Customer Reviews

Bellini - Norma / Sutherland · Caballé · Pavarotti · Ramey · WNO · Bonynge

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I have always been a great admirer of Joan Sutherland. To hear her in operas like "Lucia", "Sonnambula", "Puritani, "Semiramide" or even "Maria Stuarda" was to experience the "real thing". No doubt about it. As a sheer singing machine, Sutherland in her prime had no rivals ---- certainly not even Callas, whose genius was rooted in a different sphere entirely. But Norma requires something more than a voice, no matter how great that particular voice and technique may be. I always felt that Sutherland's vocal personality was not sufficient for Norma. who must project powerful emotions. She is, after all, a feared presence in the story. Of course one can say that in opera it's the singing that matters and that Norma must have voice, voice, and more voice. True, but there must be a vocal personality to suit the character. I found this to be totally missing on Sutherland's 1964 recording, and still feel that the violent emotions or Norma never really came naturally to her, as it certainly did to Callas. Nevertheless, Sutherland had come a long way in the projection of a text in the intervening years between the 1964 recording and the present one. Sutherland actually projects great power and authority here, and for me, her Norma becomes at least plausible from a dramatic standpoint. Her recititives now ring with a strength and power that were completely absent before. The voice is clearly no longer the liquidy and shining instrument it was before, but it remains valid nonetheless. I actually can appreciate the Sutherland more on this recording than I could on the first. And she is to be respected and admired as well. For a soprano to re-record twenty years later the most difficult role in her repertoire, at age 58 yet, and to still make a valid account of it, is to me something very amazing and wonderful. Sutherland has a soprano Adalgisa here, no less than the great Montserrat Caballe, a pretty valid Norma herself. The pairing works well. Caballe's soft grained sound mixing well with Sutherland's more mature and darker sound. The duets between the ladies are certainly rewarding to listen to. Of Pavarotti, what can one say? He sings, period. I like what Bonynge does with the orchestra here better than in 1964 as well. The moves pretty quickly, actually at points creating a taut orchestra atmosphere, all to the good in this opera. Recommendation? If one wants to hear what Sutherland could accomplish vocally with Norma, than I would go for the first version (which also features an awesome Marilyn Horne), also on London. For a more balanced overall production, and a more mature Sutherland, I would consider this one. Still, I would certainly recommend one of the Callas versions. Actually, one should own both Sutherland and Callas, and possibly Caballe's Norma as well.

I am a huge fan of all of the 3 principals and saw them many times at the San Francisco Opera in the 70's and 80's. Their TURANDOT studio recording together from 1973 is other worldly...and I am also a big fan of a Nilsson, and Price and all of the greats that I have seen or been lucky to be exposed to over the years. This NORMA was recorded in 1984 and they are all in great voice. Remember Caballe went on to sing ISOLDE in 1989! Only Caballe would use pianissimos in the Act II love duet. I have the LP with Sutherland/Horne NORMA from 1964..(from my teen years) it is the most beautiful NORMA ever recorded. However, I especially love the last act of this opera and the final scene with Sutherland and Pavarotti (the dynamic vocal duo) moves me deeply. Sutherland does not sound tired! The only recording of Sutherland'S that really sounds tired and effortful is the Video VHS of the LES HUGENOTS which I believe was her farewell performance from the stage in Australia. It was painful to watch and I have never finished watching it! I saw the great Maria Callas in her farewell tour with Di Stefano and it was sad. I think people who only enjoy one singer in a particular role are limiting themselves and closed minded. Callas, Caballe, Sills, and even Shirley Verrett (who sang it in SF) are all great interpreters of NORMA. Pavarotti is at the peak of his powers and that is why I bought this recording. Buy it and you will not be disappointed!

I am a great Sutherland fan, and have many of her recordings. This one stands out. I have never listened to this recording in its entirety without crying - I can say that about no other CD. Sutherland's voice shows some signs of age, yet is still magnificent.

I must disagree with some critics'opinion that she was unable to fully characterize Norma. She portrays the betrayed woman with heart-breaking clarity and understanding. The other performers live up to their reputations. Pavarotti paints Pollione with arrogance and passion - the neceassary combination. The two stars interact most convincingly, both with each other and with Caballe's touching Adalgisa. Bonynge's conducting is similarly excellent.

Sutherland's second Norma recording conveys deep pain and anger. I do not find the characterization lacking at all. Norma is Bellini's greatest opera; this recording is undoubtedly worthy of his music. I strongly recommend it!

Joan Sutherland was about 60 at the time of this recording. What you hear is a barely recognizable Sutherland sound. The Decca cd set with Sutherland/Horne is the one to get, believe me. Sutherland and Horne were dropped dead gorgeous in their 1960's definitive Norma. If you choose to buy this set because Caballe is Adagisa, be warned that the two divas sound very boring and tired. All of Sutheland's famous high notes are completely gone, even her trill and colortura runs are inaccurate. Please, I'm Sutherland's biggest fan, that's why I'm telling you how it really is. This Norma is a disaster. Remember though, the Sutherland's earlier Norma with Marilyn Horne is a real gem.

