Customer Reviews

Puccini: Suor Angelica / Bonynge, Sutherland

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

With so many great recordings of 'Suor Angelica', the Puccini fan can hardly choose just one version. Each notable recording and its star (including Tebaldi, Scotto, Ricciarelli, and Popp) has made an individual stamp on the role, and consequently, on the opera. This recording is no exception, and gives the listener a regal Angelica, and at times a rather dreamlike atmosphere. The character of Angelica was of royal birth, a princess forced into life as a nun because of her illegitimate child - and Joan Sutherland's bearing and large voice gives us the most royal heroine of any recording. Recorded in the early 1970s, Sutherland is in remarkable voice, and she has dramatic involvement in the character greater than many of other recorded performances. Also, in this interpretation of score, Sutherland's trademark vague diction is somehow less annoying than it usually is. Christa Ludwig sings with her typical lush tone, and she makes for a cold, ominous, and almost oracular Princepesa. Richard Bonynge is not a conductor one associates with Puccini, and he leads a rather gentle and occasionally eerie interpretation, but also ably brings out the everyday conversational tone of the first half of the opera. The conflicts and climaxes, though alive with tension, are not what one thinks of as verismo style. Yet this approach suits his principle singers, as well as the predominantly British supporting cast. It all adds up to a highly individualized but successful version of the opera. There is no definitive Angelica out there, at least not for me. I have collected many, and Sutherland makes a great addition. I listen to the other recordings frequently; the Puccini lover should not miss the neurotic fragility of Lucia Popp (BMG; available at Amazon UK) or the tragic impact of Renata Scotto (Sony). But as often as I listen to these others I will return to this recording for its distinct individual merits. I purchased this with skepticism, but was pleasantly surprised by what I heard.

What a treat! Hearing Sutherland doing non-Bel Canto is always kinda exciting. She's thrilled to be doing something outside of her safety-net. Though this was recorded past Joan's prime (she was 52) she still gives her best efforts and ultimately, an honest and compelling portrayl. As Joan got older, the voice lost gleam and power -- which made her more committed to the dramatic aspect of her performances. Sutherland makes you want to cry as she performs this delicate role. Joan does a great job at portraying the frail Suor Angelica, sent to live in a Convent because of her child born in wedlock. Angelica is weak with sadness, and Joan does a great job at getting that through. Christa Ludwig, La zia Principessa, does an expert job at not portraying the cold hurtful heartless powerful woman, but a character with real depth and back story. Ludwig's strong hand is at her truthful acting,how she creates and encompasses real and honest characters and brings life to her roles. At 52, this mezzo still has a lot of voice left in her.

An exciting moment is when La zia Principessa/Ludwig snears, "...you have stained our white crest" and Angelica unexpectedly spits in her face, "Sorella di mia madre, voi siete inesorable (My mother's siter, you are unrelenting!" Now THAT'S was exciting! You don't expect that, and Sutherland does it amazingly well! And that classic Puccini moment of climax is when La zia Principessa tells Angelica that Angelica's child died. Angelica says "É morto? (He's dead?)" and Angelica lets out this Tosca howling scream! Pretty chilling and cool.

"Senza mamma, o bimbo, tu sei morto" is touching. Renata Scotto's is my favorite, and I hear Mirella Freni, Ilona Tokody, and Leontyne Price also do excellent renditions).

Now from the point where Angelica utters, "Ah, son dannata! (Oh, I am damned!)" The rest of the opera is heart-breaking! Angelica/Sutherland flies off into vocal feights as she pleads to the Madonna to not let her die in damnation after she commits the mortal sin of concocting a poison potion that she drinks to kill herself. She asks the Madonna to give her a sign of grace and save her, "Madonna! Madonna! Salvami! Salvami!" Bonynge does a wonderful job of evoking from this point the full power and heights of what Puccini wanted! You are totally imagining the room fillng with light and the Madonna comes toward her with her child and the child takes his first steps. There is bliss and forgiveness and WONDERFULNESS!!

A bonus on this CD is "Vissi d'arte" from Tosca. Frankly, I wasn't expecting the best. However, contrary to what I was anticipating, she sings with surprisingly convincing honesty. You really feel the torment Tosca is going through. Who knew Joan could pull it off?? Also, this was recorded 6 years before Suor Angelica (she was 46), so the voice is in fairer condition.

If you're someone who doesn't like Sutherland, again, this does not represent her in her prime -- her high notes aren't wonderful (including the ending Bb in "Senza mamma..." which is ever so slightly under pitch) and the voice in general has lost some sparkle. And if you're a fan of the opera then you're going to compare her voice to other singers who recorded this in their prime and you're going find fault. I recommend this recording only for fans of good drama. And if you've grown to appreciate Sutherland, than you'll enjoy this. I know I did!

