The Art of Joan Sutherland [Box set, Collector's Edition]

George Frideric Handel (Composer), Giovanni Bononcini (Composer), Giovanni Paisiello (Composer), Niccolo Piccinni (Composer), Thomas Arne (Composer), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Composer), Giuseppe Verdi (Composer), Richard Wagner (Composer), Jacques Offenbach (Composer), Joan Sutherland (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Joan Sutherland
• Composer: George Frideric Handel, Giovanni Bononcini, Giovanni Paisiello, Niccolo Piccinni, Thomas Arne, et al.
• Audio CD (March 15, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 6
• Format: Box set, Collector's Edition
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Decca
• ASIN: B000654OUQ
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #25,758 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #4 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Vocal Non-Opera > Odes
  • #16 in Music > Classical > Historical Periods > Classical (c.1770-1830) > Vocal & Song > General AAS
  • #49 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Vocal Non-Opera > Motets

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rareties available on CD at last!, March 28, 2006

By 

John J. Schauer (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Art of Joan Sutherland (Audio CD)

While Joan Sutherland has recorded a number of impressive aria collections throughout the many years of her recording career, they tend to get lost in the shuffle of the countless reissues Decca/London has endlessly repackaged. While some of the original collections have appeared intact on CD--"The Art of the Prima Donna," "The Age of Bel Canto," "Love Live Forever" (her operetta collection that was originally titled "The Golden Age of Operetta"), to name a few--others are currently represented in the CD catalogue by only a few selections on discs that also include excerpts from complete opera recordings or duplicates of selections from other original collections. As a result, it has been impossible to assemble a CD collection of her recordings without a LOT of duplication, and some of the most interesting collections are still unavailable (such as "Command Performance").

While this newest set does include a lot of bits of this and that, ranging from her very first LPs to excerpts from complete recordings most Sutherland fans already have and a few "live" performances, what is perhaps most significant about it is that it features the complete contents of the "Sutherland Sings Wagner" LP--a real repertoire departure for her--and the double-LP album called "French Opera Gala" (in the U.S.--the British title was "Romantic French Arias"), neither of which, to the best of my knowledge, has been available on CD before. "Opera News" magazine once ran an article in which they asked various stars to name the one album that they felt best represented their artistry for future generations, and Dame Joan selected the "French Opera Gala," so for Sutherland fans, this is a long-awaited treat.

I'm not going to waste space saying how miraculous I consider Dame Joan's artistry. If you are familiar with her work already, you know whether you adore her or not; and if you aren't, this massive set is probably not the best place to start (that would be "The Art of the Prima Donna" album that introduced her to most listeners decades ago)--especially since this newest set doesn't contain the lyrics, a must for newcomers. Let's hope Decca/London gets around to releasing the rest of her recordings intact instead of endlessly scrambling and repackaging the same selections over and over.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WHO ELSE CAN SING LIKE THIS TODAY?, April 9, 2005

By 

Operaman! "dsoda" (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Art of Joan Sutherland (Audio CD)

This is Decca's second multi disc evaluation of this fantastic singer's long career and many recordings. True that a lot on the first set is duplicated here, but there are a few exceptions here and there that make it a worthy addition. Of particular interest are the very early items of Handel and Italian baroque arias, some forgotten song recordings and a live performance of the duet from Norma. It can't be said too many times - who can sing like this today? For sheer vocalism it's hard to find anyone on the same wavelength. This set will give very young opera goers an idea of what they missed.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Invaluable Sutherland Collection, April 19, 2008

By 

NWDixieboy "NWDixieboy" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Art of Joan Sutherland (Audio CD)

This is my favorite Sutherland collection. It has so much from so many periods. The bits from The French Opera Gala are beyond belief. It is some of the best coloratura she ever did and was recorded at a great part of her career. Both the Wagner and the Mozart discs were recorded when she was close to 60, which doesn't mean that much with Sutherland. Still it would have been great to have heard the Wagner recorded a decade earlier when she recorded the Turandot. She would have been better at Wagner than anyone around today. Not Nilsson or Flagstad's equal, but better by far than Voigt, who isn't bad. On the Mozart bits, a couple sound old, but the rest are as good a performance of Mozart as you are ever going to hear. Many people only like the young Sutherland, but I like the color and richness her voice developed with age. She does a Hamlet Mad Scene on this disc at around 60 that is simply amazing! She sounds 45. I heard someone say that when she was old it took her longer to warm the voice up, could sound old when she first started out singing, but by the time she was warmed up you couldn't hear the age anymore. By all means, get this collection. You will wear the 2 discs of French opera arias out. BTW, most of the French stuff is from never, ever performed operas these days so you will not ever have heard them before.