I am Sutherland's biggest fan ever. So it saddens me to write a bad review. But the truth is if you compare this Norma to the one the diva recorded in 1964, you well not recognize the voice. In her prime, Sutherland had the most glorious voice in the world. You will not hear that legendary sound here. But for a coloratura soprano to sing Norma the age of almost 60, as Sutherland was here, the diva's technique remains amazing. But Bel Canto demands a beautiful voice as well as technique, which is also the reason I never cared for Callas in the Bellini Donizetti operas. Ironically, Sutherland's downfall gave her all the characteristics of the ugly Callas sound...wide vibrato, pushed high notes, bland timbre of voice. Yes, in her prime, Sutherland was the vocal wonder of the entire operatic universe. To maintain that memory, I do not recommend this recording. Be that as it may, Sutherland way past her prime is still light years better than all other Norma's, so I can't give the diva a score lower than 3 stars. For the million stars recordings, however, go for the 1964 recording with Marilyn Horne, or the 1972 LIVE recording. I have them both and give them the highest recommendations.

I'm not always Sutherland's greatest fan, but do really enjoy her in certain roles - Esclarmonde, Ophelia, the 3 Hoffman heroines, etc. Her first Norma recording is on the dull side to me, plus the sound is cloudy. This later recording finds her voice still about 90% there - the lower register does sound a little wooley at times, though. Dramatically this 1984 recording is vastly superior, both in Sutherland's interpretation and Bonynge's conducting. Caballe is in gorgeous late-prime vocal estate and Pavarotti sounds fine to me - this is not really a tenor opera. Ramey is luxury casting as Oroveso and the digital recording is awesome. Recommended.

Joan Sutherland's place in operatic history was quite secure before she did this recorded remake of Norma in 1984 -- her previous 1964 London recording (as well as her subsequent 1972 live San Francisco recording) accomplished this (as did her her 1960's recordings of Semiramide, Sonnambula, Puritani, and others) most successfully. Sutherland was possibly the master bel canto vocal technician of the twentieth century, and the ends she sought were very different from those of Maria Callas. However, NO voice, no matter how magnificent, can remain immune to the passage of twenty years, as well as the ravages of age. Sutherland does a vocally respectable job here for a soprano at age 58, and there are times when she still has at her command the technical skill necessary for the great role. At other times, however, the voice becomes "gray" and colorless, and not always completely steady. Of course Callas lacked steadiness to an even greater degree (especially on her second EMi recording in 1960), but her dramatic and musical genius yielded far greater dividends than Sutherland does here. I suspect that the availability of Pavarotti was the reason for this recording (John Alexander ably partnered Sutherland on her 1964 recording), and he certainly sings a good Pollione (though not as heroic or stentorian as Franco Corelli on the 1960 Callas recording), though he's not very subtle. The interesting component here is Montserrat Caballe', soprano Adalgisa, who sounds amazingly youthful (a far cry from the matronly and aged sound of Ebe Stignani on the first Callas recording in 1954). I've always felt that a soprano works better in this role than a mezzo (Marilyn Horne being the exception, and her duets with Sutherland on the 1964 recording are the stuff that legends are made of!). Truth to tell, both Sutherland and Caballe sound well in the two big duets (though not on the level of the 1964 Sutherland and Horne), and their voices blend beautifully when sounded in thirds together.
Please do not misunderstand me. There is some fine singing to be heard here, but the truth is that Sutherland, if certainly not voiceless, is certainly past her best singing days, and she suffers from the comparisions to her earlier recording, which, is, of course, natural. I find Caballe' a good reason to value this set, though for her this must have been a holiday, since her own Norma is well known and admired.
A final observation: where are sopranos like Callas, Sutherland, and Caballe' today?
Like the dodo bird, these fabulous vocal giants are extinct.

I have been a great fan of this recording since I first heard it nearly 20 years ago. The recorded sound is superb, the edition of the score complete, and the cast not only all-star, but comprised of truly great singers in the repertoire they did best. So why only 4 stars. I'll tell you.

It cannot be denied by an honest critic that Sutherland's and Caballe's voices were captured here somewhat past their prime. In Sutherland's case, the tone on high has thinned and the "beat" in sustained tones in pronounced (not quite a wobble, but a beat). Caballe, on the other hand, is often brassy and harsh at sustained fortes and louder. I am a great, great fan of both of these ladies, but I cannot deny that their voices in 1984 in this demanding score are not what they were 10-15-20 years before.