In Suor Angelica Puccini ranges from childlike playfulness to deepest despair in a short opera easily enjoyed in one sitting. And the voices on this CD are all clear and harmonious. However I feel Bonynge's interpretation focuses on voice rather than mood. Rather than spritely as in other versions, here the tempo feels held back, dampening some of the excitement, so the listener feels as if nostalgically looking back at a distant event rather than being alive in the moment's laughter, excitement, and agony. However Dame Sutherland, of course, is incomparable, with a voice like clear light.

I owned this recording on vinyl but until I listened again to the reissued CD I had forgotten how dreadful it was. Dame Joan, whom I admired in her repertory and even sometimes outside it, was miserably miscast in this leaden reading of an opera that can soar when in the hand of singers with the temperament and musical idiom called for. It will please neither fans of the opera nor fans of the stupendous superstar in the title role, and I cannot imagine why it was dredged up out of a back catalog with so many worthier out of print recordings to choose from. Even the noble talents of Christa Ludwig were thrown away on this project - she could not save it from the dull hand on the baton and the tuneless wailing of the lead soprano, floundering in a score that had nothing in common with her gifts. Save your money.

Dame Joan Sutherland faz aqui uma interpretação tocante de Angelica. Impossivel não chorar, principalmente se o ouvinte é pai ou mãe. Muito bom mesmo, Dame não gravou muitas obras de Puccini mas sempre que o faz é com maestria. A música é belíssima e o restante do elenco tb é ótimo, recomendadíssimo!

My daughter recommended that I buy this cd. She is a junior in music school in Ohio where she is studying harp. The school orchestra played the whole opera serveral times. She wanted me to listen to the harp parts. Well, I have played it EVERY day since I got it -- sometimes twice a day! I'm sure my little pekingese dogs have it memorized by now.

La Sutherland is amazing. She does something with the back of her throat where she can make secondary and tertiary sounds. She can will her throat to open wider and put forth a buttery, velvet sound.

Unlike her extremely successful "Turandot" recording, here I thought she sounded wobbly and the mushy vowels completely wrong for a verismo opera. Actually her poor enunciation is wrong for all her roles. She's understandable when her husband is not conducting.

One of my favorite singers of all time, Christa Ludwig, cannot save this recording.

I gave it one star or A for effort but this particular opera is all wrong for her. I'm glad I never purchased it but listened to a copy belonging to a friend. There are many other recordings of this opera with singers who understood the style. I would take a pass on this one. Even her fans should look elsewhere for her true calling as a dramatic coloratura. Her "Beatrice di Tenda" comes to mind.

This review compares three of the recordings of Suor Angelica, with the finding that the recording of this miniature gem in the boxed set of Puccini's Il Trittico conducted by Antonio Pappano far exceeds the others in various qualities.

The best first. The vocal performances of both the title role (Cristina Gallardo-Domas) and la Zia Principessa (Bernadette Manca di Nissa) offer a great breadth of interpretation and an honest and true attention to pure vocal production. I have the very slightest of quibbles with one specific response from Gallardo-Domas' Angelica to her aunt, "La Vergine ci ascolta e Lei vi giudica!" is offered much too anglrily, where the score is marked "coldly." The wonderful choral work that supports the action and provides so much of the exposition is a well-modulated performance of Puccini's best writing for women's voices in non-starring roles. Indeed, the balance between the soloists, chorus, and orchestra is keenly maintained througout, ever allowing the orchestra and chorus to be equals to the soloists. Lastly, Pappano's pacing seems the most accomplished of all the recordings.

The worst second. The performance of the Rome Opera Orchestra & Chorus with Fedora Barbieri and Victoria de Los Angeles is frightful. The balance is muddy, and the soloists are miked so closely that they become strident. Worse yet is that the editing was inattentive, and several badly pitched tones made their way to the final recording. --And the pitch problems continue throughout, sometimes sharp, sometimes flat. The chorus members' diction is almost slurred, and a sloppy ensemble results in many nice melodies being unintelligible.

The most surprising recording is conducted by Richard Bonynge and stars Joan Sutherland and Christ Ludwig. As another reviewer noted, Dame Sutherland is past her prime, recording the role at age 52. If only we had a recording of Angelica from her at 30! As it is, I believe Richard Bonynge is the one driving a stake through the heart of this work. His readings alternate between a rush through lyric passages and tearing through the recitativo segments at a full tilt. But it seems so strange because the balance favors the women's voices, making the orchestra extraordinarily subservient. Finally, the performances in general seem less than committed. For example, Sutherland lacks both the fire and the meek submissiveness that should complicate the character.