a sensatioanl show-stopping "Vieni fra questa braccia" (Sutherland/Raimondi). For collectors who know her voice, and are able to "hear" her as she sang, this is the one. It's another of her live performances that far eclipse many of her stuffy studio recordings.

This 1960 Puritani of Sutherland's is one of my favorite bel canto recordings. I think it is much better than the later one that she did sometime in the 1970s.
The voice here is fresher and brighter in tone. The high notes bigger and more brilliant. And they are certainly more secure. But the biggest difference is the ease with the coloratura that sets this Puritani from its competitions.
I highly recommend this one.
In comparison with its rival, the Beverly Sills Puritani, I prefer this one. The Sills voice is much smaller than Joan's. And frankly, I like Sutherland's exquisite tones better. The two celebrated sopranos have equal techniques. Making them the most successful coloratura sopranos of our time.