That said, I adore this record. Both leading ladies are absolute mistresses of the bel canto style. Their phrasing, approach to high notes, portamento, and coloratura are wonderful to hear. Where are their heirs? Sutherland has become truly regal in the role of Norma, still not as incisive nor terrifiying as Callas, but just as authoritative in her own way. Her diction is much improved, in fact, over her 1964 recording. Her coloratura on high is still spectacular, but balanced by a new warmth and vitality expressed through language and phrasing. Of course, the brilliant high D capping the Act One trio is vintage Sutherland!

Caballe, over 50 at the time of the recording, does the impossible and makes Adalgisa sound young! How many chesty matrons singing the role have done that? Caballe's trademark floated piannissimos are still there, her elegance undiminished. In the big act one duet with Norma, as Adalgisa, reveals her love affair and breaking of her vows, Caballe really sounds like a young woman shamefully revealing her secret to an older woman who cares for her. The passage that begins "ah, si fa core..." finds Caballe breathing a sigh of relief, her fear dissapating in Norma's loving embrace. .

FInally, Pavarotti is predictably fine as is Ramey, but the ladies really steal the show. They prove that art, style, and experience more than compensate for the effects of time on such great voices. Let's give this one a 4.5!

The opera Norma is considered to be Vincenzo Bellini's masterpiece. It is also the most dramatic of his works, therefore we imagine the superlative cast and recording of this opera contains the dramatic voices of Callas, Corelli, and Ludwig, but as much as I love these singers, and their recording of Norma for EMI, I truly believe Norma is a bel canto opera, so leave it to bel canto singers who have big enough voices to carry off the dramatics without soundong ugly or forced in their vocal music. To solve this problem we now have an array of Norma recordings to choose from. Every great Norma recording I can think of has a truly great diva in the title role, and well, most people would say a Norma performance lives or dies by its leading lady, but this set under the bel canto conducting of Richard Bonynge offers something the other fine Norma sets do not: a completely stellar cast of lead roles. One thinks of the other Norma's made with Callas and Sutherland, and the Caballe, and Sills sets, but these leading ladies have casts with major flaws in either their Adalgisa or Pollione. With this recording we have Joan Sutherland whose Norma I consider flawless, even better than her first Decca recording of the role where she came accross as much too young to be a high priestess, and she sings everything in the original higher keys still for this later recording in her career even though the public is so accustomed to the Callas lowered transpositions! The Adalgisa of this recording is none other than a great Norma herself, Montserrat Caballe! It is exciting to hear this role sung by a great coloratura soprano when we normally associate it with a mezzo soprano. (I must say I do prefer Marilyn Horne singing this role with Joan best on her first Norma recording, but one can't have everything!) And of course, there is Luciano Pavarotti's Pollione. He was not known for this role, but nonetheless, he sings this the way Bellini would have intended with a heroic bel canto technique, not the Placido Domingo or Franco Corelli verismo attack your way through the role. Now, please know I admire all of the singers I mention in this review, and simply believe if you want to hear their best work, you should look elsewhere! This is the Norma to stick with if you want beautiful music and singing with the drama stirred though the voice not necessarily the acting.

I've in my possession a number of Sutherland Normas. The earlier ones have always been sensational. Indeed her vocal splendours remained unchallenged over the decades. Even in this recording which she is past her prime. Indeed she is much better than in the 1977 and 1981 video recordings. This alone, plus the stellar cast should be enough to convince you to own the recording here. Even past their prime, they are still much better off than today's best stars. We find, as many already noted, that Sutherland's diction has improved significantly, and her dramatization to a lesser extent. One still finds her shining the most in the cabalettas, where she has few contenders. Caballe's Adalgisa is peerless despite her age. The duets are gorgeous. Pavarotti, is, well, Pavarotti, whatever he sings. He was still in good form in this recording.

But does this recording achieves the aim of Bellini - "Opera, through singing, must make one weep, shudder, die..."? It didn't for me. As usual I was overawed by Sutherland's sensational singing (albeit not as sensational as 20 years years earlier). But I was not moved to tears by the story. If you wished to be moved to tears you need probably Pasta or Malibran. Or the closest we have to them, Callas.

This recording's probably not what Bellini had in mind, but the sensational singing and gorgeous sound should compensate amply. Its not without precedence too. Sutherland likely had her counterpart in Giulia Grisi (first Adalgisa, and Elvira in Puritani) who later became a sensational and gorgeous sounding Norma, in spite of Bellini's reservations. How wonderful if we had Sutherland singing Adalgisa in the 1952 Covent Garden Norma instead of Clothilde!

In spite of what some reviewers said, I have always found Serafin's conducting to be vastly superior to Bonynge's. I have trouble with his pacing of some of the music, which seemed to rob it of its rubato (what irony!), flow and drama. I do believe it has a major contribution of me not being deeply moved. Maybe Ms Sutherland is not at fault after all?