Customer Reviews

Lucia Di Lammermoor

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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This is Sutherland's first Lucia, recorded in 1961, now also available as a Decca Legends set, well sound remastered. In her first Lucia, Sutherland's freshness, beauty, top register and (arguably) diction are at their finest. I've never been a Sutherland fan mainly because of her mushy diction and I avoided her recordings but wanted my first complete Lucia to be Sutherlands' since this was her signature role.

Truly, the woman was born to sing this role! Her coloratura is amazingly flawless and effortless (one thinks she could sing the role in her sleep). Her sweet, fresh (back then) voice make her a most convincing young Lucia. I especially admire her "Regnava ne silenzio" but any other moment is equally ravishing! She is accompanied by an enchanting Renato Cioni; he may not have the spectacular high notes of Pavarotti nor his radiance but there is something uniquely beautiful with Cioni's Edgardo. I've always admired both Robert Merrill and Cesare Siepi and here they are once again sublime. The sound is clear but not perfect; the voices are sometimes suffocated by the powerful orchestra and this reduces the exitement here and there. Pritchard may not be as great as the grand Tullio Serafin who conducted Callas' Lucia and Sutherland's 1959 live performance (her best Lucia) but he is not less memorable.

In comparison to the Callas versions, Sutherland is more convincing as the young Lucia because of her sweet sound and beauty whereas Callas is more exiting despite her rougher voice and flawed technique (Sutherland's coloratura is unsurpassed). Joan's second Lucia has the most impressive cast but the freshness is not on the same level. A true opera fan should own both her studio recordings but certainly her 1959 live performance as well as Callas' thrilling accounts.

This is my number one desert island recording. I don't understand why not more people are buying this one, or reviewing it. My guess is that the Sutherland/Pavarotti version is being marketed as the best. That Lucia is wonderful, but this one is still, far, far, far, better - because of a very young Sutherland. She sounds girlish, her coloratura attacks are all from the top. Her fioritura and trills are without rivals, not even the flute. This Lucia is without question, vastly superior to that Pavarotti one. Sutherland is electrifying. She is very young here, and her abandon in the cadenza is awesome. Recorded somewhere around 1959 or 1960, this recording started it all - Sutherland as the phenomenal singer of our time.

Listen to this, and drop your jaw in awe. This Lucia is the reason why most opera fans consider Joan Sutherland, La Stupenda.

Vocally, Dame Joan had it all, the most beautiful tone quality, the most fantastic technique with super human capabilities, and a huge voice that goes from low G to high F with the greatest of ease! This certainly opens the door for a world of bravura singing. Among her finest moments is this sensational Lucia. She is completely flawless here , what a glorious sound she makes. The high notes are fantasic, staggering, awesome. The entire performance is extremely moving. It really doesn't get much better than this. To hear another of Dame Joan Sutherland's greatest accomplishments, buy her cd "The Art of the Prima Donna". That is Sutherland's resume. Also most note-worthy is Sutherland's 1959 LIVE recording of Lucia di Lammermoor with Tullio Serafin. It's singing like that that earns Dame Joan the supreme title...Prima Donna Assoluta.

This recording was done in 1960, only a little before Sutherland's historical debut at La Scala, Milan as Lucia di Lammermoor in which the diva received 30 curtain calls after an astonishingly sung mad scene. I was there and was completely shattered by gorgeous tone and incredible singing. Let me tell you that people were screaming Brava so loud that I was deaf for two days. The cheering resembled that of the World Cup soccer game! It really was a revelation in the Art of Bel Canto!!! She was immediately dubbed La Stupenda, and proclaimed Prima Donna Assoluta of the entire world, pushing even La Divina Maria Callas and Renata Tebaldi aside. In this recording, Sutherland is in splendid voice, which is to say she deals with Lucia's difficult vocal challenges as if they were nothing. The trills were brilliant, even the ones on high B, and the coloratura spellbinding. The high notes were the most spectacular ever recorded, and the sizable voice fresh and rich in tone. As great as this recording is, however, Dame Joan Sutherland's LIVE recording with Serafin is even more amazing. The diva's sang every single note with such perfection and ease that you have to hear it to believe it. I would rate the Sutherland/Serafin recording as the greatest Lucia recording of all time. This Sutherland/Pritchard recording here as a close second, and the later recording with Sutherlang/Pavorotti, a distant third. Dame Joan Sutherland is definitely the definitive Lucia of all time.

This is Sutherland in the top of her youthful prime in role she will forever be remembered in. Recorded after her first Rigoletto 1961, she was suffering from sinuses at the time of these recordings with Decca.... but just by listening you would never had known. This is a must have for any opera lover! The singing is pure beauty and (other than Sills 1970 Lucia) I don't think there are any better recordings anywhere! Sutherlands second Lucia 1971 has a better cast (slightly) but she sounds 1000 times better here. I don't really understand why this is out of print in the US currently? But I am guessing that it will be released on the Decca "Legends" lable soon..? as it has been in Europe.

In this listener's humble opinion, this is the Lucia to have. The young Sutherland is totally effortless here, and the high notes will blow you away. Yes, the later Lucia that Sutherland recorded with Pavorotti has much merits, but if you want to hear Sutherland at her best, try this one, you will be thrilled you did.

I have heard at least 10 recordings of Lucia, and perhaps 15 or so live recordings of the role. I'll have to say that this recording is without peer! Only thing better was to have heard Dame Joan LIVE in the 60's. In all trills, staccati, fioritura, and the extreme high notes, Sutherland delivered with the most amazing accuracy and beauty of tone. The voice is very large here, with the top notes being Wagnerian in quality. Having heard Sutherland in her prime...1956-1978, I can say that you have to have heard her LIVE to appreciate the incredible size and quality of her high notes, especially the high "D's" and high "E's". It is just amazing to me that a voice that large and warm with awesome clarity was also the processor of the greatest coloratura technique in memory. Her trill was a true trill, an amazing fast spinning of notes that was perhaps the most ravishing trill I've heard. And that legendary trill is heard over and over again in this must-have recording of Sutherland's greatest role sung in her absolute prime. As Pavorotti himself said in Sutherland's VHS "La Stupenda", "Joan Sutherland is certainly the greatest voice of the century..." This recording is absolutely the definitive recording of Lucia di Lammermoor!

If you're looking for the best Lucia recording, look no more. Sutherland is in absolute top form, which is to say her singing is miraculous. This is better than the recording she did later with Luciano, and far better then the Callas version. Sutherland is without question the best Lucia of this century!

Sutherland's Lucia is legendary, as was her sing here. As an opera singer, I'm just in awe by her phenomenal technique. How can anyone sing like that! The voice of the century... Prima Donna Assoluta

The first of Sutherland's Lucias and really the superior one. Honey, if you don't fall right smack on your face when you hear the amazing, spectacular mad scene, you're probably deaf. Girl, this is fabulous.